Insight 2012

Project 040 Appalling conditions means these women struggle hard to get water that may not be safe.

Filthy water

This radio equipment will help to transform lives. Generous leverage means that for every £100 donated, £1000s of supplies can be shipped in containers.

Project 009Equipment for low vision enables children to make progress in their education and gain a better life.

Project 017 The Devlins and their dedicated team of volunteers store and widely distribute goods to the destitute.

Elderly men and women are more vulnerable in the winter months.

Project 002Pastor Oscar Segura’s church serves as a base for him and church members to bring social relief as well as spiritual comfort to the greater community.

Celebrating the refurbishment of the church included a message from John Partington, the UK National Leader of the Assemblies of God (left).

Project 043Don Foster with the two brothers whose sponsorship led them along very different paths.

Established as a marketing manager, former sponsored child Thieu Kha now plans to sponsor a child herself.

The family home of Ha Van Chuong with some of his extended family.

Accomplished musician Ha Van Chuong receives sponsorship which will allow him to attain professional status.

Project 089Dave and Vicky Emmerson praise God that Dave (left) was able to lead Graeme (right) to Christ. They also marvel that He uses things like a bar of soap to accomplish His purposes.

Project 058/088Rhoda Agangan

Project 072*Peter Muraya

The Muraya family now have food thanks to others sharing their burden with Survival Packs.

Insight New Year 2012

Project 040

Thanks to generous Siloam supporters, the New Year will bring new hope to refugees in Ghana…

Do Not Neglect Widows and Orphans

Human dignity seems unrealistic to people who are subjected to appalling conditions. Yet each day men, women and children suffer extreme deprivation in the Buduburam Refugee Camp in Ghana.

Many escaped horrors of violence during the Liberian civil war, more recently others have come from the Ivory Coast. Their victimisation has included rape and murder of their family members. Yet they have had to subsist without basic amenities like clean drinking water and toilets. Both suicide and untreated disease take their toll.

Now the Ministerial Development and Relief Programme headed by George Bannerman, a Ghanaian/Canadian citizen, is striving to change that. He and his wife have sacrificially worked to provide clean drinking water and basic relief through much needed supplies.

The Bannermans seek to bring aid ranging from food and clothing to medical supplies. John Bannerman explains, ‘anything that will better the lives of those we are endeavouring to serve and uplift.’ They provide especially for widows and older women as well as children which expresses a biblical principle not to neglect widows and orphans. Now their ministry is setting up a radio station to bring God’s comfort to those who are so deprived. Music and teaching, medical advice and dealing with social issues will all help these neglected people.

Because supporters contributed so generously this past year, Siloam Transaid has been able to pay for the shipment of this radio equipment. Siloam Transaid's shipping cost of £4,600 sent the valuable £500,000 of equipment needed to establish the radio station. In addition to meeting practical needs with medical and social issues, broadcasts will bring God’s hope for the New Year ahead.

Project 009

Caring for the destitute who need eye care in India means inclusiveness of all age groups

Help In Sight

When elderly people living at a home for the aged require health care for their eyes, dedicated staff from Siloam Thomas Eye Hospital are available to help. They provide examinations and necessary treatment, often involving cataract operations.

But the destitute who require help with vision includes children as well as the elderly. When such children are referred for assessment, they benefit from rehabilitation with low vision devices ranging from telescopes to magnifiers.

Project 017

Urgently in winter, young and old alike need a loving, helping hand…

Leamington Christian Mission

Hungry and poor people suffer throughout the year. But winter proves especially harsh and mission founder Steph Devlin, her husband Geoff and the team of volunteers work hard to help.

Several new families have been given urgently needed food. All the children were facing winter with holes in their shoes. A monthly provision enables them and others to get clothing, bedding and other basics.

Vulnerable elderly people require care as much as children. One pensioner could no longer afford his accommodation. He began to sleep in an allotment greenhouse. But children threw rocks at the windows and he suffered in the cold. Because he has stomach cancer, he was particularly at risk. When Steph and Geoff learned of his plight, they arranged for him to go into bed and breakfast accommodation until the council could provide for him. In this case, he was able to get hospital help and is now in remission.

‘It’s very hard to come home to a warm, comfortable bed at night when you realise how many are living in such poverty,’ Steph admits. ‘But we just have to use our hands and go out in Jesus’ name.’

Project 002

A message to readers from Siloam Director Richard Norton…

Effective Gospel Outreach

‘For many years Siloam has assisted the Assemblies de Deus church in Portugal who at one time were the largest Protestant denomination in Portugal. Now, there are many other Protestant and Evangelical groups preaching the gospel and reaching different ethnic communities, particularly in Lisbon.

