Shine In Africa

2012-02-09T20:34:00.000-08:00

Uganda. Where should I begin. This trip was a vision trip in hopes to confirm our call to serve in this country. We flew into Entebbe and were greeted by the two of the team members, Tim and Steve. We were very happy to see them. After getting our luggage we headed to the vehicle. Outside we were greeted with the darkness of night and several military looking men with guns. We drove to our guest house and spent our first night sleeping under the mosquito nets. The next day we drove the 7 hours along bumpy African roads to reach our destination Soroti.

Soroti is home to the Soroti Rock. If you aren't familiar with it I would suggest you google it. It is exactly that, a huge rock in the center of the town that takes quite a lot of work to hike to the top of. The views from the top are amazing. From day one we began meeting people from Uganda that all had such amazing stories of transformation. I hope their stories will inspire you and motivate you to step out of your comfort and step into a world of unknown...a place where God is at work!

"Angelina"

A woman of extraordinary courage and faith. Angelina is blind. Chicken pox took her sight at the age of five, but it didn't take her spirit. It only made her more of who she was created to be. The blind have been a marginalized people in Uganda. They were categorized as worthless to society, destitute and destined for a life of begging. Angelina doesn't believe this, she never has. She knows beyond a shadow of a doubt that her creator made her for a purpose. She was made in the image of God. It is her mission to see that any person who is blind in Soroti is given the skills necessary to keep them from having to beg to survive. They are taught to read Braille. They are taught skills like knitting and gardening. In fact they have even been shown how to plant orange groves utilizing strings with measured knots for planting. Her wisdom was extraordinary. On the way to visit a blind man in the village that was now able to support his family with the sale of oranges from his trees she reminded us how important following up is. She said, "We must train, but then we have to follow up. Following up is so important." How often we begin the work, but then fail to follow through and follow up. She couldn't see us, but we sure could see the love of Christ in her. We are thankful to have met Angelina.

2011-11-05T20:15:00.000-07:00

The Shine in Africa blog was created to bring awareness to the needs of orphans and the oppressed in Africa. It began as a way to do something with the new found knowledge we gained in adopting our four year old daughter from Ethiopia. We had no idea where it would go. We never imagined it would consist of us going back to serve in Africa. Our eyes were opened to what true poverty looks like. We were changed forever. Tomorrow we board a plane heading for Soroti, Uganda. Shine in Africa will take on a whole new meaning for our family and the Shine family. This is a a two week vision trip to confirm our plans to join a ministry team in Soroti called Team Beyond for a two year commitment. We believe all people, not just a select few, deserve access to food, forgiveness and freedom. We want to help the people of Uganda gain access to these three things. As we explore how we can use our gifts and talents, it is our prayer that we can Shine the Light of Jesus brightly in Soroti. In the coming days we hope to share with you the sights and stories of this adventure.

Blessings,
Chris Fisher

Help Orphans

2011-09-21T04:59:00.000-07:00

A family friendly Nite to Benefit Yezelalem Minch in Ethiopia! Come to Strikers in Jenison On October 13 from 5:30- 8:30 for a fun nite of go-carts, mini-golf, batting cages, raffles, and ice-cream. The event is FREE! All donations go toward 'Land for Opportunity' fundraising effort. Please see futurehopecompaign.org for more information on the fundraising efforts.

Chris and Michelle Fisher (owners of SHINE) will be heading to Uganda on November 6 through November 18. We will be posting about our trip on our blog (see Fisher Family Blog on the side bar and click to follow our journey!

Praise From Yezelalem Minch!

2011-08-25T12:06:00.000-07:00

A Harvest of Blessing

Dear friends,

As you may know, Yezelalem Minch uses a community-based approach to intervene in the lives of orphaned and vulnerable children. But with special consideration for orphans who have no extended family or guardian to raise them in the community, Yezelalem Minch has also been able to support 42 children in home group settings.

Supporting orphans in institutional care can be particularly challenging — not just in the material provision of what they need, but because of the emotional changes experienced during childhood development. Yezelalem Minch is very concerned for children as they grow both physically and emotionally. Orphans who have no one around are more vulnerable to emotional problems because of this lack of someone to watch over them as a parent. We seek to integrate children in permanent families, locally or internationally, with adoption being a last resort option.

