Where
On the streets of Iringa, Tanzania

Who
Richard & Lissie Gerke lived in Iringa for a year and, along other Christians, started to believe the church should be helping the street children in practical ways in the Name of Jesus. In particular Rev Mote Magumba, who leads the project, has put his whole heart and life into drawing Christians into this important work.

What
The vision and mission of FISCH is ‘to witness the love of Jesus to the street children of Iringa, by striving to meet their needs, that they may experience life in all its goodness’. Our ground activities are holistic; they target the physical, social and spiritual needs, which include food, shelter, health care, accommodation, education, moral awareness and above all the children having the opportunity to hear about God’s love. We always aim to have direct impact to the needs of the street children.

What can you do
Would you like to directly touch the lives of these needy children, in abject poverty? You are welcome to join hands with us! Read our newsletter and pray! Check out our FISCH website! Or financially support either by Credit Card (top right) or using the form at the bottom of the newsletter .

Here are the stories of some of the children being helped by FISCH.

Children like Isaya, whose parents both died before he was twelve years old, who left school because he was unable to cope, and who ended up carrying luggage and working on a building site for a paltry living. Sleeping on the streets, he was occasionally arrested by the police and locked up for a few days each time. When a friend told him about FISCH he went along, initially attracted by the almost unbelievable promise of a free meal. Through FISCH he is now enrolled in a carpentry course. He dreams of running his own workshop and, one day, being reunited with his siblings and providing for them as well.

Or take Emmanuel, a boy who doesn’t know how old he is. Although his parents are both alive he has lost contact with them and left home when life became too tough. He would wash second-hand shoes all day as a job, earning him slightly less than £1 for a day’s work. He would also collect and dispose of rubbish in the streets, earning a few more shillings. He hoped every day that he would be able to find someone to support him. FISCH answered that hope. Emmanuel started attending Saturday activities and received counselling and health training. He also enrolled in the carpentry course and hopes one day to set up his own workshop to earn a living.

I doubt that many of us reading this have first-hand experience of this kind of poverty. The experiences of many children in Iringa are so far removed from our comfortable Western lives that we may as well be on a different planet. And yet, as Christians, we are instructed to care for those less fortunate than ourselves.