Latest News for Chapters
2010 ROW Travel Schedule
Posted by: | Posted: February 18th, 2010 | CommentsIt’s not too late for your group to plan a trip with ROW in 2010!
Please contact aldi@row.org or Wuk@row.org for more information. Read More→
Graduation At The Sewing School for Single Mothers
Posted by: | Posted: January 25th, 2010 | CommentsI am so excited to let you know of the 2nd graduating class from the Sewing School for Single Mothers in Tshikaji that is funded by ROW Congo-Kasai.Nineteen ladies graduated in December 2008 and now 30 more graduated on Jan 23, 2010! In June, seventeen of the first year graduates were earning a living for themselves. Pray these new graduates will also be able to support themselves and their children! This 12-month program included classes in French, math, a little science, a little geography, and sewing.
Kudos and thanks to all those who helped sponsor a graduate by contributing for one of the brand new sewing machines so each lady can launch her own business or in partnership with another graduate. Special thanks to Katrina and her educator friends in Nashville and other locations who gave generously and raise over $4,000 for these ladies to walk away with their new machines!
Jimmy Shafe
ROW Congo-Kasai Chapter
jimmy@row.org
A ROW Christmas List
Posted by: | Posted: November 28th, 2009 | CommentsThere are lots of ways you can have a ROW Christmas!
The first way to have a ROW Christmas is to purchase some of the items from the ROW Online Store and give them to your friends and relatives! Here’s are just a few of the gift ideas under $25.00 you’ll find there:
- ROWvotion books $15.00 9 volumes so far
- ROW Jelly $5.00
- ROW Audio CD’s $10.00: “Lessons From the Forests”, “Spiritual Lessons”, “Lessons” Sermons by Ben
- ROW caps $15.00
- ROW Adult T-Shirts $15.00
- ROW Sweat Shirts $25.oo
Didn’t find the perfectly unique gift for that perfectly unique person on your list? Consider visiting ROWArt.org and pick out one of the hand-made items created by artists in various countries where ROW works.
The final and easiest way to have a ROW Christmas is to donate to ROW. Rivers Of The World is unique because almost 95% of your donation will go directly to help the cause you specify. Here are just a few of the things your donation can help ROW purchase in the coming year:
- Solar powered Bibles – Small (about the size of an ipod) A $50 donation will help about 50 people hear the Word of God in their own language!
- Large solar, crank, battery, electric Bible - A $100 donation can help 300 can hear the Word!
- Solar Powered DVD player with “Jesus Film” $550 donation so others can see and
hear the story of Jesus!! - Feed 10 boys at the orphanage in Bluefields, Nicaragua, $300 per month.
- Feed 40 orphans in Congo, $150 per month
- Books for ROW Libraries in Congo $10 per book up to $120.00 for Congo
History book in French! - Bag of Beans or Rice in Congo, $40 per bag.
- Feed 36 folks at home for the elderly in Congo, $100 per month
- Build a latrine in Dominican Republic refugee camp, $400
- Feed a child in one of our orphanages in Vietnam $10 per month- we have
1050 kids!! - Transport a child to school in Honduras for a month $16.00
- Gasoline costs per gallon in Venezuela $.10
- Gasoline costs in Congo (diesel) $2.50 a gallon
- Gasoline costs in Brasil $2.50 a gallon
- Tuition at our schools averages $50 per month per child
- Bibles average $6.50 world wide - endless needs
- Gospel Tracks are $.25 each and up. We need an endless supply!
- Chalk for schools $3.50 per box we need 6,624 boxes in Congo alone!
- Blackboards for schools - we need 94 at $50 each
- Sewing supplies for our 3 sewing schools, $20 per pupil
Please consider having a ROW Christmas this year! Help ROW directly with a donation or help let others know about great work that ROW does around the world by purchasing items from the ROW Online Store and give them to everyone!
We hope everyone has a blessed Christmas and thank you for helping ROW take Christmas to the world!
Update from IMCK-Good Shepherd Hospital in Congo
Posted by: | Posted: November 12th, 2009 | CommentsHello,
Please read the brief update from IMCK/Good Shepherd Hospital in Tshikaji, Congo Democratic Republic. Bernard Kabibu Bimvulu visited with many congregations last Easter week and has sent this information and the few pictures to the organizations and people with whom he met during his spring tour in the US to tell about the work of that medical center. While I am a bit uncomfortable with my name being in the letter. It is as sent by Bernard and I’m not sure I feel I should alter his letter.
