SUPPORTING DEVELOPMENT SUPPORTING DEVELOPMENT IN CHRIST’S NAME IN CHRIST’S NAME

In issue 51.4Hydroelectric power in Afghanistan 3Helping children in India 4-5The miraculous moringa tree 6Postcards from Sri Lanka 7The Wilsons in Trapia, Brazil 9

OutreachAbroadOutreachOutreachAbroadAbroad

New Year 2013New Year 2013

Noticeboard

2

Operation Agri’s AGM will be held at 3.15 p.m. on

Sunday 5th May 2013 at the Baptist Assembly in the

Norbreck Hotel Blackpool, immediately following our

seminar. Members of the Baptist Men’s Movement and

other individuals and representatives of churches and

other organisations who regularly subscribe to the

work of OA are entitled to attend.

AGM Marathon ManBen Trimmer (pictured) will be running the London Marathon for OA on 21st April next year. Ben, an experienced runner, says: “I’m looking forward to the challenge that the London Marathon will bring in April, and I hope to raise as much as I possibly can to help support the vital work done by Operation Agri.” He has already started training!

See our next issue for more details, but to sponsor Ben visit www.justgiving.com/BenTrimmer, or send earmarked gifts to our address on the back page. Thank you!

Commissioning EditorOperation Agri is looking for a commissioning editor for this magazine.

The commissioning editor, a trustee, is responsible for the content of this magazine. In consultation in particular with the overseas secretaries, he/she commissions and progresses articles from a range of contributors. When copy is received it may need editing – the editor may do this him/herself or get others to do it. Photographs may need selecting. Extensive help will be available.

Our administrator puts the magazine together, with the designers/printers.

Our overseas secretary, Stan Crees, is currently doing this job. He estimates that he spends an average of 2-3 hours weekly on this very rewarding work.

Please draw this need to the attention of anyone you feel may be interested. Contact chairman@operationagri.org.uk.

Regular donations are important to us – they

help us to manage our giving to our overseas

partners. These donations can come to us in

different ways and include standing orders

through banks, special vouchers through Stewardship

and Charities Aid Foundation and through Just Giving and

PayPal. Through our website www.operationagri.org.uk,

which also links to our Facebook page, we are providing

reminders of these ways of giving.

Give by mobile phone. Many people like to

give by mobile phone , and we are now able to

receive donations via JustTextGiving by texting OPAG12

and the amount to 70070. For example to give £10 text

OPAG12 £10 to 70070. JustTextGiving even send us the

gift aid from these gifts, when appropriate.

Give while you shop. Many retailers will

make donations to charities from the sale of

goods over the internet. We have now linked into the

all4charities shopping website www.all4charities.co.uk.

Over 500 retailers are listed, many of them major online

stores and include M&S, Tesco, ASDA, John Lewis, iTunes

and Amazon. You will need to register on the website and

request that Operation Agri receives a percentage of the

value of your purchases. You will not pay any extra for any

goods your purchase using this website.

Ebay. People who use ebay can register to

have some of the proceeds from the sale of

goods given to Operation Agri. Every time a

person lists an item for charity, s/he will automatically get

a free credit on the insertion and fi nal value fees equal to

the percentage that is donated.

New Ways to Give

The backgroundFor the last eight years my wife Bärbel and I have been working in Afghanistan with IAM (International Assistance Mission). Bärbel works as a team leader at our location in a medium-sized town in the north- west of the country, Martin as project manager of the RESAP project (Renewable Energy Sources in Afghanistan Programme) with a focus on small-scale hydro plants to provide electricity for remote mountain villages. During the past years we have been able to complete annually about 20 micro hydro projects. Here we report on one of the year’s power plant projects which went into operation at the end of May 2012.

The request for helpThe village concerned, which consists of 80 families, is located on the edge of an important pass across the Hindukusch mountains which reach deep into Afghanistan. Our fi rst contact with this community came about when its representatives brought to our offi ce an offi cial request for a power plant containing all the signatures of the village elders as well as a positive statement from the local authorities. However when our survey team went to this location some time later they discovered that there was no existing water canal. In many communities such canals exist to irrigate fi elds or to provide water for the operation of old stone mills with wooden water wheels. An existing canal signifi cantly simplifi es the construction of a hydro power plant.

