Zambia's New Horizon Over one-half of Zambian households are currently caring for AIDS victims, over 600,000 of them. Our new goal is to collect another $5000 to sponsor an Orphan Trust in cooperation with World Hope International to purchase animals and seed for the surviving adults of a village to care for all the children of the village. Most of the parents have died from AIDS and the Orphan Trust concept offers opportunity, dignity and hope. Our partners, World Hope International, have and will come alongside caregivers of both orphans and sick family members by assisting them through three primary means: 1) livelihood projects that form sustainable income generation, food security, and water availability; 2) community HIV/AIDS prevention initiatives that focus on education, discipleship, advocacy, and counseling; and 3) home-based health care and counseling for the support of people living with AIDS as well as those who care for them. In October 2004, at an Eagle Summit meeting in Santa Barbara, California, the attendees collectively raised more than enough funds to sponsor one Orphan Trust in Zambia. Future status reports and potential contacts will be made from those receiving sponsorship to future Eagle Summits. Zambia - Excerpts from "Finding Hope on the Side of 'The AIDS road'" by Sarah Stanley and Susanna Rosenbaum of World Hope International "In a country where the life expectancy is 32 years, hope often seems unmercifully out of reach. "To respond to the crisis in a significant, lasting way, World Hope has designed community-based assistance projects known as Community Orphan Trusts. A Community Orphan Trust is a grass roots organization of neighbors and local leaders who commit to provide physical care and emotional support to widows, orphans, and vulnerable children while also working to stop the spread of AIDS in their community. World Hope and partnering churches and individuals help provide resources for basic needs like gardens that provide nutritional food, skills training, and community health education, as well as moral support and encouragement for those affected by HIV/AIDS. Led by local people, Community Orphan Trusts empower individuals to take action on behalf of their friends, family and community. "The Mochipapa Trust, named after the road where the Wesleyan mission is located in Choma, is a hub of activity. As this vibrant group of women gathers for programs every day of the week; laughter and conversation can be heard around the mission compound. On Mondays Group I gathers in the garden where the women learn how to care for the plants and look after the tomatoes, eggplant, cabbages, potatoes, and a variety of greens grown there. On Tuesday s a local pastor teaches women to read and write - women who have never before had the opportunity to get an education. On Wednesdays Group 2 works in the garden. On Thursdays a local educator teaches on issues of public health and hygiene, covering a range of subjects from how to care for those infected with HIV/AIDS to how to purify water. On Fridays Group 3 takes their turn managing the garden and selling its produce. The trust has also been provided with pigs and a newly-built pigpen - or 'piggery' as it is called in Zambia. Sewing machines were recently acquired, which enable the women to learn how to sew and then to sell their merchandise for income. "Like all orphan trusts, the Mochipapa Trust depends on local leadership to operate. The leaders have different backgrounds; some are teachers, some are pastors and some are cleaning ladies. "When Mrs. Zulu lost her brother to AIDS, the burden of providing for her family became even greater. Through the Mochipapa Trust she was given a means of income and the opportunity to work alongside other women making doormats out of uniform scraps gathers from a local factory. Mrs. Zulu is one of the most faithful workers in the trust, working every day to make and sell her mats. She now has a means of buying food for her children, but just as important, she has the support and camaraderie of other women in her trust. "Their friends and family have died and continue to die, and their future and the future of their children could look bleak. "But their future is one of hope. It is a future filled with opportunities to learn, grow, and support their loved ones." Horizons Foundation is partnering with World Hope International to sponsor self-sustaining programs to give life and hope back to these people. A one-time donation of $5000 provides all the funds necessary to sustain an entire village perpetually. It will pay for all the seed, the well and animal multiplication necessary to have a self-sustaining program for an entire village.