Update from Okahandja

Calvyn Isaacs, OVC Coordinator writes for our newsletter...

The introduction of a Ministry CarePoint at the Ark has changed the way people in the Okahandja viewed the ministry. Prior to the program, we experienced some ignorance towards the work and ministry in the community. Now people phone and ask about the program. We had a friend who spend one week of her annual leave at the Ministry Centre to assist us. The business community approaches us wanting to know how they can become involved in the program. Teachers stop us on the streets asking for assistance with some of the challenges they face at school with children. Parents and caregivers thank us for investing in the lives of their children.



Apart from providing in the most basic needs of the children, we create a loving and caring environment for the children to work and play in. Initially they joined the program as strangers and now we have become a family, a place where they can meet after school, have lunch, do school work, play, have fun, hearing God’s word and returning home to share their lives with their family. Looking at how their faces lit up when they arrive after school means a lot to us. Their growth and happiness warms our hearts, knowing that we are making a difference in their lives. We feel blessed and honored to have the privileged to share our lives with these precious ones.

From the onset of the program, we experienced the hand of the Lord on everything. We registered a boy who had to repeat Grade 1. The principal of the school informed us that he is very weak academically and were not able to master the most basic skills and knowledge one would expect from a Pre-school child. The principal considered placing him in the Special Class. We took on the challenge and asked the principal to postpone the decision for one trimester. The trimester was not even over, when the principal informed us how much this timid boy has changed. He used to be shy and withdrawn; he has grown into a confident child. We praise God for the change in this child’s life through our program.

One of the boys on arrival did not look well physically. He was very skinny with a chronic cough and very little energy. His health was a great concern to us, we prayed for him constantly. We saw a tremendous change after a few weeks. We teach the children to pray and trust God to provide and care for us. His faith has grown tremendously. He is one of the forerunners when it comes to prayer time and making very good progress at school, especially in Mathematics.

We had very good reports from the Principals at the schools, mentioning that even the children’s general behavior improved. We are very thankful to God for His provision; we receive a substantial amount of food donations weekly. We stand in awe of what God has done through the program and in the lives of the children.