The cooperative activitiesWithin our approach to start a new project, we require a high level of community contribution and, besides other duties, the provision of a suffi cient fl ow of water through a suitable canal is totally the responsibility of the village

Joy and GratefulnessC

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Installation of penstock

By Martin Beck, IAM/RESAP project manager

A grant of £8,250 has helped to support this activity in the past year.

people. We gave temporary approval pending their progress with the canal work. However, it soon became obvious that the villagers were very serious with their intention because they completed a canal of several hundred metres in very demanding and rocky ground within a few weeks. This meant we could now go ahead with our part of the agreement which is the provision of the equipment manufactured in a local workshop; an outcome of our activities jointly with other similar workshops.

When the village men had prepared the site, the power house turbine and penstock could be installed. Then it was again the community’s turn to build the forebay, to put in doors and trash rack and to set up the electric distribution lines. After the completion of all the work, one of our employees started up the project.

The celebrationFinally the great day had come: light in the houses through a power plant built with their own hands! It has been a big joy to work alongside these highly motivated and thankful people. Sometime later our annual company outing brought us again to this location and the villagers had prepared everything for a picnic at the riverbank. For the fi rst time the families of our staff members were able to be with us, something very special in Afghanistan and only possible when trust has grown up between us. In this culture it was simply the generosity and gratefulness of the community that provided this protected space to have a celebration that included the family.

3

Overflow at the canal with village in the background

4

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An ordinary 6 year old…!Sahana is all of two and a half feet tall. Long curly locks grace her back, eyes that sparkle, feet that dance – they have her skipping around the neighbourhood humming a Bollywood tune. Her skin is soft and fair. Sahana is like any other 6-year old – full of a certain verve for life! She has dreams of becoming a teacher (girls do dream of becoming teachers when they’re 6!), to make her class sit down quietly, to be able to write on a blackboard and use a red pen! However, Sahana’s life is a tad different. But for the fact that she lives beside the railway track in Dahisar, in a 20 x 10 foot thatched hut with her parents, who are both HIV positive, everything else about her is ordinary!

Living in poverty…Having learnt how Oasis works with families that are HIV positive in the Borivali community, Sahana’s parents thought about touching base with the staff. However, her father was reluctant but not so, her mother. Both parents have a day job. Her mother works in a home as a domestic help and her father is a daily wage earner. This leaves Sahana to the care of those around her in the neighbourhood. In a community that lives beside a railway track in makeshift shelters, privacy and safety are huge challenges. Every family knows the others quite well and at times this leads to confl ict. Sanitation and hygiene are also massive issues in the community. Money and having enough of it is by and large a test of strength. For Sahana to grow and thrive in this environment is not realistic at all. However, this is all her parents could afford as they tried to eke out a living.

And fear of attack…The incident of Amala, a 4-year old girl being raped by a family friend sent shock waves into the community and also caused Sahana’s parents much concern. Amala’s parents had moved to Mumbai in search of opportunities for a better life although the only jobs they could fi nd were sweeping and cleaning. Amala has a 2-year old sister and her mother is pregnant again, and they might have to leave the newborn in the care of Amala. Still recovering from this trauma, the family decided to move back to the Punjab. Hopefully, Amala will fi nd a safer environment.

Where can the family fi nd help…?With this incident and other factors in mind, Sahana’s mother’s was very concerned about leaving her daughter on her own until she returned home from work. Among its other activities Oasis ran an awareness session on traffi cking and abuse within the community around the same time. In spite of having to put up with

her husband’s abuse, Sahana’s mother decided to risk it all for her daughter’s sake and confront her husband with the truth – could they give Sahana a safe life – a life where her dreams would matter rather than just her security? Where would Sahana enjoy being a child, being a girl and growing up like normal kids? Who would look after Sahana once the AIDS virus takes its toll on both their lives? With these questions fl ooding her mind, her heart weighed down by sorrow, tears in her eyes, she approached her husband with much concern as to how he would respond.

Oasis to the rescue…To Sahana’s mother’s relief, her husband was drawn into the conversation and listened intently as she suggested that they go to the Oasis-run balwadi (crèche) and ask for more information. This they did on the following day. They heard how a child cannot be left alone as this gives

Sahana – Melody of LifeBy Rebecca Swamickan, Fundraising and Communications Manager, Oasis India, and Sonal Parmar, Project Leader, Community Transformation, Oasis India.

At the balwadi and busy.

A picture of the community.

