Twelve years ago at our Global Mission partner, the Village of Hope, Zambia, Benedict Schwartz bought 1,000 fingerling tilapia for the 7 acres of wetlands on their site. This year, Benedict designed a cage for catching tilapia, and two months ago they used it for their first catch. They emptied the cage and there were enough fish to feed all 70 people in the Village of Hope for one month. The cage went out again the next month and again the catch was enough fish for the second month to feed everyone for the month. The supply seems to replenish each month as God is multiplying the harvest.
These fish, along with all of the other homegrown farm produce means there is food security for the children of the Village of Hope and School of Hope.
This year the Village has purchased commercial ovens for a bakery for making bread. Benedict wondered who they were going to train on how to use the equipment? While talking to Steve, one of the house fathers, the man shared with Benedict that he worked in a bakery for years with the exact same equipment that is at the Village of Hope. Steve trained their baker on how to operate the oven and other equipment, and no outside training was needed.
Benedict has purchased grain and is starting a program to provide child-sized loaves of bread for children at neighboring schools.
To read about the program go to breaderworld.com.
1,000 sponsors are needed to provide 1,000 loaves daily of nutritious whole wheat bread for hungry kids in the area.
This new program, BreaderWorld, will provide food security for children at local schools.
Recently the Village of Hope purchased equipment for butchering their cows, and pigs to make meat available to their employees. Benedict talked to the baker, Steve, and wondered where there would be someone for the job of butcher, and what training would that person need? Steve said to Benedict, “you are talking to the wrong person, as there is another house father, Kunda, who has experience as a butcher. He worked for three years for Zambeef.” So Kunda became the VOH butcher.
Workers at the Village of Hope can purchase meat and bread at a reduced price giving food security to the employees.
The Zambian government has officially certified the Village of Hope to begin formally teaching young people through a full-time, one-year course, on how to effectively farm, yielding food for the young adults and their families.
This course will provide food security by teaching agriculture.
The Village of Hope is currently constructing three dedicated agriculture classrooms and an agricultural lab for soil science and animal science.
Like much of the developing world, Zambia is experiencing a food crisis. These four programs (fish farming, Bread World, butchering, and agricultural education) show the ways that our Zion Global Mission partner, All Kids Can Learn International/Village of Hope, is working to help the growing hunger and poverty crisis within and around their community.
Thank you for your continued support of their efforts in our Global community.
