MOH UPDATE ON MAIZE AND BEANS STOCKS IN THE FEEDING CENTRERS

DATE OF COMPILATION: 30 JUNE, 2010

1.0 Introduction:
Ministry of Hope values its feeding program as one of the main core programs which feeds hundreds of orphans and vulnerable children. It is the feeding program that has the power and magnet to attract poor children to the centres thereby providing opportunity for them to hear the word of God and be nurtured spiritually. It must be stated from the outset that although the communities have tried their best to work in their gardens, limited access to inputs as a result of reduced funding has negatively affected crop yield in many centres.

Therefore, realizing that feeding is of great importance to Ministry of Hope, we seek to request assistance to meet the food deficit so that the feeding programs can run as planned thereby saving many lives physically and spiritually.

2.0 Crop stock and Forecast
Herein is a summary of the maize yields from the 2009-2010 growing season from all MOH centers. The harvested maize stocks below show the commitment of communities surrounding the centres since all the preparations including harvesting, shelling and storing were done by the communities for the love of the orphans.

It is also worth noting that Mponela centre partnered with Concern World Wide to assist over 1200 poor families with inputs, and poultry. These selected families received soya beans, chickens, goats, groundnuts, cassava, sweet potato among others. Although Mponela centre will not directly benefit from the proceeds of these crops, it is the poor families around the feeding centre who keep the orphans who will enjoy the benefits and we believe that this is what Ministry of Hope is there to do, empowering poor families to take care of their children and be less dependant on handouts.

Table 1: Maize and beans update and forecast 2010-2011
Center/Item Details
Chimwang’ombe In stock (50kg Bags) Total to reach next Yr. Deficit (50kg Bags) Cost (US$)
Maize @$20/bag;
Beans @$70/bag
Maize 56 96 40 800
Beans 3 24 17 1190
Katondo
Maize 45 95 50 1000
Beans 3 18 15 1050
Selengo
Maize 85 110 25 500
Beans 4 18 14 980
Matapila
Maize 180 150 +30
Beans 3 18 18 1260
Mponela
Maize 34 44 10 200
Beans 2 12 15 700
Khwamba
Maize 110 110 0
Beans 3 18 15 1050
Overall Totals
Maize 510 605 125 2,500
Beans 18 108 94 6,580
Total cost 9,080















The table above shows that only the centers of Matapila and Khwamba will have enough to feed themselves in terms of maize and only Matapila will have a surplus of 30 bags (50kg). Overall, the centers need about 605 bags of maize (50kg) to feed the children for a year ending May 2011. Thus, there is a deficit of 125 bags in total that the centre will need to feed the children till the next harvesting season. It is clearly seen that the worst centers in terms of deficit on maize are Katondo on 50 bags followed by Chimwang’ombe on 40 bags. Selengo is third with a deficit of 25 bags of maize to reach May 2011.

Beans are the highest source of protein in the feeding program. Since currently we don’t buy fish, and Soy beans due to financial constraints, beans remains the heart of the feeding program as the kids can not eat nsima without the relish, beans. Therefore, as shown from the above table, the centers have a deficit of 94 bags to reach May 2011.

3.0 Request for Support
We would like to request your support to meet the deficit so as to keep the feeding program running and in turn reaching out to many orphans with the word of God. It must be stated that currently the cost of maize and bean are cheaper on the market during this period to around Mid August because people have just harvested. Therefore, your timely support will be highly appreciated and will go a long way in saving the lives of many orphans from hunger. May God bless you as you consider meeting the plight of orphans through your donations in cash and/or kind. To God be the glory!

Let's help these kids have a more enjoyable game of soccer....

Thanks to the help of Brendan Quinn of Thomson Reuters, we were able to collect through his local kids soccer league in Berekely Hieghts, NJ, over 75 soccer balls; 100 pair of leather soccer cleats and 2 complete sets of team uniforms to present to the kids attending the Ministry of Hope (www.ministryofhope.org) feeding centers outside the capital city of Lilongwe, Malawi.

We shipped this equipment over in early June and they are set to arrive in Lilongwe, Malawi as we step off our long plane flight on Monday, Aug 2nd.
I will have with me 4 soccer nets and will construct 4 goal cages form PVC pipe once I get there.
We also have Thomson Reuters lanyards with whistles, sideline flags and practive cones.

These kids will play soccer like world champions. Watch for picture updates on this blog.

LET THE GAMES BEGIN!!!

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