5

OA has provided £10,000 to support this work through 2012.scope for abuse and may lead to traffi cking too. They

also heard how traffi cking happens. They were told how Oasis has set up a balwadi, a teenage girls club, child rights groups, women’s group and of how, periodically, awareness and skill training sessions were also offered. The parents, particularly the father felt responsible for his daughter and asked how they could be helped. Being both HIV positive, he said that they were concerned hugely for Sahana’s future and asked if Oasis could support them in some way.

With a promise of help…The staff quickly took this on as a challenge as considerable time had already been wasted. Although

Oasis India: Redefi ning RestorationAt Oasis, globally, we’re redefi ning community as a positive place where everyone is included, making a contribution and reaching their Go d-given potential. Oasis walks alongside the poor and excluded, empowering people to fi nd their voice, address injustice and strengthen communities. In Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai, Oasis India’s projects refl ect this vision, from working in slum communities to brothels, to caring for victims of abuse and injustice.

Sahana was 6, she had never been to school and did not have the care that a 6-year old girl should have. When the parents gave consent to place Sahana in a boarding school, they began looking for the right place for her. They shared the story with another agency in North Mumbai that has caught the vision. Working in partnership they were able to place Sahana at the kindergarten level of a top English medium boarding school. There is also a promise to help her until she is 18. Her parents visit her whenever they fi nd it convenient and are thrilled to see her living the life of their dreams.

And a safer future.Parents acknowledging responsibility for children within vulnerable communities is a huge step in the right direction. It prevents abusive situations and snaps any links to the traffi ckers, as they back off, knowing that the parents and the community are aware of their presence and its consequences.

For Sahana, the world is now her limit – she knows she can dream and achieve it!

An awareness programme - a street play.

Is it a Miracle Tree?a sks John Bennett, former OA Trustee

I have often wondered about the piece of wood that Moses threw into the bitter water at Marah, and now I think that it might possibly have been Moringa oleifera. This tree is native to the southern foothills of the Himalayas but has gradually spread throughout the world in much the same latitude and especially in Nicaragua where our OA appeal is based. Almost every part of this tree is used in some way making it a very useful tree.

When moringa seeds are crushed and added to even very polluted water, the water is purifi ed in a short time. The horseradish smelling seeds have an anti-bacterial property that is the active ingredient in this use. In low turbid water just one or two seeds will purify up to 3 or 4 litres. The leaves can be eaten as salad, boiled like spinach, or dried and the powder added to soups or stews. Its roots, bark, fruit, fl owers seeds and leaves are used as an antiseptic to treat bites and in medicines to treat rheumatism. The bark and roots are used as a spice and frequently in soap. The crushed seed oil is used in cooking as well as all types of lubrication and cosmetics.

The spread of this tree is now right around the tropical world and its growth areas match the level of need in malnutrition. A miracle tree? I think so!

The leaves are brilliant but perhaps we claimed a little too muchwrites David Pusey, former OA chairman

On a weight for weight basis (rather than by volume) laboratory analysis indicates that moringa leaves do

outstrip oranges for vitamin C [7 fold], milk for calcium [4 fold], bananas for potassium [3 fold], carrots for vitamin A [4 fold] and chicken wings for protein [just].

The late Lowell Fuglie – long an aid worker for a US aid agency in Africa – has claimed that in seeking an affordable source of enriching dietary supplements for the dry tropics it will be hard to better moringa. Apart from providing the valuable vitamins plus essential iron, potassium and calcium, moringa has several necessary trace elements – chromium, copper, manganese, magnesium, phosphorus and zinc.

Amino acids are the building blocks of proteins needed for various functions, not least for muscles! We can convert some amino acids into others, but we cannot make them all and must obtain some through our diet. Moringa contains the full set of essential amino acids which makes it as good as or better than soya.

Dr Laura Parajon reports they distributed many plants last year to communities, but sadly only a few grew well. Some communities (such as San Onofre, with Health Promoter Timotea, featured on the Nicaragua Fit for Life DVD) are growing them successfully. The AMOS team realise the need for more training on how to plant and cultivate the trees, for example by taking people from other communities to learn from San Onofre.

Moringa trees are also benefi tting people and bees at Trapiá, Brazil.

Moringa seedlings are now included in OA’s Presents with a Purpose programme. Visit Operation Agri’s website, and follow the links to Presents with a Purpose and Nicaragua. £10 meets the cost of raising the seedling, giving training, plus delivery to a remote village.