If you wish to send support to IMCK, all donations small and large, are significant in supporting the important work of this medical center.
Three ways to help:
- Make a donation through the Medical Benevolence Foundation (http://www.mbfoundation.org/) by making a check to Medical Benevolence Foundation and designating it for IMCK/CONGO. Mail to: Medical Benevolence Foundation, 3100 S. Gessner, Ste 210, Houston, TX 77063. Donations can also be made Online or
- Make a donation thru the Presbyterian Church of the USA (www.pcusa.org) by making a check to PCUSA and designating it for IMCK Account E320202. Mail to: PCUSA, Remittance Processing, PO Box 643678, Pittsburgh, PA 15264-3678. Donations can also be made Online at the PCUSA web site.
- Make a donation through Rivers of the World Congo-Kasai Chapter. Donations may be sent to ROW CK, 3640 Hewatt Court, Snellville, GA 30039. You may also go through the www.row.org website. Please designate IMCK either online or on your check.
Thank you so much for caring about medical work in Congo and may God bless you!
Jimmy Shafe
Director, Rivers of the World Congo-Kasai Chapter
October 2009
Dear Friends,
May God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ give you grace and peace.
As you may have heard, Drs. Leon Mubikayi and Augustin Mwala have resigned from their respective positions of Director of IMCK and Director of Good Shepherd Hospital (GSH). Two new people have been appointed to fill the vacancies. The IMCK Board has named Dr. Beure Mbaindonadji to be the new Director of IMCK and Dr. Blaise Ndandu has been appointed to be the Director of Good Shepherd Hospital. Beure is a urologist from the country of Chad. This is a specialty that we have never had at Good Shepherd Hospital. Blaise is a former resident in the IMCK program. He has worked in the surgery department of IMCK since September of 2005. We strongly hope these new leaders will bring in new ideas and new ways of doing things.
Times at IMCK are still economically and financially difficult. But because of all kinds of support we have received from you as individuals and/or congregations, we were able to carry out several projects, which would have been difficult to accomplish if you had not helped us.
1) We did, in due time (July), the annual maintenance of the hydro electrical plant. We replaced the various lubrications, fixed the pump, and inspected different points of the connections to ensure that the system is in good working condition. We have electricity where it is needed at the hospital and at the nursing school.
2) The problem of the defective water pipes remains unsolved. For the time being, it is unpleasant to work in the wards, particularly in the men’s medicine and surgery wards, where there is no water. The health professionals (nurses, doctors) who work in these wards cannot wash their hands between cases, nor can the patients use the bathrooms or take showers. This work environment has become unbearable and sanitarily dangerous.
3) We have supplied our pharmaceutical depot with some essential drugs, so that patients can get the needed medications from the hospital pharmacy. This has put an end to handing the prescriptions to the patients and asking them to go buy drugs at the market or on the street.
4) We completely rehabilitated the roof at PAX Clinic, our busy downtown clinic in Kananga. We replaced all the old leaking roofing sheets, the destroyed roof lumber and ceiling, and the doors, thanks to a grant we received from Rivers of the World Congo-Kasai Chapter (ROW) through efforts by Jimmy Shafe. This has done more than give PAX a new look; it has vitally prolonged its life. It was one of IMCK’s goals this year to rehabilitate the aging infrastructures.
All this has been possible because of you. We wholeheartedly thank all of you for your prayers, your interest in our health ministry and your willingness to provide financial support for IMCK.
May you grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ until He comes.
Bernard Kabibu Bimvulu
IMCK Administrator
Master Bladesmith Walter Brend Creates Official ROW Knife
Posted by: | Posted: November 11th, 2009 | CommentsNamed “Scout” in honor of the Boy Scouts, Master Bladesmith Walter Brend, has created the official ROW knife. After almost a year, Walter created one of his famous Model 2 knives for Ben Mathes to tote wherever he goes! Mr. Walter was also kind enough to feature Ben & ROW on his website in February of 2009.
Click on the pictures to see a larger image.
Scout With Tactical Case
Scout With A Helper
As Ben says: “Amazing job Mr. Walter! God bless you for your talent and for creating this wonderful knife!”