At times we were worried about our home group children's futures, because some were beyond the adoptable age or sick with a chronic disease. However, because of the full dedication of many godly families, 38 of our home group children have been adopted into international families.

We became very emotional recently after a teleconference with these adopted children and the organizers of a Yezelalem Minch family reunion in New Mexico - as a result of hearing their passion for the remaining orphans in Ethiopia and also seeing pictures from the event. It is just like a dream for us to see these things taking place that we didn't expect to be. The event was more than just fun or a mere gathering; it was important and profound and reminds us of David's expression of wonder about his life:

"Who am I, O LORD God, and what is my family, that you have brought me this far?
And as if this were not enough in your sight, O God,
you have spoken about the future of the house of your servant.
You have looked on me as though I were the most exalted of men, O LORD God."
- 1 Chron. 17:16-17

We are also so blessed to see the growth of our community children: one recently graduating from Addis Ababa University, another from a technical college, and three more who will soon receive their diplomas. In the coming year, six more children will be starting university and college studies. It has been a wonderful time for Yezelalem Minch to see fruit after an investment of many years.

In the last month:

Regular activities included providing school fees, medical support, grain distribution and psychosocial support.

Peer educator and community volunteer trainings were performed.

Shoes and casual clothing distribution to 500 out of 1,200 registered children.

New project site office set up properly.

Thanks and praises:

The Yezelalem Minch family reunion time in New Mexico went well.

God heard our prayers on the safety of our orphans, and all registered kids are doing well.

The Future Hope Campaign still keeps working, and God is moving with their dedication and hard work.

We thank God for our sponsors and families who are dedicated to the work of Yezelalem Minch.

Please pray:

For challenges related to inconsistent government policies, rent costs, and economic inflation.

For land needed for organizational buildings.

For the continued efforts of the Future Hope Campaign and God's blessing.

For registered children to be reached spiritually in addition to their basic needs.

Future Hope Campaign

Join with other friends and supporters of Yezelalem Minch in the USA as part of a grassroots movement to increase awareness and support for Yezelalem Minch. Currently, we are working to raise funds to purchase and develop property for Yezelalem Minch. So far, $60,000 of our $160,000 goal has been raised!

We still need additional people to volunteer by coordinating local events in their own states, or by simply helping to spread the word. Visit Future Hope Campaign to learn more, connect with others, and get involved. If you aren't already receiving Future Hope updates, please sign up for emails on the home page!

Make a Donation

Gifts towards the "Land for Opportunity" campaign can now be made online using PayPal, as well as by check/mail. All donations are tax-deductible through HIM. Click here to donate or learn more.

Sponsor a Child

Child sponsorship is not only critical to the continued growth and success of Yezelalem Minch, but it also helps an individual child to know that someone cares.

In the USA, contact HIM to learn about sponsoring a child at Yezelalem Minch.

You may also reach sponsorship staff by phone at (828) 277-3812, or by simply replying to this email.

Blue Nile Coffee

A blessing in more ways than one, Ethiopian Coffee from Blue Nile Traders is purchased from a Yezelalem Minch widows' Self Help Group at a fair trade price. Yet unlike a fair trade distributor, 100% of the profits are sent back to help support the Yezelalem Minch weekly feeding program.

Visit Blue Nile and order your bunna today!

Traveling to Ethiopia?

Postage to and from Africa can be expensive, and sometimes we're in need of a courier.

If you're traveling to Addis Ababa in the near future and might be willing to carry something with you for Yezelalem Minch (for sponsorship or ministry purposes only!), please let us know. Reply to this email or call us at: (828) 277-3812.

Please Help and Please Pray

2011-08-18T22:17:00.000-07:00

Today, I spent the entire day at the Dadaab refugee camp on the Somali border. Now considered to be the largest refugee camp in the world, 25,000 people have already perished here, most of them being children. Perhaps one of the most tragic of these realities is that most Americans remain unaware of this ongoing crisis and are empowered even less to respond to its staggering magnitude.

Since our World Help team was traveling with the Deputy Speaker of Parliament and the Prime Minister's personal assistant, we had a caravan of seven vehicles including United Nations workers and armed security accompanying us to Dadaab.

