South Chadderton Methodist Church have been exploring ways to build a meaningful partnership with their minister’s home church in a small, rural village in Zimbabwe. As a result, young people from the church have been fundraising to support this community.
“Through sharing videos and photographs, we have begun to connect more, holding one another in prayer and learning about each other’s daily lives. Recently, during a service, we watched a truly inspiring video of our minister’s mother. At 77 years old, she faithfully serves as a local preacher—walking 10 miles to church each time she preaches. She spoke about the challenges faced by her community, where villagers must walk miles every day to collect water from a distant borehole. The current pump is difficult to use, meaning that more vulnerable members often have to wait for help to operate it.
Our young people were deeply touched by her story and by the faith, resilience, and commitment shown by this community. Inspired to take action, they began raising awareness during services they were leading, encouraging our congregation to donate money towards the cost of a new borehole for the village, that our church was aiming to fund. Most recently, thirteen of our children (aged 6 and over) took part in a 5-mile sponsored walk to support the project.
Walking such a distance themselves gave them a powerful insight into the daily reality faced by the villagers. They spoke about how tired and thirsty they felt, and how unfair it seemed that people must make such a journey simply to access water. By the end, they could hardly imagine having to walk the distance again—or continue with daily tasks afterwards.
This experience has strengthened their determination to help fund a new, more accessible borehole for their extended church family, which is closer to their village and easier to operate, giving them more time to do other things.”