We are as honored that you are a friend of ROW as Ben is that you are a friend of his. And, we know this knife will help keep Ben safe in the forests and jungles around the world for many years to come!
Next time you see Ben, ask him, “Is Scout with you?”
Chances are, Scout will be prepared - and in the middle of the action!
RPC Mission Trip to Fortaleza Brazil
Posted by: | Posted: October 26th, 2009 | CommentsRPC Mission Trip to Fortaleza Brazil (in Conjuction with ROW Mission Trip.)
ROW - Congo Kasai: June 2009
Posted by: | Posted: October 21st, 2009 | CommentsIf a picture is worth a thousand words - what’s a personal visit worth? We visited and saw for ourselves that the women who graduated in December 2008 from the ROW-CK Sewing School for Single Mothers are providing for their families through their sewing. Seventeen of the nineteen are earning a living - so this project would have to be deemed an early success! One member One member of our team, Kat Manier from Nashville, got fired up about the sewing school and raised enough money to ensure each 2009 graduate will receive a sewing machine! Hey — Catch Fire!
Here’s a little more of what we did…
- VBS conducted at ROW orphanage in Kinshasa for 25 kids; Village of Lubi II for 40 kids (while more than 100 looked on, listened to the Bible story, and sang the songs taught); Village of Ndesha for 138+ kids. All the kids got pictures either of themselves or with siblings. We printed them with a battery powered printer, and handed them out on the spot to wide grins and much laughter.
- Painted for a day on the IMCK hospital in Kananga and our surgeon on the team, Dr. John Kennedy, performed over eleven surgeries at Good Shepherd Hospital in Kananga/Tshikaji and three more in Kinshasa at Dikembe Mutombo’s Hospital.
- Toured infant nutrition centers (one we painted last year), the Protestant Printing plant in Kananga, as well as their “pygmy” palm tree project. These little palm trees start producing palm nuts for palm oil in just threeor four years. Toured UPRECO (Presbyterian University of Congo) including their pygmy palm project and pineapple project. Both of these will be revenue producers for the college.
- Met with an engineer from a well digging company regarding getting a new pump for the deep well at Lubondai Hospital - getting water for thesepatients is high on our ROW-CK priorities.
- Showed the Jesus Film in Tshiluba language in the church at Tshikaji to more than 100 people.
- Dr. Mulumba, Secretary General of the Congo Presbyterian Church (CPC), gave us the name of CPC’s selectee, Fidele Illunga, for a Université Protestante au Congo (UPC) medical school scholarship. She will complete her education and then go back to the Kasai for at least two years of service as a doctor.
- Construction is progressing on the UPC medical building - footings are being dug and poured, and construction blocks are being made right on the spot. The building will be larger than the UPC economics building.
- 50th anniversary of UPC will be celebrated in November. Check out plans as they develop on http://www.upcongo.org where some photos from the campus are also posted.
Here is a link to a blog site link and it is now updated through the last day of the June trip to Congo. http://www.rowtocongo.blogspot.com
ROW Congo-Kasai Team Visits Congo - June 2009
Posted by: | Posted: July 31st, 2009 | CommentsJimmy Shafe and the Congo-Kasai team travelled to the Congo in June of 2009 to paint at hospitals, run VBS programs for children, pass out MegaVoice Solar Bibles and lots of other activities.
Watch this great video Jimmy took during the VBS program:
Here’s a photo gallery to see some of the wonderful work they did. Click on each thumbnail to see the full sized picture along with a description.
Congo - Kasai 2009 Update
Posted by: | Posted: April 15th, 2009 | CommentsThe ROW Congo-Kasai Chapter (ROW-CK) has recently funded year two of the School for Single Mothers at Tshikaji. This project is coordinated through IMCK (Institut Medical Chretien du Kasai). The 2009 operating budget for 30 ladies to complete the 12-month program is just over $16,000. The curriculum includes French, math, geography, hygiene, and sewing. We would love to send you a tote bag the ladies made in appreciation for donations of $50 or more. You can help change a life for one of these ladies and her children! Read More→
2008 Review - Fortaleza, Brazil
Posted by: | Posted: January 14th, 2009 | CommentsIn 2008, $5000 was raised to build a new school for Prece. It replaced a school in a lean-to in someone’s side yard. This school is preparing close to 100 youth and adults to complete high school and to prepare for the vestibular into the federal university. Read More→
