MissionZimbabwe.org

HPC (Hanover Pentecostal Church) is planning to send out a short-term missions team to Harare, Zimbabwe, Africa to assist Gord and Anita Cooledge, our adopted missionaries, who are the Directors of the Village of Hope there.

It is hard to believe the magnitude of the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Southern Africa. In the case of Zimbabwe, this means that 1 in 4 people is living with HIV/AIDS. In a country where 70% of the population lives below the poverty line and there is lack of medical treatment for endemic diseases, the social and economic impact has been devastating for the population.

The VILLAGE OF HOPE (VOH) in Harare is expanding its program that provides for the physical, educational, emotional and spiritual needs of children orphaned by HIV/AIDS and the corresponding needs of the surrounding community. Some examples of ongoing projects are:

• CHAPS (Cornelius Hope Academy Primary School) - A school located on the grounds for preschool-Grade 6)
• Orphan Homes - each home holds up to 8 children and a house mother.
• Feeding Program at the Plots (poorer communities around the VOH).
• Farm on site - for helping to employ those without work, to provide a source of food for the VOH, and to sell to the local community.

The Zimbabwe 2008 team is composed of various people from HPC and our community who will be using their different skills and abilities to aid in the work the Village of Hope does in Zimbabwe.

The team will be leaving for Zimbabwe on September 12th (and staying to September 26th). There is a possibility that we may go to one of the other Village of Hopes in Sub-Saharan Africa (Malawi or Zambia) due to the current instability in Zimbabwe.