Seeing Dadaab for the first time did not compare to any photo or television report I have seen up to this point. The camp is massive and actually consists of three separate sub-camps spread out over an area spanning more than 20 square kilometers. Originally built to hold 90,000 refugees, Dadaab is now flooded with almost half a million desperate residents. The multitude continues to increase with an influx of more than 1,500 refugees arriving every day.

Conditions in the camp are abysmal. There is not enough water to meet even the most basic of needs. Physical hygiene is nonexistent. Makeshift latrines are few and far between, and the spread of disease is imminent.

We visited the registration area where hundreds of new arrivals were being processed. There were very few men, mostly women and children. Every family I saw carried at least one malnourished child. Nearly all of them had walked more than two weeks to get here, braving the unrelenting heat, wind, and sandstorms. I can't imagine spending 14 days walking in these unbearable elements.

Each family was given a bag of rice, some cooking utensils, sleeping mats, and a blanket. Several families would load their only possessions on the back of a donkey cart and walk for several more hours, just to get to their tents. This tent would become a makeshift home for the evening and probably for many more nights to come—a meager and lonely shelter without much protection from the elements.

One of our first encounters of the day was with a mother who had just lost her six-month-old baby to measles. We could see that she had been weeping and I can’t begin to imagine the heartache she must be experiencing.

After this sobering meeting, we were given a brief tour of the Dadaab hospital where 190 children were dying from malnutrition, measles, and other preventable diseases. There were as many as 50 children in one room along with their mothers and nursing babies. When I spoke to a doctor, he confirmed that in the last 90 days, more than 30,000 children have died.

I walked to the back of one of the hospital wards where I saw a little boy about the same age as one fo my grandchildren. He was suffering from the final stages of malnutrition and was only moments away from taking his last breath. Out of respect for his family, we did not take any photographs, but I will never forget that sight. There was nothing more the doctors could do; he was too far gone. What I saw and heard in those brief minutes has quickly become one of the saddest moments of my life.

We continued on, passing a makeshift cemetery with 55 recent shallow graves of children who had died here in Dadaab. Grieving mothers had placed tree branches over the graves to keep the hyenas from scavenging their remains.

As our caravan was driving down one of the dusty roads, a large crowd of over 100 refugees stopped our vehicle and begged me to get out and follow them. At first, I was afraid because the crowd was too big, and I was somewhat concerned for our safety. Then my eyes met with a mother who was crying and begging desperately.

Dismissing my fears, I stepped out of the vehicle and began to piece together her story with the help of a translator. Her name was Ablah, and as we walked toward her hut, I found out that she had just arrived that very day with her six children. Speaking in a raspy whisper, because of all the dust she had breathed along her journey, this woman told me it would take several days for her to be processed. She had no food and her voice shook as she whispered, "My two youngest children may not make it through the night." Doing what little I could do to console her, I promised to go to the authorities on her behalf so that she received food and water before nightfall.

From this experience, I can honestly say that Dadaab refugee camp is indeed the most desperate place on earth. This crisis is without a doubt a humanitarian catastrophe. More than 3.2 million Somalis (2 million of them being children) are going to die in the next few weeks if they do not receive proper nutrition, clean water, and medical attention.

However, there is some good news. World Help has received a guarantee from the Kenyan government to expedite 20 secured containers of food (nearly 5 million meals) and $12.5 million dollars of medicine through customs and into the hands of Somali refugees.

The cost for shipping these containers is approximately $6,000 each, for a total of $120,000 in all. Your generosity towards reaching this goal has been tremendous so far and I am truly grateful. Still, the Somali people need us to continue to reach out, more than we ever have before. Please consider going above and beyond by underwriting the cost of one of these containers as a family, church, or business.

We’ve tried to make giving as easy as possible. Click here to give online or call toll free 800-541-6691 to place a gift on your credit card. You can also donate $10 by texting WORLDHELP to 85944. Finally, to fundraise along with us, go to http://crisis.worldhelp.net.

I've never seen a crisis anywhere in the world where so little will do so much. Every container of food and medicine you help us send will literally save hundreds of lives. I have often said that every day I try to live my life in such a way that I accomplish at least one thing that will outlive me and last for eternity. Today in Dadaab, I realized that together we can do just that.