‘Siloam has continued to help Pastor Oscar Segura who is one of the most effective gospel preachers in Portugal. It was our privilege many years ago to invite him and five other pastors to attend a special Christian leadership conference in Warwickshire.

‘Pastor Oscar Segura’s church has undergone extensive refurbishment and repairs during the past autumn which has sadly left him in considerable debt. Because Portugal suffers from the economic downturn, local government budgets have been drastically cut. Money set aside for social work and other help which the church provides to the local community is reduced accordingly. Gifts towards Pastor Oscar’s church can be allocated to Siloam’s project 002 which will be used exclusively for this purpose up until Easter on Sunday April 8th.

‘On the 29th of October 2011, John Partington, the National Leader of the Assemblies of God from the UK, attended the inauguration and celebration of the refurbished building with a large congregation of church members and visitors from all over Portugal.’

Project 043

‘Does child sponsorship really work?’

Together Child Sponsorship

If anyone raises the question of whether sponsorship works, Don Foster certainly is in a position to answer. As a student, he was sponsored by the British Army, allowing him to attend the Duke of York Royal Military School. Now he capably serves as Siloam South East Asia Voluntary Representative, co-ordinating child and youth sponsorship throughout the region.

In Vietnam alone, there are accounts of numerous youngsters who have benefited from sponsorship. ‘This has been true even when one or two appear to go astray in life,’ explains Don. ‘When Tran Van Quoc was a newspaper seller in his early teens, we sponsored him. Sadly, he ended up in prison for a year because of robbing a tourist.

‘But the story doesn’t end there. About that time, we started sponsoring his younger brother Tran Quoc Tuan. When Tuan finished his sponsorship, he went on to set up his own computer business. It prospers and includes employing his brother whose whole demeanour changed
as a result of his imprisonment. Tuan has recently married and the community recognises him as a successful local businessman.

Helping Others

‘Then there is Thieu Kha who was sponsored from childhood for several years. Now she enjoys working as a marketing manager for an American company in Saigon. But that’s not all. She wants to feed back into the system by helping others through Siloam.

‘One student began sponsorship as a teenager. A talented musician, Ha Van Chuong is blind and wanted to continue his musical studies to achieve professional status. He composes music, plays several instruments and has made CD’s. He runs charity concerts and is well known in Danang but, as a student, receives no pay. A British family sponsor him, enabling Ha Van Chuong to achieve his goal of professionalism.’

When people still question whether child and youth sponsorship really works, Don Foster agrees that there will be a few exceptions. ‘However,’ he insists ‘the stories of success are endless. From the beginning of sponsorship, if children have families, we establish a connection. Even when students progress to employment, we offer follow-up advice if they want to stay in touch.

‘Perhaps the best commentary comes from the Danang Charity Association. They want us to help sponsor hundreds of children who remain in need. That is the real evidence that sponsorship proves valuable to the individual, families and society.’

Project 089

Dave and Vicky Emmerson send praise from South Africa…

God’s Perfect Timing

‘We have been ministering to Graeme for two years now, sharing food, the Bible and prayer with him. We’ve often wondered if God would ever get through to him as he just seemed so disinterested. But God’s timing is perfect. Graeme came to us and asked if we could give him some soap so that he could wash in the river as well as washing his clothes. The Lord really put it on Dave’s heart to share with Graeme his need for a deeper, more lasting cleansing of His soul by Jesus Christ's shed blood. We just want to praise God that Graeme understood the gospel message, repented of his sin, confessed Jesus as Lord and was born again!’

Project 058/088

SPECIAL PRAYER REQUEST

As we go to press, Rhoda Agangan is hospitalized with serious medical problems resulting from her sickle cell anemia. Please pray for this tremendous lady who, in spite of her extreme health problems, does so much to serve the Lord. She has come alongside Siloam project 058 to help deprived children in Kenya at Lambwe School for the Deaf and project 088, CAST (Christian Anti-Slavery Today).

Project 067

In Kenya, one family struggles with loss and ongoing poverty…

Bearing Each Other’s Burdens

When young Peter Muraya was hit by a train, he lost one and a half legs and an arm and is now confined to a wheelchair.

‘Their family situation is pathetic,’ explains our Childcare Worldwide partner Marlies Lange. ‘The burden of helping her handicapped boy and also caring for her two other sons is now on their mother Irene. She is the sole supporter of the family. Because she never had the chance of getting an education, she can do only casual jobs like washing clothes or cleaning, which earns her about $2 a day…that is, when she gets work.

‘The boys’ father does not have the slightest interest in his family. All he does is drink. Everyone in the family counts it a blessing when he doesn’t get violent.’

Lack of food is the family’s biggest problem. Now, with the Survival Pack programme, they no longer bear their burden alone.

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