Keeping Families Together

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Six children ran through the puddles of mud as the rain came pouring down. The family’s crops were beginning to grow and the mud-thatched house struggled to stand.

The family of eight joined the Amazima Program a little over four years ago, and with The Amazima Primary School opening earlier this year, the two oldest children, Isaac (P2) and Zeburoni (P3) are now able to attend school for the first time. The last few years have not been easy for this family, especially during the COVID lockdown, but Isaac and Zeburoni’s family testify to what God has done in the midst of hardship and chaos. 

Isaac and Zeburoni’s mother raised her six children with the help of her extended relatives. Her husband struggled with addiction and was not present during most of their marriage. At Amazima, our Community Engagement team visits the families in our program monthly and in the past, only had a few short encounters with the children’s father. Prior to the pandemic, their father spent most of his time away from home. It wasn’t until the lockdown that their father couldn’t work or make money and was forced to come home. The borders of each district were closed and he was no longer able to journey across the city bridge to buy and resell food from the marketplace. The family struggled financially with their father’s lack of work, so their mother began selling bananas that she grew from their Matoke trees to people in their village. 

During these trying times, Amazima’s Community Engagement (CE) team brainstormed new ways to reach these families, with hope of bringing even more dignity to families in vulnerable situations like Isaac and Zeburoni’s. The CE team never stopped serving. They continued to visit, encourage and bring basic supplies to the families Amazima serves, all while sharing the gospel. 

With the father being home for almost two years, the family’s Scholarship Program Mentor, Agatha, was finally able to spend quality time discipling and building an even stronger relationship with him and his family. It took time, commitment, prayer and patience, but over time the children’s father grew to trust Amazima’s CE team and listened closely as they offered advice, wisdom, support and friendship. He grew in confidence knowing that he could become the man God designed him to be – the husband and father his family longed for and deserved. 

While Amazima staff mentored and ministered to this family, they also helped provide new roofing and a stronger foundation for their house. The family was grateful and wanted to be a part of building a new future for their family, so the children’s mother continued to sell bananas to neighbors and friends, putting some of the money aside for the house, and her husband began to grow and sell avocados as well. Working together strengthened them and they were able to buy two new windows, a door and a lock for the house. The children’s parents are proud of what they have been able to accomplish with the love and support of Amazima. They have been significantly impacted by the intentional relationships Amazima staff has built with them and they are excited to continue growing even deeper relationships with their children, family members and community.

The children’s father is a changed man. He is clear-minded. He is hard-working. He is present. He is the husband and father he always wanted to be. He shared,

“We are so grateful for the help Amazima has provided and for not giving up on us. Our family has a shelter where we can stay safely!” 

On the rainiest of days, the family looks at the new foundation of their home and remembers the transformation both their house and their family have been through. Songs of praise are heard throughout their village as the family rejoices in what God has done and will continue to do.

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