February 2009 Issue

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Southern Baptist Compassion
Relief for the Desperate
by Mark Kelly

Southern Baptists have brought badly needed relief to an isolated region of Zimbabwe, where a national political impasse — compounded by hyperinflation, a cholera epidemic, and a burgeoning food crisis — have brought the country near the point of collapse.

Zimbabwe's government declared a national emergency December 4 because of the cholera epidemic, which has spread across the entire country, claiming at least 565 lives, according to news reports. The inflation rate has been estimated at 231 million percent, and United Nations food analysts believe the hunger crisis will grow worse in the spring because many families have eaten seeds needed for planting.

People in Zimbabwe are growing more desperate by the day, said Susan Hatfield, who with her husband, Mark, directs work in Sub-Saharan Africa for Baptist Global Response, an international relief and development organization.

"Grocery store shelves are almost completely empty, except for the U.S. dollar stores, accessible by only a very few," Hatfield said. "People do not want to be paid in cash, but in food, as many are hungry and starving. Many of the schools have closed. The main hospital in the capital, Harare, has closed down. The water has been turned off in most parts of the country, including much of Harare, and I just received word of an anthrax outbreak that has killed several people as well as a growing number of cattle in the Bulawayo area."

Far from major cities like Harare and Bulawayo, the Tonga people on Lake Kariba, along Zimbabwe's border with Zambia, receive very little assistance from the central government in dealing with their hunger. International Mission Board worker Daren Davis reported seeing telltale signs that hunger was becoming a serious problem among the Tonga.

"Some of the villages I visited were the first I have ever been in where chickens were not running around," Davis said. "I also saw very little grain stored. Several villagers told me they were eating roots and other foods that grow wild in the bush. This seems to be the norm in rural Africa when there is a food shortage. The dogs looked even worse than the normal African dog — and that is bad.

"The people are currently surviving on food relief from a variety of organizations," Davis added. "The current situation is bleak and not getting any better. Each day, the news shows only more problems and no solutions."

Davis zeroed in on the Tonga homeland as an area where targeted Southern Baptist relief could make a difference and on November 17, International Mission Board workers from Kenya, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and South Africa gathered in Binga, a town on the southeastern shore of Lake Kariba, to deliver five hundred boxes of food and soap provided by Baptist Global Response.

The food boxes were part of a larger project conducted by Baptist Global Response to mobilize relief in the country through resources provided by the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund. Each parcel contains about fifty pounds of food, including rice, dry beans, wheat flour, cooking oil, salt, powdered milk, sugar, peanut butter, and tea.

Southern Baptist workers Duncan and Tatjana Pitts laid the groundwork for the project in meetings with the government administrator in Binga and a leading Tonga chief, Davis said. The chief helped them identify a village of 450 families so no families would be left out of the relief effort. The remaining fifty boxes, along with 2,640 pounds of maize meal purchased with private donations, were taken to a village of 145 families.

Residents of the villages were thrilled that Southern Baptists cared enough to bring relief supplies to their isolated homes.

"They were very appreciative for this gift," Davis said. "We saw numerous people open the boxes and erupt into shouts of joy, dances, and great laughter.

"When the distribution was complete, several missionaries continued mixing with the people and kids," Davis added. "This interaction expressed that we were concerned about them and that we were not there to simply hand out food and leave. We shared that we were doing this because we are followers of Jesus and our desire is to bring Him praise and glory."

Hatfield asked Southern Baptists to continue caring about people in desperate need.

"Thank you so very much for your gifts to the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund that support projects like this," Hatfield said. "Pray for God's mercy and provision for his people during this very difficult time. Pray for believers to be salt and light to those around them, in not only their words, but their actions as well. Pray for a God-sized miracle to turn this country and its people around."

Mark Kelly is a member of Peace Community Church in Gallatin, Tennessee, and is an assistant editor of Baptist Press.

How You Can Help

Undesignated donations given to the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund will be distributed 80 percent to international and 20 percent to domestic hunger relief projects. Designated gifts will be used as specified.

Contributions can be made through a local Southern Baptist church, a Baptist state convention, the North American Mission Board, 4200 North Point Parkway, Alpharetta, GA 30022 (www.namb.net), the International Mission Board, P.O. Box 6767, Richmond, VA 23230 (www.imb.org), or the SBC Executive Committee, 901 Commerce Street, Nashville, TN 37203 (www.sbc.net).

Visit www.worldhungerfund.com to learn more about how you can help with world hunger relief initiatives.

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