CHANGE 4 CHILDREN PROGRAM

The Northeast Georgia Presbytery has taken a leadership role in the development and organization of a new program to benefit a children’s mission in Lusaka, Zambia.  The Outreach Foundation, in partnership with the Alliance for Children Everywhere, is offering a new program to benefit The House of Moses, the House of Martha Crisis Nursery and the Bill and Bette Bryant Crisis Nursery, all located in Lusaka, Zambia.

The House of Moses, an intensive care home for pre-mature infants is a life line for abandoned or orphaned infants.  All of the babies arrive underweight and most in peril of death.  Since its inception in 1999 over 300 hundred babies have passed through the nursery.  Some did not live, but many others are now healthy strong children.

A sister organization is only 15 miles away in the Kanyama Compound.  The House of Martha Crisis Nursery accepts children from the age of 3 months to 3 years. In November 2003 the Bill and Bette Bryant Crisis Nursery opened to offer a home to children ages 3 to 6 years.  All three homes work to bring the children into good health while proving a nurturing Christian home.

Family is very important to the people of Africa.  The crisis nurseries are temporary homes.  When possible the babies are returned to caring family members or, if that is not possible, they are fostered out for future adoption.

The Change 4 Children program was developed to provide financial support for these three much needed crisis nurseries.  Here’s how it works.  Beautiful handcrafted baskets are purchased from women living in the Mongu, Tonga, and Soli tribes.  Each basket is made using methods handed down from past generations.  Each basket tells a story about the individual who made it, or some aspect of the tribe’s history, and is a work of art.

The purchased baskets then become a gift to any individual, family, or group within the Presbyterian Church (USA) who pledges to drop their pocket change in the basket for a period of six months.  Each participating church appoints a coordinator who will collect the coins once a month, wrap the coins for deposit, and through the church’s financial office send the funds by check to the regional coordinator.  The Regional Coordinator will combine checks received and send them on to the Outreach Foundation twice monthly.

A CD is available to present the program to the congregation along with free educational materials that will enrich their knowledge of Zambia and its people.

During the initial pilot year (2003) seventeen churches in the Northeast Georgia Presbytery took part and were joined by three other churches in neighboring presbyteries.

The 2004 program included twenty-three churches from Northeast Georgia Presbytery and four from other presbyteries.

Program evaluation statements from participating churches indicated:

-  strong congregational support

-  minimal staff involvement needed

            -  adaptable for any size congregation

            -  useful educational materials

            -  and confidence is a project of the Outreach Foundation.

Additional information may be obtained by contacting Jean Roberts, Regional Coordinator at 770-531-0495.  Jean, a mission advocate at First Presbyterian Church, Gainesville, Georgia  has visited all three crisis nurseries annually and has carried the message of these facilities to dozens of churches in three states