Orchard: Africa

In most rural villages, people live in self-made mud huts with grass roofs or tin shacks made out of corrugated iron. Typically there is no running water inside a home and an entire village will rely on a central point in the village to collect water. These central points could be anything from piped water with a faucet to a deep or shallow well.

In traditional villages, each person will have a small parcel of land to use for their home and sometimes farming. Due to the shortage of fertile land and water there is not enough food and irrigation for crops or livestock so often in times of drought there is a severe water and food crisis. In non-traditional settlements where there is no tribal land or leadership, shacks are built close to each other and ‘shanty-towns’ are formed.

Rural African villages are severely affected by the AIDS pandemic. In villages where we work, clinic staff reports HIV prevalence rates above 60%. Rural villages have the highest needs, but because of their remote locations, they have the least services. Orchard: Africa has responded by establishing prevention and care projects at a rural community based level. We have learned that most rural church leaders recognize the need to respond and they are willing to make a contribution.

We have developed a twelve-module training course that is implemented through our Orchard: Network that teaches and equips rural African pastors and leaders to tackle the immediate needs of their own village. These modules work through the issues of AIDS, Orphans, Hunger and Water. We teach leaders how to implement projects to address these needs, providing curriculum, materials and funding. We partner with these leaders to set up their own organization and teach them basic accounting and reporting skills. The result: the Church becomes the source of hope to an entire village. The villages we fund

More than half the world lives on less than two dollars a day. In large parts of rural Africa people don't have access to daily food or clean water to drink. Some people are forced to dig for roots or drink from shallow pits used by animals just to survive. Due to AIDS related deaths, it is estimated that there are more than twenty million orphans living in Africa under these circumstances. This is absolute poverty.

To address these immediate issues we identify the water need, and where necessary, build wells or add filtration systems to a current water source. We provide children a lunchtime meal a minimum of five times a week. This meal will consist of one protein, one carbohydrate, and added nutrients to keep children growing and healthy.

Providing food and water to children also helps reduce illiteracy, sex trafficking and abuse. Children who do not have to beg or rummage for food, sell their bodies, or get sick from dirty water will more likely go to school which increases graduation rates. Provide food or water to a child

Children in rural Africa are experiencing death all around them as their own parents or other adults from their community die of AIDS. Many children are displaying signs of emotional trauma that largely remains untreated. It is vital to ensure that emotional trauma is dealt with and that hope is restored in the lives of these children again.

To help children work through their emotions and mourning we take them through a 10-day Orphan Intervention Program. The program uses art, stories, games, moments to cry and be loved, and moments to laugh. During this time we identify the childs' extended family and ensure that they have a home where they can receive care and provision.
Provide Orphan Intervention care to a child

25 million people in Africa are infected with HIV and 20 million children have lost at least one parent to AIDS. The AIDS virus is one of the leading challenges faced by Africa today. Poverty helps the virus because of pre-existing issues like poor health and poor diet. Women are particularly vulnerable because of unequal gender rights or because they are driven to sell sex for mere survival. Hospitals are overcrowded and cannot cope with the many sick and dying. In many cases grandmothers with no source of income are left to care for her orphaned grandchildren. Orchard: Africa responds by training and equipping Home Based Care Givers from each village, helping them care for the sick. Although caring for the sick is a vital and necessary response, it is not enough. We are passionate about breaking the cycle of infection. We equip and support leaders to provide AIDS prevention programs to their community. HIV infection is not inevitable – it can be prevented and we are determined to see the next generation make different choices and stay alive. Equip a village pastor to provide AIDS prevention education

The first five years of a child's life are fundamentally important. They are the foundation that shapes learning achievement at school. Early experiences provide the base for the brain's organizational development and functioning throughout life, having a direct impact on how children develop skills as well as social and emotional abilities. Children learn more quickly during these early years than at any other time in life. They need love and nurturing to develop a sense of trust and security that turns into confidence as they grow.

Orchard: Africa helps to establish pre-schools in villages to encourage a love for learning from a very young age. Pre-school education substantially enhances a child’s ability to problem solve which provides a solid foundation for future learning. We also train teachers, provide curriculum and setup a classroom that the community is proud of.

Schools in rural African villages are typically overcrowded, underfunded and understaffed. Some schools consist of two or three rooms for hundreds of children of all ages. Adding to the problem of education is the 'missing generation' syndrome. With parents gone, the elderly generation, typically illiterate, do no value learning thus do not encourage school attendance. For those who do send their grandchildren to school, their own illiteracy prevents them from being a source of support when it comes to homework and other school activities.

Through the model projects of Orchard: Africa, the village church becomes an afterschool learning center. Here children receive assistance with homework, have a place to study, and a place to read interesting books. An environment is created that is conducive to discovering the love of learning. Most boys in Africa love soccer and the girls love netball. The children from the village are encouraged to participate in these activities. Various life skills are taught in fun and interactive ways. Music, educational games, guest speakers, fun and laughter is encouraged. No subject is outlawed: sexuality, religion, politics, sports or anything else is openly and freely discussed. The village church transforms from only being a Sunday worship center to the center of children’s lives on a daily basis. It becomes the Church in action that comes alongside the extended family and the community, and helps them educate and support their grandchildren.

Many people living in rural African villages have not been registered as citizens of the country in which they were born and have lived in all their lives. It is important that people are counted into the population census. It is also vital that all babies born in the village be registered. Through the projects of Orchard: Africa the village church is empowered to attend to these social responsibilities and needs through child registration, obtaining identity documents, and registering for child and elderly grants.

Other basic necessities such as water and electricity are sometimes available through government channels, yet many villages do no have access to these amenities. Orchard: Africa trains church leaders how to assist the villagers to approach and rally government support for their communities.

Orchard: Africa trains pastors to collaborate with various sectors of the community such as government agencies and tribal leaders to provide basic social services to the poor.