Miracle Manna from God

“I no-longer worry about going out to play with my friends, I know I will find some food left for me to eat when I come back,” says Foster Nonde

May to June were exciting months for communities in Zambia, Nigeria and Ethiopia as they received care packages courtesy of Children’s Mission. This has enabled them to take care of their basic needs and live in dignity despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
Nonde Mexedeck and his family received maize among other essentials from our partners in Zambia. Before the Lockdown season, Mr. Nonde sold maize at a near-by border because of the favorable prices.
On March 17th 2020, Zambia received its first case of COVID-19 and by March 25th all non-essential services were closed- including trade and intra- travel. Nonde was left to fend for his 16-member family without a regular source of income. “I resorted to hunting animals for survival. There was news going round the village that wild animals were the source of the virus and therefore got no customers”, Nonde explains. As days turned into weeks, the family’s food reserves dwindled and looked to God for a way out.

“Gershom Kafunda offloads a mealie maize bag from the delivery truck.”

“Seeing the need, we felt the call to bless this family,” says Gershom Kafunda, the Zambia Children’s Mission’s (ZCM) Program’s Manager. With the growing number of COVID-19 cases and lockdown limitations affecting vulnerable families, we knew we needed to take action. “ZCM with support from the Children’s Mission Sweden partnered to provide stimulus relief food for the vulnerable families in our communities as a supplement to the message of hope,” he adds.

Jane Nonde receives a support package on behalf of the family (pictured second from RH in the middle row)

“On 26^th June, we received our Miracle Manna from God, Nonde recalls excitedly. The family is able to eat at least 2 meals a day- lunch and dinner. “On 26^th June, we received our Miracle Manna from God, Nonde recalls excitedly. The family is able to eat at least 2 meals a day- lunch and dinner.

Nonde Family have lunch during a ZCM follow-up visit.

During a follow up visit by ZCM, Nonde’s children could not hide their excitement. Foster Nonde, a grade 4 student said, “I no-longer worry about going out play with my friends- I know I will find some food left for me to eat when I come back.”

The Nonde family are a-part of over 120 families blessed by support packages during the Lock-down season in Zambia. Support varied between food packages, seed and sanitation supplies. Sanitation supplies ensured the distribution process abided by necessary health precautions while food packages provided daily meals to families. Seed supplies on the other-hand will promote food security. This was intentional to ensure that the families not only had food for today but for the future.

The care package initiatives were developed by partner organizations in response to the COVID-19 pandemic with funding from CM. Vulnerable families in Zambia, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Cameroon, Burkina Faso and Uganda have and will continue to receive support from CM’s partners in these countries.

Children’s Mission Africa works with children, women and youth in difficult circumstances. Just like Mr. Nonde’s family, COVID-19 presented difficult circumstances for children, women and families in Zambia, Nigeria and Ethiopia. This however, provided an opportunity for CM to support these groups through care packages. CM is blessed to have partnered with friends across Africa to ensure families, women and children received “miracle manna from God.”

“When I learnt, I didn’t need to have big money to start my business, I started my cosmetics business immediately!”

“With my income, I pay my children’s school fees, health issues and my personal needs.”

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