Mission team blogs:

  

To follow our mission teams as they serve abroad this summer, please click on one of the links above.

Special honour for Mission International director:

In the Queen's Jubilee year the birthday honours list included the name of Mission International founder and 

director, Hugh Henderson who received an MBE for voluntary service to the international community.  Hugh and his family and all those involved in Mission International are delighted and wish to say "thank you" to everyone for the many messages of congratulation which have arrived from around the world.   Hugh says "This unexpected but very welcome award is well received, however the many supporters in the UK and our partners in the developing world are the ones who have made the successful work of Mission International possible".  

Cluster Dynamics

Cluster Dynamics is a new initiative designed to bring funding to 'Cluster' groups in the developing world.   A cluster group is a small co-operative of families who have come together to pool their resources in terms of skills, energy and finance to develop projects which will provide support for them and their families.

Single Parent families:

Many of our cluster groups are single parent families (usually mothers with children) and due to their very difficult economic situation they find it difficult to provide even the basics for their children.   The cluster groups will provide a collective approach to their situation which allows a new dynamic to be at work bringing new hope and new opportunities.   

Project options:

A wide range of projects are possible, however a number of common examples are as follows:  Chicken production, donkey water transport, wheat farming, bee keeping and furniture making.

Small Grants:

Mission International, with your help and support, will provide small start-up grants of £500, £1000 and £1500 to get these new sustainable projects under way.

Making a Donation:

Please visit our Make a Donation page where you will find a number of ways you can give.

Find out more:

to find out more please click on Cluster Dynamics image 

Helping the poor - Carson, Keller & Piper!

Truck livery in place:

This truck which has been donated to Mission International and is bound for Burundi later this year. It has now had its unique livery put in place and is ready to be filled with resources.  

The vehicle will be sent to Burundi to carry resources for Mission International projects there, like tools and computers for our proposed skills centre in Gatumba.  Once there it will serve as refrigerated transport for fish from lake Tanganyika to the hinterland of Burundi and from there beef, fruit and vegetables will be transported back to the city.   This will help both communities a great deal.   Poor rural communities which lie far from the lake have little opportunity to buy fish to vary and improve their diet at affordable prices and beef is difficult to carry into the city maintaining its freshness.

This partnership between Mission International and Rema Ministries will benefit many of the 900,000 refugee returnee families who are currently coming back to Burundi from exile in neighbouring countries.   The Burundi government is struggling to try to cope with the huge influx of their people retuning in such a short period of time.   Mission International is partnering with Rema Ministries to do what ever we can to help these returnees as they try to start their lives over again in their home country, although some of them have never lived their before, having been refugees for many, many years. 

We are grateful to those who have donated time and resources, like paint etc, to see the truck looking so well in advance of the trip.

Laptop helps Kabera student!

A business studies degree student living with his wife and child in Kabera slum in Nairobi Kenya is now the proud owner of a laptop donated by one of Mission International's supporters.   Aloice Okuku is delighted with his new acquisition and feels very excited about the support that he has received to study at university level. 

Aloice is keen to develop his education and skills so that he can adequately support his family and become a valued member of the workforce in his beloved Kenya.  He wants to pass on his thanks to those who are supporting him and to those who have made the laptop available.  

To find out more information on how to support a student please visit our Student Sponsorship page.  To make a donation, please visit our 'Make a Donation' page.

If you would like to find out more, or have items of technology which you would like to donate to support needy individuals, families and communities please visit our Mission Technology page.

Coat Caddie:

This amazing little invention will help you keep your coat with you in the UK's changeable weather and allow you to keep your valuables safe at the same time.  

Kandaria (St Andrews) Irrigation project:

(click on image to open album of related photos)

Kandaria village lies on the shores of Lake Victoria near Kisumu in Kenya.  The project (see irrigation appeal below) is designed to provide a regular source of water for a remote village which relies on agricultural projects to raise the funds to send their children to school.   One major donor was Menzieshill High School in Dundee who carried out sponsored events to raise the funds required to purchase a water pump and pipework to get this crucial project under way.

The image shows the villagers testing the pump, and it can be easily seen that it can pump a high volume of water, which is exactly what is needed to flood rice fields and irrigate fields of crops.

Hope Centre Development:

Mission International is now raising funds in order to further develop the Hope Centre complex in Burundi.   There are three major new phases planned which will be developed on land already purchased and adjacent to the Homes already built for the Hope centre children.   To see the history of what has already been accomplished since 2006 please visit www.HopeCentreBurundi.com where you will find lots of detail.   To find out about the three new phases on the drawing board [please click on the 'Hope Centre Development' image here and you will open a detailed view of what is planned.   

To make a donation:

If you can support this project which is designed to support refugee returnees in Burundi, please visit our 'Make a Donation' page where you will find a variety of ways you can give.

Join a team in 2013:

Mission International sends teams to Burundi which engage with the Hope Centre community and are involved in outreach, in practical support and also our Mission Medics teams are involved too.

Mission Teams 2013:

Change a life through sponsorship!

Many children in the developing world are barely surviving and in abject poverty.   Child sponsorship is a wonderful way to help a child and their family to see hope for the future.   Mission International's Global Sponsor programme caters for children of all ages and abilities, allowing them to get through primary and secondary school, giving them the skills and education to help them go out into the world of work, and for some receive support to go to college or university.

