Projects

Current Projects

Mayaloza/Lamgabi

This area has a 14-member Pastor’s Network started by International Victory Christian Church Pastor Daniel Mazibuko. Their first business was an egg-producing poultry house. They have now switched to broiler chickens. Our agribusiness finance partner AfricaWorks has now given the technical and financing expertise necessary to start 30 businesses with AFAC’s orphan caregivers. The orphan caregivers care for about 150 children, and are now able to provide better for them, sending all of them to school and providing the families with nutritious food.

We will be expanding this project in 2011 with an additional 30 orphan caregiver poultry businesses. $3,000 starts the caregiver off with a poultry house, 1,000 chickens, and the feed to supply one 40 day cycle. At the end of 40 days, the chickens are taken to the abattoir (slaughter house), and then sold to restaurants and grocery stores locally.

Hlobane

A large church building was constructed in 2007, which now houses a preschool and a free clinic. Previously, this community had no preschool and no access to medical care. The church also has a hammer mill (gristmill) that grinds corn into meal, that the church uses as a service to the community. The preschool is used by about 30 children, many orphaned.

The International Victory Christian Church here is pastored by Douglas Simelane. Their first project was a dairy farm, which did not do well because of the hot climate in this area. They are now farming large tracts of land with sweet potatoes that they use to feed orphaned children. They also farm vegetables like cabbage, beets, and spinach in the warmer rainy season. This church provides for 75 orphaned children in their community.
The church here has grown from about 30 to well over 100 people as they continue to show the community the gospel through their deeds in the village.

Mgambeni

This project site has a 5-member Pastor’s Network begun by Philadelphia Assemblies of God Pastor Edward Mkhonta. They began with a broiler chicken business and indigenous chickens. The proceeds are used to care for orphaned children. After AFAC put a clean-water well in for the community, the church began a training farm for orphaned and vulnerable children, using the well water for irrigation. The farm trains 20 children at a time in raising cabbage, beets, onions, tomatoes, spinach, and lettuce. Once the children graduate from the program, they start their own small farms at their homesteads.
After the community saw what the church was doing for orphaned children, the Chief gave the Pastor’s Network a large piece of land. The community came together to clear the land of dense thorn brush. Then the land was plowed and planted with cash crops including corn, tomatoes, beets, cabbage, spinach, and carrots. Approximately 30 children are sent to school from the proceeds, and even more children are fed from the farm.
We have also partnered with Children’s Cup to supply emergency food for orphaned and vulnerable children in the area. Twice per week, the Philadelphia AOG church feeds 150 children with a rice/soy/vegetable stew provided by Children’s Cup. This is supplemented by the farm. Our goal  for the Pastor’s Network is to be able to provide all of these children food sustainably so that they no longer need the donated food.

Training

David Simelane, our country coordinator has undergone thorough training in developing Pastors Networks and HIV/AIDS and orphan care through our World Relief partners. David is now in the process of developing Pastors Networks, HIV/AIDS and orphan care training.

Poultry farm training for all three of our poultry farms took place at the end of January. The Mayaloza Church hosted workers from Mgambeni and Nsindatje for the three-day intensive training given by our commercial poultry farming partners.

Micro-Financing

There is trememendous need for economic empowerment of women to stop the spread of HIV/AIDS. Through our projects, we are caring for and protecting orphans, but we also need to give women economic opportunity if they are to resist trading their bodies for food to feed their families. To this end, our Partnership with World Relief’s Africa Works (AW) has begun. Registration of the non-profit organization in Swaziland is under way. Advocates will sit on the Swazi AW board. We now need significant funding to invest in the first project. We would also appreciate the engagement of business people willing to mentor new entrepreneurs.