New partnership with ACDP grows program |
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Thandeka (Thandy) KaMavundla-Nzama, who heads up the Reach4Life program carried out by Phakama, reports: “We are beyond grateful for the new door the Lord has opened for 2021. We will be training 136 Christian students as Peer Educators, from eleven university and college campuses in the KwaZulu-Natal province. This comes through a new partnership with ACDP (African Christian Democratic Party), a respected Christian political party in South Africa. Their youth league had started prayer groups on eleven campuses, but they had no material to disciple those that came to the Lord. After many talks with their leadership, a partnership was formed. This is huge for us as we will be able to reach thousands of young people with the Gospel of Christ in years to come. These trainings will be on campuses such as Durban University of Technology and Mangosuthu University, UKZN which are the biggest universities in SA.” Pictured here is the ACDP campus committee (in blue) assisting the Vryheid Peer Educators in giving out food to kids from the R4L program who are in need.
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Gender-based violence materials are ready |
The team in Africa voiced a need for materials dealing with gender-based violence (GBV), which is a huge problem there. Here are some staggering facts from South Africa: Every three minutes a child is raped, most being girls between three and 12 years of age, and by men known to them; every three hours a woman is murdered in the country; and in 2018, the killing of women and girls in South Africa was five times higher than the global average. COVID has escalated these problems.
We addressed some of these issues during our 2018 mission trip visit, so working with Thandy, we tweaked what we had and added additional information along with supporting Bible verses. The completed document covers topics such as GBV facts, rape, domestic abuse, incest, child abuse, child marriage, preparing for relationships, understanding marriage, and how families and the church can help. It also includes group discussion questions for real-life issues such as the dowry requirement, virginity testing, “manhood” initiations for boys, etc. The material is sensitive and will be used in appropriate settings. It will be introduced to the R4L coordinators first, along with church partners. It will likely also find its way into the community (schools, churches, clinics, etc.), who often make copies of useful materials. Please pray that this document will help people see (as God does) that regardless of gender, all people have equal value and are equally worthy of love and respect.
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Well-used Bible helps student! |
Nontobeko from the Ulundi area, Nsikayendlu High School, says, “I have had my R4L book since grade 8 when I arrived in High school. This year I was doing my final year in High school as Grade 12 student, using the same R4L Bible. This Bible has carried me through all seasons of my life. There was a year when I wanted to drop out of school because of a bad situation at home but this Bible encouraged me with lessons such as, Emotional pain and Tough times. Jesus was my strength; the word was my comfort. I pushed through till now. I will cherish this book forever. The program made me, and I will never forget my peer educators and my fellow R4L club members, we were like a family. I am off to varsity next year through a learnership that my Peer educator helped me to apply for. I will lift the flag of purity and Salvation every chance I get. Thank you for coming to my village and changing my life.”
Every year, about $15,000 of our budget goes toward R4L Bibles. We are grateful to Biblica for donating additional Bibles on top of what we are able to contribute. If you would like to donate to help with this and other R4L expenses, please go to our donate page to make a contribution. Thanks for your support!
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Clothing drive ends Dec 31 and thanks for supporting in 2020! |
Please check one more time for any used clothes, shoes, purses, belts, bedding (no pillows), backpacks, drapes, and fabric-y type stuff that you want to donate. Donations can be dropped on the porch at 30020 2nd Ct. S., Federal Way. Donation receipts can be taken from a bag on the porch. We will start next year's drive in the spring. Thanks for your help with this fundraiser!
Thank you to all of our supporters for “hanging in there” with us during this very unusual year! Although we had to skip the garage sale, the online auction and clothing drive have brought in almost as much as last year. Extra monetary donations have actually pushed us a bit higher than where we were last year at this time. We know that this is God’s ministry so we always budget around whatever he provides, but we were still amazed at the generous support that came in this year. Thank you!
Thandy adds, "Please pray for our 2021 plans. COVID is still a huge challenge as we are experiencing a second wave. Regulations are tight, so we will have more trainings with smaller numbers throughout the first term of the year. We praise God as 99% of all our teams in all the 4 countries will be continuing with the work. Keeping experienced ministry workers means they can continue teaching in their areas while we train new areas and new peer educators. To those that supported the program in 2020, Siyabonga (thank you)! Be blessed with your families during this holiday season!"
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Year-end church service at Randfontein rehab |
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The R4L team works with multiple drug rehab facilities, including several in the Johannesburg area. Pictured above is a year-end church service carried out by the Peer Educators at the Randfontein Rehabilitation facility, where there have been amazing transformations of lives through God’s word.
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Lesotho trains for R4L in six new villages |
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The Lesotho team just conducted a Peer Educator training for 2021, where there is an opportunity to launch R4L in 6 villages in Lesotho. The 51 newly trained young people are now better equipped to lead small groups in schools, community and church youth groups. Though the R4L program prioritizes training the youth, there is often a mixture of ages who attend the trainings. Older people who attend are often in church leadership or are a part of the community leadership involved with social issues. Country coordinator Tracy Hord, says, “There is a great need for the program in this country, the youth are responding well, and the local pastors are also responding well to the program. My team and I are looking forward to running with the program in 2021. We appreciate all the support received in 2020.” Pictured above is a break-out discussion group.
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R4L movie night for kids of farm workers |
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A farm owner at Madundube KwaGinxi Village requested the R4L program for the children of the workers who live on the farm. That began in May during the lockdown and since then, all the kids have committed their lives to Christ! A movie night was done for them this month, complete with popcorn and hot dogs! This was a special treat since none of them had ever been to the movies. We appreciate the Peer Educators who go a long distance to carry out the program in this place. |
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The current Rand exchange rate is now at 14.6 Rand per dollar. |
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Please partner with us in the Amazon Smile program! Go to smile.amazon.com. Sign in with your Amazon.com credentials. On your first visit, you're prompted to select a charitable organization from a list. Please select Prevention Time! (To change your selection, from your desktop, go to Your Account and select the option to Change your Charity. Or, from your mobile browser, select Change your Charity from the options at the bottom of the page.) We will receive 0.5% of purchases made at Amazon. Thanks for your help!
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Prevention Time thanks you for your interest in our organization. We are a 501(c)3 organization and all donations are tax-deductible. Prevention Time has no paid staff, so our administrative costs are minimal. To help support the ministry in sub-Saharan Africa, please click on the donate button below. |
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Sincerely,
The Prevention Time Board
Lorna Packard
Mindy Sauerlender
Mary Schumacher
Kim Ives
John Packard
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Pastor Ed Kelley IV
Margaret Kiyohara
Janis Schlepp
Sara Dickinson
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