The Zambezi River Authority (ZRA) staffed jointly by officials from Zambia and Zimbabwe, says one of the two major dams on the river between the two countries will open its flood gates in early 2011, meaning that communities may have to be relocated. The ZRA manages Kariba Dam situated between northwestern Zimbabwe and southeastern Zambia. The opening of the gates can cause flooding and the evacuation of communities.

An official with Zimbabwe’s Meteorological Services told IRIN that parts of Zambia and Zimbabwe could see flooding as early as next week. “There are real fears that some areas will experience flooding and we have received some reports that some areas are experiencing too much rain,” he said. Parts of Southern Africa experienced heavy floods in the second week of December, displacing at least 1,200 families, according to state media.

Although this does not directly effect Father’s Heart and Camp LIFE children in Lusaka, many children have family in regions around the Zambezi. There is also another possibility that an influx of displaced families head to Lusaka looking for work during the flood season.

Rainy season is also a time where malaria and cholera are a huge problem in the compounds, as rain floods wells, sewage systems, and takes it all into the streets.

The good news is that God is above it all and that there is not one child that escapes his eye. So be in prayer, but know that God is carefully watching over his precious children in Zambia!

Are you a current or former teacher? Want to head to Zambia for Spring Break? We have just the trip for you.

This March 10-20, 2011, we are offering a teacher training trip for American teachers. American teachers will get to work with our Zambian teachers on teaching methods, curriculum, planning and effective testing. There will be large group and small group teacher training as well as on site co-teaching, observing, and student testing at our Lifeway Christian Academies.

The trip will include a Sunday worship service at the Tree of Life Children’s Village, shopping at the Arcades cultural market, as well as a bike tour of London on the way over.

The trip is limited to 10 participants and will cost $3600. To lock in your spot and price you must sign up by January 15th.

If you are interested in the trip please contact Taylor Smith

To watch the impact of the last teacher trip, click here.

Trying to feed many mouths can be an overwhelming challenge – especially for caretakers with little means to earn an income. Through small business loans and training, families can significantly increase their income while learning valuable life skills in the process.

Damalesi (Margaret’s mother) was one of the individuals who participated in the microloan program in Kamanga compound. After receiving a 500,000 Zambian Kwacha loan (approximately $100), she launched a successful knitting business and was able to pay off her initial loan in a matter of months. After that she received a 1,000,000 Kwacha loan which allowed her to further expand her business and improve the housing situation for her and the eight children in her care. Damalesi was overwhelmed when she received her second loan. “May God bless you abundantly and thank you for your generosity and Christ-like services.”

A few months ago she successfully paid off this next loan and is looking forward to a third loan which will further improve her family’s situation. Not only does the microloan program generate extra income for caretakers like Damalesi – it also changes the way they view themselves and their circumstances. This changed mindset is just as important in revolutionizing a family’s life as the extra income.

But the Lord was looking after his child, and in that same year at camp, Lahema accepted Jesus Christ as her Lord and Savior. She truly had a new light in her eyes!  In 2004, she appeared at Camp LIFE still very fragile, but her soul was obviously alive and her heart was renewed.  In 2005, Lahema was a completely different child.  Her face was bright, her skin was clear, and she had gained so much healthy weight!  She had begun receiving free ARVs (antiretroviral drugs) as part of President Bush’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief.  She went around evangelizing, praying for sick people, and spreading the Good News of Jesus Christ to her community.

The following year, Lahema was counting down the days until Camp LIFE 2006.  However days before camp started, she suddenly fell ill with pneumonia and needed to go to the clinic.  Her grandmother had gone to the farm to get food, but she had given money to a neighbor to take Lahema to the clinic in case she needed treatment.  Instead of taking Lahema to the clinic, the neighbor thought to herself, “Why spend good money on a girl who is going to die from AIDS anyway?”  And so she pocketed the money.  Hours later, too weak to stand any longer, Lahema laid face down in the dirt crying and praying for help. With neighbors standing idly by all around and staring at her, Lahema left this world.  The Lord looked down on that sweet girl and decided if nobody would help her, he would bring her home. Lahema dwells in the House of the Lord. And there she will stay for eternity.

The Lord in his intricate mercy moved in the fall of 2006. A fund was set up to honor Lahema’s Legacy, and money was raised to build “Lahema’s House” – the very first home for AIDS orphans at Family Legacy’s Tree of Life Children’s Village.  The construction and opening of Lahema’s House caused a ripple effect and the opening of other homes quickly followed.  Today, over 100 children call the Tree of Life their home and live in love, safety, and peace…

Though her time on this earth is finished, Lahema’s LEGACY remains.

