Following God to Namibia
Posted September 7, 2011
WINDHOEK, Namibia – On top of a dusty hill, Hope Initiatives community center stands proudly – a symbol of lives given in complete trust to the Lord.
The center — a ministry primarily for AIDS-affected children — was a vision fulfilled when God used two families in an unexpected way.
Patricia Sola-Mafukidze was a widowed mother raising two children and finishing a master’s degree in England when she began to feel God tugging her towards children’s ministry in Namibia. He was telling her to abandon her thoughts of beginning a Ph.D., pull her kids out of school, and leave for Africa.
“I knew about Namibia,” Patricia said. “My sister was living in Namibia. In fact, I had a brother who died there of HIV/AIDS. They were not good memories.”
Despite her hesitations Patricia took what little money she had and bought tickets to fly her family of three to live with her sister in Windhoek, the capital of Namibia.
The first thing Patricia saw when she visited Okahandja Park, a poor settlement on the outskirts of Windhoek, was a group of children fighting over a pot of food. “That’s the sight that stayed with me and the sight that made me need to say: ‘This is really what God is calling me to do. I must start feeding the children.’”
It is easy to see why hunger is such an issue on the dusty streets of Okahandja Park. Homes are loosely constructed from tin sheets and clustered closely over the arid hills almost as far as the eye can see. Lack of water is a huge challenge for the people, and the rock-filled sand allows very few, if any, crops to survive.
Patricia saw the need, but understood this was not something she could do alone.
In answer to Patricia’s prayers for a partner, God began to work in the heart of a man named John Mafukidze — also a widower with two children. John and Patricia had been in contact through emails, and soon after Patricia’s move to Namibia she and John were married – John leaving Zimbabwe, and Patricia leaving her studies in the U.K. Their two broken families started new lives in Windhoek as one.
John and Patricia were acting radically in their obedience to the Lord, but they still weren’t sure where God was leading them.
“I didn’t have a clear vision,” Patricia said. “All God said was, ‘Help the children and give them food, especially orphans and vulnerable children.’ I obeyed — and then John was on the side trying to understand, ‘What is the plan?’ I didn’t have a plan then.
“I believe what was more difficult for him was not understanding or being able to perceive how the family was going to live without a job and without finances,” Patricia said. “He had brought all of his savings and said, ‘Our partners have died and our children have been orphaned; I want to be able to look after the family.’
“I said, ‘If we do what God is calling us to do, I’m sure He’s going to look after us.’”
In 2003 Hope Initiatives in Southern Africa (HISA) was born alongside Patricia and John’s new family. The aim of their young project was to help orphans and vulnerable children get the care they needed.
Children in hard situations are particularly prevalent in Namibia, not only because of the HIV/AIDS problem (according to UNAIDS 180,000 people were living with HIV in 2009) but also because of the harsh environment and extreme poverty.
Of the 200,000 people in Windhoek, more than 40 percent live in informal settlements. Slums much like Okahandja Park are without plumbing, sewage facilities, electricity or convenient sources of water.
John and Patricia’s family began by working together to distribute food daily to the children in and around Okahandja Park. Their four children did the cooking, and then went with their parents to distribute the food straight into the hands of the hungry children.
“That was one of the things that brought the family together,” Patricia said. “We didn’t have blood ties, but God used this opportunity to bring us together and make us into a new family.”
John agreed: “God has brought unity to our family. When we are together, people cannot tell whose child is whose.”
Initially, the Mafukidzes were feeding 15 children. At the end of the first week the number had doubled, and by week four there were 90.
Their efforts came to the attention of international churches, who began offering financial and spiritual support. Very quickly they were also partnered with local churches and community organizations.
John and Patricia do much more than scoop beans these days. Hope Initiatives now feeds hundreds of children in multiple locations. They also have the community center, where they are able to house a number of projects.
At the center HISA feeds and educates roughly 50 orphans and vulnerable children; trains and disciples caregivers to love and provide for those children; and teaches life skills such as gardening to facilitate sustainable livelihoods. There is also a bridging school to help children who are too far behind to enter back into their grade level in schools, and there are support groups for those living with HIV/AIDS, along with awareness classes about the same topic.
Patricia flits between the staff members and volunteers offering encouragement, delegation and always a warm smile to go along with her sassy wit. As John walks out to the center’s soccer field, the children shout gleefully, demanding that he play on their team.
Cecilia Hamutenya, a HISA caregiver looking after nine children, was led to Christ through Patricia’s discipleship and the Hope Initiatives program. “I can say this organization did not just come to feed the people,” Cecilia said. “But God also sent them to come and open the mind of the people through the Word of God.”
Many of the children at the center are infected with HIV or AIDS, and all of them come from families that have been impacted by HIV and AIDS. UNAIDS reports that in 2009 70,000 children in Namibia were orphans because of AIDS.
Despite their hard situations, the smiles on the faces of the HISA children make it obvious that in this environment of love, they are able to forget their worries for a time.
“When I came here, I didn’t know what God was going to do with my life,” John said. “I was just believing God for anything He has called me to do, together with my wife, to start a new life together. I believe God has been with us and there is nothing I can say God has not done for the two of us.”
Patricia asks for prayer for the following:
• For new leadership to develop to sustain the program when John and Patricia no longer can.
• That God’s blessings and guidance would continue to be the most important thing at HISA.
• For the volunteers working together in ministry to be strengthened by an awareness of God’s calling in their lives.
Zoe Allen is a writer for the IMB’s global communication team.
5 Responses to “Following God to Namibia”
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This is an amazing organization! The people there are so very blessed to have people to care and teach them! I would love to help out
Hope Initiatives IS a great organization! If you’re looking to learn more you can follow one of the hyperlinks in the article above to their website. From there you will be able to contact John and Patricia and find out how to help. Thanks so much for you interest and feed back!
Beautiful, [Zoe], Great writing. Bless you…….and them. What has happened with this couple since?
Thank you! John and Patricia are still working hard at Hope Initiatives but recently they’ve also been asked to pastor a church. They’re a bit nervous about it, and they’ve asked for lots of prayer. Their ministry is growing like crazy!
These are my African parents! Family that live too far away but that are doing a great work for the Kingdom. This family has blessed me in more ways than I can express. They inspire me to keep fighting the fight and doing good no matter what. They will quickly tell you that God is good all the time and His answers and guidance will come, to just trust and believe. These are two people that walk the walk and are raising their 4 beautiful children to do the same, they are becoming such great men and woman of God. I will continue to be apart of what ever ministry this family is apart of and will continue to pray many, many blessings their way! Thanks for sharing [Jacob]! It just excites me!!