In total 7 houses are under construction as part of the larger Christmas in Africa gifts from members of Palm Ceia Presbyterian Church in Tampa and other friends.
I have lived in Papoli for most of life and visited almost 80% of the homesteads and I would confidently say that I know by name almost all adults and every body in our village knows me by name and face.
I delivered the first 2 door shutters and when I arrived at the third house, one owned by a very old widow in her 90’s named Balibina, I had to control my emotions, Balibina was so exited as she received us. She was jumping up and down like a little kid whose parent had returned from a hunting trip and come back with game meat! Making use of the little energy she had for she confessed that she had not eaten any food since the day before. She made it beyond just hugging me; she just “hanged” on my neck weeping tears of joy. She said, “even when I die now, I will be counted as having left behind a tin roofed house, God is good, God knows and cares for the poor!”.
That was it, I thought of myself as being in a team of people whom God is using. As Village Partners International; Mission Statement seeks to develop and enhance communities with profound need, this is clearly demonstrated by Balibina’s condition and communities’ commitment by providing local materials and labor to enable her own a decent accommodation.
I appreciate that we are creating the future, right now, with every action we take. When I went back home, I reflected on my days work and connected it to this great inspiration, “Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength; loving someone deeply gives you courage.” By Lao Tzu . Balibina demonstrated this by jumping up and down with Strength and I gained all the courage and vigor to serve those in need.
— Emmanual Ofumbi
