I hope you all had a fantastic Thanksgiving with friends and family. I know there is a lot of noise right now involving great deals on everything you need. Well, at Help One Now we don’t have any Black Friday deals, but we do want to let you know how you can play a part in bringing hope to a thousand kids around the world. If you have been following us on Facebook, then you may have noticed a few references to our new 2013 Legacy Project – Backpacks of Hope — which launches next week.
Every year, Help One Now does one large project to support education. Last year, we built a school for a community in Port-au-Prince that now serves close to 400 students. This year, we are going to … well, you’ll find out soon enough.
In the meantime, I wanted to reintroduce you to three of the six leaders behind this Project. Our three African leaders: Aschalew Abebe (Ethiopia), John Chinyowa (Zimbabwe), and Edward Magumba (Uganda).
Aschalew Abebe
Aschalew Abebe is the Ethipoia Director for Kidmia, an organization committed to see orphaned and vulnerable children released from physical, economic, and spiritual poverty and enjoy life to its fullest. Aschalew has been influential in helping many children receive holistic and sustainable care in Ethiopia.
“Every child has a right to education. Educating a child is like bringing light into his/her darkness; hence, every child deserves easy access to quality education. Education prepares and empowers children for life. It opens wide doors of opportunity before them and gives them hope and a bright, promising and productive future. Educated children have the power and the motivation to transform their own lives, their families, their communities and the whole world. Education is also a powerful weapon to break the cycles of poverty and vulnerability, and bring prosperity, equality, fairness and dignity into a given nation.
Let us educate children, unlock their God-given potential, and empower them for life. Let us release them to their destiny and give them a hope and a future.”
John Chinyowa
John Chinyowa is the Pastor of Family Praise Fellowship Church in Marondera, Zimbabwe, and the leader who inspired Chris Marlow to start Help One Now (link). He and his church oversee Musha Wevana Children’s Home caring for over 100 orphaned and abandoned children.
“Education is key to the future of Zimbabwe. We educate the children for them to gain knowledge. This knowledge will enable them to read and write on their own, and it will unlock their full potential. By reading the word of God, they will become wise. We continue to serve these children knowing that they will one day be the leaders of our nation.”
Edward Magumba
Edward Magumba pastors a church in Buwenda village, just outside of Jinja, Uganda. He is the headmaster of His Mercy Christian School, which provides a well-rounded education for over 200 impoverished and orphaned children in Mayuge district. He has also initiated empowerment projects that have uplifted and improved the lives of many widows and vulnerable groups.
“From my many years of working with the poorest of the poor here in Uganda, I have come to believe that education is one of the key factors that will liberate our people from the shackles of extreme poverty and suffering and restore hope in their lives. With barely any worldly possessions, education means everything to the children of Uganda, most of whom have to walk miles barefoot to the nearest school.”
Please join us in spreading the word of the 2013 Legacy Project, Backpacks of Hope. Share (this link) to sign up, and help us encourage others to support the Project. It is going to be amazing to once again help these great leaders bring lasting change to Haiti, Ethiopia, Uganda, and Zimbabwe!