Msenwa Foundation Newsletter- COVID-19
In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, we want to share a message from the children, youth, women and staff at Congo for Christ Centre, our partner organization in DR Congo.
Our world has been turned upside down with COVID-19. We see every day that we wake up as a miracle as uncertainty, chaos and negative impacts caused by this pandemic continue to be felt in every corner of our lives. We at Congo for Christ Centre in Uvira, DR Congo are still grateful that no case of COVID-19 has been reported in our city but we wonder if this is because there are no actual cases or because there are no testing capacities. God knows that should this come to us, we won’t have the means to fight it, so therefore He has chosen to fight for us. We have no answers to any of those questions. However, our main concern here continues to be that school, borders and other services have been closed to respond to this pandemic.
Here in DR Congo, as a result of the ongoing war in many areas of the country, food insecurity and lack of a healthcare system continue to ravage thousands of people. Thousands of Congolese people and mainly children starve everyday and this was before COVID-19.
Our community is shaken not only by the news of COVID-19 but more so that many people who already cannot afford food, are now expected to spend money on extra cleaning supplies when their main worry is that they will die from starvation. Although there are no recorded cases of COVID-19 in our area, the number of children who are starving daily and at a very high risk of malnutrition continues to increase.
As we listen to the news, we are worried about you, our donors in Canada and US, and all our friends around the world whose countries have seen an increased number of COVID-19 cases. We are, however, praying that God will keep you safe, and protect you and your loved ones. We understand that you are going through difficult times and continue to appreciate your continued practical supports to us.
As a ministry we are committing ourselves to continue inspiring resilience, hope and possibilities in the lives of Congolese people during this difficult time. We want to prevent human losses from starvation due to the challenges that COVID-19 has caused. We would like to invite you to donate to our COVID-19 Food Share Project that will help us provide staple foods to 200 families who are at risk of malnutrition.
Our prayer request and prayers for you and your loved ones:
God will protect you and your loved ones
God will give you peace and joy that He alone can provide
God will use you if you can help us prepare for this pandemic – we need to purchase sanitary supplies and food to share with our starved children in the community
We were grateful last Saturday March 28 to serve warm meals to over 1,500 children through our special meal day. For many of these children, it was their only meal for the day and for some in two days. We need your help to prevent starvation and death.
The Msenwa Foundation appreciates your generous support. Please consider making a financial gift of any kind (remember anything is better than nothing), for those in Canada, please make your cheque to The Great Commission Foundation, memo: Msenwa Foundation #603 (The Great Commission Foundation, PO Box 14006, Abbotsford BC, V2T 0B4). In the US, cheques can be made to Friends of the Great Commission Foundation, memo: Msenwa Foundation #603 (Friends of the Great Commission, PO Box 8000 PMB 215, Sumas, WA 98295-8000) or donate online in Canada or US at our website (www.msenwafoundation.com).
Children listening to music before meal serving