Please join me by responding today.

Help for today . . . hope for tomorrow,

Vernon Brewer
President, World Help

To view videos and photos from the field, visit our Horn of Africa campaign page.

Future Hope Campaign

2011-07-13T14:00:00.000-07:00

There is a new ongoing fundraiser for Yezelalem Minch!

Future Hope Campaign is a volunteer coalition wishing to raise awareness and support for Yezelalem Minch Children and Community Development (YMCCD) in Ethiopia. Established in 2001, Yezelalem Minch (meaning “everlasting spring” in Amharic) is an Ethiopian, non-government organization bringing help to the most destitute orphaned and vulnerable children in Addis Ababa and surrounding communities, many of whom have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS.

With skyrocketing rent costs in Addis, our first of ongoing fundraising efforts, “Land for Opportunity,” is a $160,000 challenge directed towards the purchase and development of property in Addis for the program’s operations as well as a new vocational training center. Our ambitious goal date is set at August 1, 2011. Let’s see how far we can go!

Total raised so far is about 50,000.00 See futurehopecampaign.org for more information and for dates of upcoming events!

Nesibu and Birtukan and their children during our trip to Ethiopia

Did You Know........

2011-05-26T18:46:00.000-07:00

Did you know that more than a billionpeople in the world live and die in desperate poverty? They attempt to survive on less than a dollar per day. Close to two billion others live on less than two dollars per day. That's nearly HALF the world struggling today to find food, water, shelter with the same amount of money we can spend on french fries for lunch. Today more than 26,000 children will breathe their last breath due to starvation or a preventable disease. What are we going to do?
taken from the book RADICAL by David Platt

About Us

2011-03-17T09:16:00.006-07:00

In January 2010, we traveled to Ethiopia to bring our beautiful daughter, Kidist home. While in Ethiopia, we were blessed to stay at the home of Nesibu and Birtukan; the founders of Yezelalem Minch. Birtukan, a world vison sponsored child herself, was the visionary for this ministry. It began with her taking in orphan children on the streets before she was even married! Yezelalem Minch is Amharic for 'never ending spring', taken from the verse found in Isaiah 58:10-11; If you spend yourselves on behalf of the hungry and satisfy the needs of the oppressed...The Lord will guide you always; you will be like a well-watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail. After arriving home our hearts continued to be burdened for the children of Ethiopia. We wanted to somehow help the children who are helpless. From Shine Windowcare http://www.shineinfo.com the idea for Shine in Africa began! We are excited to be able to help these children financially through Shine Inc. and to be an advocate for these children by sharing with our current Shine clients and others! Shine in Africa exists to 1. educate on the great need of the orphans in our world today 2. connect you to organizations and ways to help 3. provide financial assistance to organizations caring for orphans. Follow our blog to keep up to date on the ways we will be doing each of these things!

Please view the following video to learn more about Yezelalem Minch!

Contact Us

2011-03-17T09:16:00.005-07:00

We would love to answer any questions you may have or provide you with the information you desire! We also have brochures and an in depth video regarding the YM ministry available. Please email us at chris@shineinfo.com

How you can help

2011-03-17T09:16:00.003-07:00

A great way to begin is by educating yourself about the plight of the orphan. (check out the books and resources located on the sidebar) Did you know there are 147 million orphans in the world today? Were you aware that 29,000 children die each day due to malnutrition and preventable disease? How can you help? First, watch the video below and then Do Something! Sponsor a child, give a financial gift, be an orphan advocate, adopt a child or two or three, Pray for the orphan children in the world, go on a orphan focused mission trip, start an orphan ministry.....the ways to help are endless!
At Shine we are excited about supporting an existing ministry called Yezelalem Minch. YM is a non-profit, non governmental, Ethiopian national organization.(you can learn more about this ministry under the above tab 'about us' ) The focus of Yezelalem Minch is children, especially those who have been orphaned due to HIV/AIDS. They provide sponsorship for children which gives a child food, clothing, medical care and education, that they may otherwise not receive and they do much much more!
Give HOPE to someone today; click on the sponsor a child button on the side bar of this blog and make a difference in the life of a precious child.