“Never again will they hunger; never again will they thirst.  The sun will not beat down on them, nor any scorching heat.  For the Lamb at the center of the throne will be their Shepherd; He has led them to springs of living water.  And God has wiped away every tear from their eyes.” - Revelation 7:16-17

Gloria suffers from what Zambians generally consider a double disgrace – she is an orphan with no father or mother and she is HIV positive.  Along with losing both her parents and four siblings due to AIDS, Gloria was raped as a young girl.  Tragically, as the blame and guilt for this type of crime too often reside on the victim, Gloria’s drunkard uncle heaped shame and abuse upon her because she was an “embarrassment to their family.”

With no comfort and no love in the midst of her deep loss and pain, Gloria became extremely depressed and saw no hope for her life.  Gloria even confessed “My disgrace is before me all day long…”

But the Lord heard Gloria’s cry. At 21 years old and extremely near death, Gloria attended Camp LIFE.  Upon seeing how very ill she was, Family Legacy immediately brought her to live in a Community Resource Center (CRC) as a safe rescue house.  Now she has 3 meals a day, a quality education, ongoing discipleship, godly house parents, and access to free antiretrovirals (ARVs) to improve her health despite her HIV.

One short year later, the girl who was too weak to walk around Camp is now the life of her CRC; she even walks to school each day.  The emaciated girl with haunting eyes who carried a much-too-heavy burden of shame has been replaced by a healthy and robust young woman whose eyes shine with the light of Christ.

Her transformation from Camp LIFE 2009 to December of 2009 is evident. But after one year Gloria is almost unrecognizable. She now has a life and a body that fits her name. Although she was always a glorious creation in the eyes of the Lord, her vivid transformation now does nothing but give GLORY to God the Father.

“Those who look to the Lord are radiant; their faces are never covered with shame. This poor man called, and the LORD heard him; he saved him out of all his troubles.” – Psalm 34

Be part of shaping and saving AIDS orphans through our CRC program. Donate here.

We praise the Lord that Boyana was never far from the heart of God the Father. By God’s grace, he is now sponsored in Family Legacy’s Father’s Heart Child Sponsorship and Development Program! For Boyana, and any other child living with AIDS, regular medical treatments and a solid diet are essential to keeping him alive.

His sponsorship will do just that. The Father’s Heart Program allows him to receive daily discipleship and regular home visits, attend one of our 7 Lifeway Christian Academies located throughout the city of Lusaka, receive free monthly medical treatment for his HIV status, and eligibility for his grandmother to attend a course and receive a micro-economic loan.

But the Lord has far more in store for Boyana than simply living.  He has specific plans for Boyana, plans to prosper him, plans that will shape Boyana’s family, his community and his country. He is going to raise Boyana, an AIDS orphan, the lowest of the low, to a place of significance and honor.

“He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor. For the foundations of the earth are the LORD’s; upon them he has set the world.” – 1 Samuel 2:8

Join us in changing the life of an orphan through the Father’s Heart Program. Sponsor a child here.

Equip a child to change their world by donating to a Lifeway Christian Academy here.

Camp LIFE alumni, do you ever find yourself humming your favorite Zambian praise song, or wanting to dance around in church, or remembering your final minutes at Camp as Zambians sung a joyous praise over you?  Well for the first time in Family Legacy history that feeling can become a reality right here in the States.

Family Legacy is very pleased to announce that we are releasing the very first Zambian praise and worship CD in early December full of all of your favorite Zambian songs. These songs have been made acappella by our very own Zambian staff. The song list will include songs that are sung at Camp, at church, and will even have a few selections done by our Tree of Life children!

We will be selling these CD’s for $15 dollars.  The great news is that your $15 dollars will not only get you a CD, but all of proceeds from the sales will go directly towards our new Lifeway Christian Academies!  We feel that the education of our children in the Father’s Heart Program is vital to making those same kids into the movers and shakers of Zambia.

So use your CD as a stocking stuffer, as a way to build interest in your upcoming Camp LIFE trip, or simply to bring your heart back to the orphans you love in Zambia. But no matter the reason, remember that by purchasing this amazing music, YOU can help properly educate impoverished Zambian children!  So click here and order your CD today!

Orphans who live with grandparents, aunts, and uncles become a tremendous burden to these families as they struggle to meet their own needs.  As a result, orphans must often make sacrifices – like their own education – in order to help provide for the families’ needs.

One example is Captain, a 15-year-old double orphan from IBEX.  Having lost both parents, he now lives with his grandmother together with his siblings and some cousins.  As a single elderly woman, Captain’s grandmother can barely afford to put food on the table for her eight grandchildren – much less pay for their school fees. As a result, Captain was out of school for over a year helping care for his family.

