Helping the Church in Chad rescue orphans and widows,
train leaders, and share
the Gospel

Summer 2008

Village Altonodji Update: Building the Wall, Brick by Brick

The Village is the first of its kind in the country: the first to be planned, built and administered by the Chadian people themselves. This is an unusual model, not only in Chad, but throughout Africa and the world. As the Village provides an important witness of Christ's love to the children who live there as well as to the surrounding community and the nation beyond, the stakes in ensuring the success of the project are high. 

In addition to all of our donors, several other organizations have come alongside to help ensure the success of the project. Advancing Native Missions, of Charlottesville, Virginia, continues to provide needed support for children who live there. "C3", an organization located in Kansas City, Missouri, with a mission of building orphan dormitories, has joined together with Spanish River Church of Boca Raton, Florida, to build up to 10 more dormitories to house an additional 200 children on the campus. The construction of two of these has already begun. 

The container that was sent last summer by the members of Spanish River Church finally arrived at the Village in February of this year, bringing supplies of clothing, books, computers, medicines, and the components for the installation of a well that will finally bring clean water to the Village. A representative of Moving Waters Industries of Deerfield Beach, Florida, will soon be traveling to Moundou to install the well on the VA campus. 

While the Village continues to grow and provide hope to the destitute, it grows unprotected from the dangers that surround the Village. Crime is a problem in Chad, like it is in many poor countries. To protect themselves from such activity, every Chadian home in the city is built within the confines of a walled surround. 

a security wall is absolutely necessary, but the cost is high. It is estimated that the wall will cost $180,000 to build. Made of wood-fired bricks, the wall will be a little over 7 feet high and will completely surround the 11 acre campus of the Village when completed for a total length of about 3,100 feet. Because the ground gets soft in the rainy season, a good foundation has to be made to support the wall. So, you can see the wall is a large project and much different than the decorative fences around some houses in the US.

Because of the pressing need for the protection provided by the wall, Mission:Chad has decided to fund the beginning of the wall's construction with the financial resources we currently have. Like the disciples who were asked to feed the five thousand with the five loaves of bread that they had, we have decided to step out in faith and provide what little we have to begin this enormous project. In doing so, we are relying on God's provision, as the Saviour taught, to complete the project in His time. In May, Mission:Chad sent the first down payment of $15,000 for the wall, and construction will begin immediately. Future newsletters will contain regular updates on the status of this project. We ask you to prayerfully consider whether God might be leading you to contribute to this project—you will be a blessing to the orphans and widows living there.

While the Village continues to grow and provide hope to the destitute, it grows unprotected from the dangers that surround the Village... the children ... go to sleep at night without the protection of a wall to keep raiders out.