If you would like to sponsor a child please visit our child sponsorship web page where you can find out more information and begin the process of sponsoring a child.   if you are now at the stage where you want to go ahead and sponsor a child please go to our make a donation page and there complete the standing order (|Regular monthly giving) form which is located as an attachment at the foot of the page.

To fully sponsor a child with Mission International required a regular monthly donation of £20/month  (£240/year)   You can part sponsor from £5/month (£60/year).   There are some children, due to their circumstances require up to £30/month (£360/year).   

Irrigation Appeal!

Please consider supporting this appeal to find irrigation equipment funding for a project in Kenya!

The 'St Andrews Project' (an indigenous project and a partner of Mission International in Kenya) is in need of help to raise funding to provide some infrastructure for their rice and vegetable growing project in the village of Kandaria near Kisumu.   

There are a total of 18 households who will benefit from this project (almost 200 people).   A remote community currently living in very poor circumstances, they are doing everything they can locally and they will of course share al of the labour in terms of cultivation, sowing and planting, weeding and crop protection.   The project will provide a water pump and irrigation pipes to transport water from Lake Victoria to their fields nearby.  There is a portion of the funding to provide fuel and maintenance for the pump, seeds and tools to make sure the crops are well looked after until the time of harvest.

The result will be a major change in this small community.   In recent days they have built their own school and so want to be able to afford to hire teachers and send their children to the school.   The project will allow them develop their circumstances

Currently we have raised £1000 of the £8500 required to fully fund this project.   If you are able to help by making a donation, large or small, to this project we, and they would be very grateful.

Fundraising Event:

Pig Roast - Galashiels!  Tickets £10

Gatumba School and the Peace Quilt!

Recently Mission International was asked to suggest a school which would be involved in the Peace Quilt initiative which is linked to this summer's Olympic games in London.   The school in Gatumba, which the Hope Centre children attend, was chosen and items of art are now being processed as part of the quilt.   You can see the Gatumba school's contributions here, if you would like to have a look at the wider initiative you can access the site here.

John Lennox - Lent talks

Burundi Flooding:

Around 1000 homes have been damaged, many beyond repair, by severe flooding which has taken place in Gatumba in Burundi.   The town of Gatumba is home to Mission International's Hope Centre.   The Hope Centre homes are undamaged due to the fact that they were build well and of good materials and were raised up to avoid any potential flooding which does take place in the area.   However many of the Hope Centre's neighbours are refugee returnees, coming back to Burundi after the 14 year long war.   These families are some of the poorest in the world and as such have no means of improving their plight.   The flooding does not only damage homes and property but also floods pit latrines and animal pasture causing sever pollution and water borne disease in the area. Many children and families are now at risk due to the floods.   If you can help please make a donation via our 'Make a Donation' page.

Rwandan Partner is inducted:

Rev. Nathan Amooti, Mission International's partner in Rwanda has recently been inducted as Bishop or Cyangugu. Rev. Amooti served in the capital city until his recent status as Bishop was confirmed by the House of Bishops in Rwanda's EER (Eglise Episcopal du Rwanda).   The new bishop also has a new charge, that of the environs around Cyangugu a province on the shores of Lake Kivu and adjacent to Bukavu over the border in DR Congo.   All of us in Mission International congratulate Bishop Amooti and wish him well in his new appointment.

Pakistani Student receives study support:

After a recent request for funding request from Mission International to our supporters we have received funding to send one student in Pakistan to University.

Rafique Laeeque who comes from a poor community and family near Lahore in Pakistan will study veterinary health at university.   Here he is seen receiving his support cheque from Mission International which will allow him to start University right away.  This support will eventually allow Rafique to find work which will in turn bring support back to his family and community.   He is very grateful to all of those who contributed to his studies.

To view information on other students who need support please click here.   

To make a donation please click here.

Building work begins in Haiti

After fundraising efforts during 2011 by the Haiti mission team and their friends, funding has now been sent to MI partners Trinity Church of Jerusalem in Haiti to complete the necessary building work on the church roof.   Local builders and carpenters have now begun to clear, prepare and begin the renovations so that the church can have a suitable place to meet and to worship.

Further to this work, a centre for the support and education of needy children is planned.   The city of Ouanaminthe, where the church is located, has many poverty stricken families who have no means to find a good education for their children.   Also there are many children who have no families to support them and so the Centre is planned to support their needs too.   Fundraising is already under way and so if you would like to support this essential project please make your contribution via our 'Make a Donation' page.

To see more information on Mission International's work in Haiti please visit our 'Rebuild Haiti' page.

Mighty Meals £25 to feed a child for a year!

Mighty Meals is designed to feed needy children whilst they attend school.  Donations of £25/month can make sure 12 children are fed every day during the school day.   If you would like to support this project please visit out 'Make a Donation' page.

Johnny Cash - man in black!

BIG meal thank you!

A big thank you has arrived from children in the 9 countries where the BIG meal was served.   Not all f the photos have arrived, these will follow in due course.   If you want to keep up to date with the news as it happens please visit our BIG meal 2011 web page.

Water Works:

University Students need support in 2012

click on image to enlarge!

Christmas Wishes!

Click on image to enlarge.

Nyembuye water project - report!

To view the report on the completed Nyembuye clinic water project please click here!