OUR COMMUNITY
Situated in one of the poorest countries in sub-Saharan Africa, this community of approximately 4,500 people faces a number of spiritual, economic, and humanitarian challenges. Chibolya is known for the open sale of drugs, as well as for alcoholism, robberies, extreme poverty, and gender-based violence. The village has a very high unemployment rate which adds to the previous issues. It is located approximately 35 kilometers from the capital, Lusaka. Chibolya sits in Chongwe Town, the district office for Chongwe district, in an area of mostly rural farmsteads. A large portion of Zambia is made up of subsistence farmers and agriculture is a major part of the Zambian economy, although not the largest part of its GDP.
In Zambia over 60 percent of people live below the poverty line and 42 percent are classified as extremely poor. Most live on less than $1.90 per day, including many in Chibolya. Food insecurity is high because many people do not have access to a regular food supply. Due to high food prices families spend approx. 64 percent of their income on basic food needs.
OUR WORK
We seek to bring an integrated approach to working alongside the people in this community, unlocking the potential in the people we meet.
AREAS OF FOCUS
Discipleship
We work with men and women who, because of the ravages of poverty, are desperate to survive. Discipleship is one way for us to share the love of Jesus and walk with them through some very dark times.
Business training and empowerment
One way we serve those in poverty is by hosting empowerment groups for both men and women to help start or grow businesses within the community. We begin by helping them understand their God given purpose and unique personalities along with sharing the gospel, and then move to business training and small micro-loans to boost their business potential.
Agricultural ministry
As with many of our ministries, we take a holistic approach to our agricultural ministry. We not only train subsistence farmers and gardeners in Chibolya and Chongwe to be food secure, but it also includes a discipleship aspect to meet the spiritual needs of those work with us.
Education
We work in conjunction with Mapalo Trust School, a local community primary school focused on pre-school through grade 7 that was started sacrificially by 3 teachers who saw a need among the vulnerable within Chibolya. As building and infrastructure is almost complete, we are now looking forward to seeing the teachers develop their skills to set themselves apart so that the children of Chibolya receive the best education possible. There are currently about 175 students attending Mapalo, many of which would not attend anywhere if Mapalo was not an option. We also have a scholarship fund to help students continue in their education through middle school, high school and university. Many students drop out of school merely because they can not afford to pay the exam fees to make it to the next grade level.
- Youth Ministry
The youth of Chibolya are at such a great age and time of life to be engaging with. Many of them desire to see change in their lives, the lives of their families, and the community. They realize things are broken and that gives us an opportunity to give them the answer-Jesus! We hold a weekly youth group type gathering and do some special events throughout the year. We also facilitate a Girls Empowerment Curriculum program (World Venture/Justice, Hope, Freedom Ministry) for girls that focuses on prevention of sex-trafficking and prostitution. It teaches how the girls have value and worth in God, and discusses boundaries, unhealthy and healthy relationships, sex-trafficking/prostitution, some self defense, and some really good biblical truths along with the gospel.
- Women's Ministry
Ministry to vulnerable women in Chibolya is challenging but rewarding. We work with women who are single moms, widows, former prostitutes, and other women who have dealt with all kinds of abuse. Through long term relationships, Bible Studies, the empowerment groups, and other opportunities, we hope to share with them the love of God and the hope of Jesus.
- Marriage Ministry
Ministry to marriages is vital when we think of community transformation since the family unit is such a key indicator in determining if transformation is occurring. Some of the ways we minister to marriages currently and in the past are; one on one couples meetings, weekly marriage bible studies, a marriage conference, and specific workshops geared to marriages such as biblical finance.
