Hurrah!!! Our friends at Wukwashi have just taken delivery of a new bus! This bus will make a massive difference to children who would otherwise have huge problems in getting to school, to hospital appointments or to support groups, because of the lack of dedicated transport. It has special adaptations for people with disabilities and is much bigger and more reliable than the old bus.

BCT do not normally fund this kind of project, but we’ve made an exception because of the nature of Wukwashi’s work and the dramatic difference the bus will make to the children they serve. And we’re so thankful for the two extremely generous gifts which made this all possible. We’d particularly like to express our gratitude to The Garfield Weston Foundation for their donation of £10,000.

Click here to find out more about how Wukwashi supports disabled children and their parents.

A key element of PCM’s work is fish farming and community gardens, with the aim of producing food to dramatically improve the diet of poor and undernourished children. We are keen to see this project flourish, and we have been able to put the PCM team in touch with ACDI/VOCA, specialists in enabling the sustainable development of communities.

Dr Sullivan is welcomed to Pukusu

ACDI/VOCA has sent Dr Joseph Sullivan, an expert in fish feed and nutrition, to Pukusu to help locals hone their skills in fish farming. Through this training, we hope the community will be equipped to farm more productively and more sustainably. Dr Sullivan comments:

‘I was a bit overwhelmed by the outpouring of welcome I received, particularly seeing the massive numbers of children at Pukusu who, despite bearing terrible hardships in their lives, gave me the most ecstatic welcome. Hopefully, this project will help them have better, more productive and happier lives.’

In addition to this guidance on fish farming, Pukusu is benefiting from training on soil fertility. Professor Christopher Graham is in Kinshasa now, to give input on the subject to community leaders. With improved understanding of soil fertility, Pukusu will be in a position to make informed decisions on how the community farms its crops, adding fruit and vegetables with vital nutrients to the diets of local children.

We’re delighted to have been able to put our friends in Pukusu in touch with people who can help them in such practical ways.

Find out more about PCM here.

There was a wonderful story in the news recently about a seven year-old girl who wrote to the CEO of Google, asking for a job. To her parents’ astonishment, Chloe Bridgewater received a prompt reply from Sundar Pichai, who she had addressed as ‘dear Google boss’. In his letter, Mr Pichai thanked Chloe for getting in touch and encouraged her to ‘keep working hard and following [her] dreams’. This young lady’s dreams are clearly ambitious, but who’s to say she won’t achieve them?

Gina’s (L) life has been changed dramatically, thanks to EPED

Young people do tend to dream big. The reports we receive from our project partners reflect this, time and time again. Rosie grew up in poverty with no father and an HIV-positive mother, but she aims to become a professor. Seventeen-year-old Harry relies on a wheelchair to get around and lives in a culture which marginalises disabled people, but he is on the way to becoming a journalist. And Gina, despite have spent time living on the streets of Kinshasa, is back in school and planning to become a magistrate.

Our partners encourage the young people they serve to aim high, and so does the Bible. In 1 Timothy 4:12, Paul urges his son in the faith, ‘Don’t let anyone look down on you because you are young, but set an example for the believers in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith and in purity.’ And in Jeremiah 1, God speaks to the young prophet, calling him to a role so weighty and significant that Jeremiah initially struggles to take it in. With our God, young people can and do achieve extraordinary things.

So let’s encourage young people to dream big, as our partners do and as God does. Let’s ask God to enlarge our vision for children and help us see their full potential. Let’s make our churches and communities places where children are secure and free to reach for their dreams. Who knows? You might be investing in a future church leader, magistrate or CEO of Google.

Would you like to invest financially in helping a child achieve his or her dreams? If so, click here to find out how you can do that.