As one of the eldest grandchildren, Captain would go out with his grandmother to perform various jobs around the community in order to help his family survive.  As a primary breadwinner of the family, Captain figured his school days were behind him – and that his present situation was his future.

But the Father saw him and provided through the Father’s Heart Sponsorship program. Because of his sponsorship Captain now attends one of our new Lifeway Christian Academies. His grandmother is so relieved and proud! Captain is overjoyed to be back in school, and he told his DL that he is now ready to pursue his dreams because he knows he is receiving a quality education. To God be the glory!

Are you interested in sponsoring a child like Captain in the Father’s Heart Program and changing a life forever? Click Here

Want to help build a Lifeway Christian Academy and impact thousands of children like Captain for years to come? Click Here

As many of you are well aware, nshima, a stiff maize porridge, is a staple food of Zambia. It is eaten all across the nation and many Zambians do not even consider food they consume a full meal unless there is nshima involved. The children that come to Camp LIFE as well as the children and families our Father’s Heart program touch throughout the compounds of Lusaka, all eat nshima regularly.

Yet Zambians, and more specifically children, often do not receive the necessary vitamins and minerals in their daily food intake. Thus they are malnourished and prone to infection.  However, if Zambians can be persuaded to eat an orange-colored variety made of biofortified maize, their health prospects could be greatly enhanced. Check out this story on a new way the Zambian government and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation are trying to counter malnourishment. Here are the highlights:

More than half of Zambia’s under-five children are affected by vitamin A deficiency, which can increase the risk of illness, retard growth and cause blindness, according to the government’s National Food and Nutrition Commission.

In the past few years, developing countries have launched several programmes to fortify staples with vitamin A and iron. Biofortification is the process of breeding higher levels of essential micronutrients such as vitamin A, iron, and zinc in food crops.

Zambia has also made its own efforts to biofortify maize with vitamin A – led by the government’s Zambia Agricultural Research Institute (ZARI), which is collaborating with HarvestPlus.

After three years of work – identifying maize varieties with high beta-carotene content and then cross-breeding them to increase the content naturally – the scientists appear to have been successful.

Beta-carotene which is converted in the body as vitamin A is naturally found in maize, explained Simpungwe. The researchers led by ZARI have managed to develop a maize variety with a beta-carotene content of nine milligrams per gram, which should improve levels of vitamin A in consumers quite substantially, he said.

“We are aiming to get to a maize variety which will provide 10-15 milligrams of beta-carotene per gram, which is the optimum level,” said Simpungwe. The researchers arrived at the figure after taking into account the amount of maize an average Zambian consumed in a year, which is 160kg.

There is however, a growing fear that the new maize may not be accepted. Simpungwe disagrees. Simpungwe said he had run his own trials at home and found the maize to be a hit with his children and friends. “Unlike white maize which has a flat taste, the orange maize has a sweetish taste which the children loved.”

Simpungwe said the seeds will be made freely available initially, and subsidized thereafter.

What an exciting development for all of the Lord’s children in Zambia!

Want to read the full article? Click Here:

Interested in sponsoring a child and helping insure physical needs of that child are met? Click Here

Already a Sponsor? Click here to travel to Zambia and make a food drop to your sponsored child

Lindsey received a degree in Finance from Mary Hardin-Baylor with an emphasis on international relations and micro finance. Most recently, she worked for Hope for the Hungry in Belton, TX, where she helped develop microloan programs in Haiti.  Lindsey’s work will center on two critical areas within the Father’s Heart department: a trades program for older sponsored children and a microloan program for children’s guardians.

Through the trades program, older children will receive vocational training in mechanics, carpentry, masonry, or other areas which will give them valuable skills needed to earn a living.  The microloan program will provide small loans to guardians to enable them to start their own businesses.  Both of these initiatives will greatly enhance the economic status of our sponsored children’s families by increasing their capacity to generate income.

By developing these programs, we are not only affirming our commitment to minister to families living in poverty – we are also actively seeking ways to lift them out of it.  Through the trades and microloan programs, children and caretakers gain the necessary skills to step out of their hardship and into lives they are proud to call their own.  This newness of life creates a mindset change that not only revolutionizes their lives in the present but also sets into motion a ripple that affects families, communities, and generations to come.

Lindsey’s arrival at Family Legacy will boost the excellent work that is already being done by our staff in Zambia and will extend the impact of what the Lord is doing there.  To learn about other new faces who have joined Family Legacy in recent months, be sure to check out our staff pages.  Be on the lookout for more specific information about the trades and microloan programs in the weeks to come.