Hello Everyone,
Our year began with a heartfelt letter of gratitude from our university student, Ernestina, for the funds to help her to continue her university education. We are also supporting 9 high school students and over 100 little ones in PP1 and PP2. This year we have a ‘Tinies’ program for the 4-year-olds, which helps to prepare them by feeding many who are malnourished, to prepare them for PP1 and to give them a healthy start.
The little ones in PP1 and PP2 receive education, uniforms and all school equipment, including their school bags when they register. Each child is fed twice a day before they head home. They are doing so well, and their happy faces and laughter is a reward in itself.
We replenished the small equipment for the farm, such as rakes, shovels, pruning shears, etc. as well as a new rototiller, as the Team continue to teach double dug organic farming and gardens. The Mama groups, made up of hardworking women who plant and tend gardens for their family food supply, continues to grow and spread from Village to Village, now including teaching for raising chickens, co-op banking, fruit tree grafting, bee keeping, and much more. The Organic Farming program has already helped many, many families and some have become successful businesspeople in their communities.
Our own chicken raising at Heartbeat Farm is doing well and is now providing eggs for eating and for selling. Our milk cows produce the milk for our school children at Father’s Heart School, and the school is now also raising crops to enable the school children to have greens etc. with the parents/guardians helping, in order to give back to the school. We are grateful for an amazing teaching staff as well as wonderful cooks who cook and feed all the little ones, approx. 140 children and staff.
The Farm is raising crops both for food and for selling at the market. Heartbeat Farm is a hive of activity, with a staff busy teaching the Mama groups in the differing villages and keeping up the farmland with vegetable crops, and over 150 fruit trees, such as mango, orange, avocado etc. We were able to install some solar at the farm, but we hope to gradually outfit the entire farm in solar as sunlight is plentiful but our electrical is often undependable.
As we look toward this next year, we hear the Lord say He intends to stretch our tent pegs! While this is an exciting prospect, we look to the Lord for our strength and vision. He has blessed this work in a wonderful way, giving us favour in the villages and communities, with the Elders and the Education Dept. and the local villagers. We are so grateful, for all that the Lord has done! And for the many projects, that are changing the lives of the people.
Please take time to go to our Facebook page, Heartbeat Ministries, to see all the wonderful things God is doing, or check out our web page, https://heartbeatministries.ca
We thank you for helping to make a big difference in the lives of so many families. For giving them opportunities to feed their loved ones, and for teaching them new skills for life. We thank you so much and bless you for giving others a hand up to a new beginning.
With heartfelt gratitude,
Elaine Passey
Executive Director Heartbeat Ministries