More about the miracle Moringa treeThe Moringa tree features on OA’s Nicaragua video and resources, and has caught the imagination of many OA supporters.

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Moringa – a supermarket on a tree!

(See www.miracletrees.org).

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MMother being given a seedling by one of the Sabalete health

committee members.

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Postcards from Sri LankaOperation Agri Secretary Rev Elgan Evans, with his wife Wendy and family, visited Sri Lanka to gather material for OA’s 2013 appeal.

It was a privilege to meet our partners in Sri

Lanka and discover so much that has been

accomplished and the opportunities for

service there. Here’s a taster of what we saw.

As dog owners, we are familiar with “walkies,” bu t

at 6,000ft up on a mountain track it was a shock to

meet this lady with her OA cow. The milk supplies

the family, plus a modest yet vital income. Her small

plot of land provides grazing, but no space for

exercise, so it has to be “walkies”!

In the south, we visited Shining Star pre-school. The

building had become dilapidated, without equipment,

so our partners LEADS worked with the community

to renovate and furnish it. The leader (on right) joined

a LEADS vocational training scheme and now has a

career in her own village, serving families superbly.

Our family met this family, high in the Kandy hills.

The wife is Chairlady of the very eff ective local

committee. She grows tea organically, and the

income is invaluable to fund medication for her

seriously ill husband.

We celebrated Harvest at Hendala Baptist Church,

near Colombo. It was a joy to meet their pastor

Rev. Ranjani Liyanarachchi, the only female Baptist

minister in Sri Lanka, but there are now a few more

in training.

If you can give by Gift Aid and/or by Banker’s Order, please complete the sections overleafOr mark the appropriate box on your Self-Assessment Tax Return with OA-BMM’s unique reference GAK78YG

and any tax refund that may be due to you will be sent direct to OA.

Please pay to Operation Agri BMM at: Bank of Scotland, Direct Business Accounts, Pentland House, 8 Lochside Avenue, Edinburgh, EH12 9DFSort Code: 12-20-29, Account No: 00142961

the sum of

starting date

and every *

until further notice from me in writing

This order *my previous instructions relating to this charity

Signature

Date

£

month / quarter / year

is in addition to / replaces

My Bank Details

To: The Manager,

Bank Name

Bank Address

Postcode

Sort Code

Account No.

Account Name

* Strike out words that do not apply

Please send this form to Operation Agri, 361 Firs Lane, Palmers Green, London N13 5LX.Any cheques should be made payable to ‘Operation Agri BMM.’

Operation Agri BMM is a registered charity no: 1069349

Response FormI enclose a personal gift towards the work of Operation Agri: £

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Please send me the “Outreach Abroad” magazine by post every 3 months: Yes/No

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IN BLOCK CAPITALS and return this form to the OA Administrator

£8,954 was contributed by OA towards the work of Daveen and Mike during

their fi nal year at Trapia.

“Doing something of eternal value”

By Daveen and Mike Wilson, former BMS workers in Brazil.

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Our CallIt was during a Christian Union meeting at Leeds University when the speaker asked us to think about what we would want to have accomplished with our lives that I (Daveen) realised it really wasn’t so important to get a well-paid job and “be successful.” With only one short life, I would rather spend it doing something of eternal value. Mission seemed the way to go, and I’ve not looked back since.

For Mike, he had always wanted to work overseas in agriculture, but ended up managing a farm in Herefordshire so that another couple could work for TEAR Fund in Lesotho. Eventually they swapped places, and that is the sort of work he’s done ever since.

We remember a mission leader, visiting us in our fi rst years at Trapiá, stating that if you don’t have a call to a specifi c country, you would never last when the going got tough. Mike and I have always felt that Jesus’ statement “Go to all nations” at the end of Matthew’s gospel was enough call for us, and we lasted 24 years in Trapiá, though the going was often tough.

Why Trapiá?Mike and I applied to BMS World Mission in order to work in Angola, but because of the war there, BMS asked us to consider Brazil. I had grown up in Brazil, and said to Mike that the only part of the country I would work in would be the Sertão, the arid, neglected interior of the North-eastern part of the country – in fact, the largest

area of extreme poverty in the Americas, and the most unevangelised. Otherwise, I felt there were needier places elsewhere.

Confi rmation came with a visit from John Clark (the new

Field Secretary) asking us to be the fi rst BMS mission workers in that part of Brazil.

When we arrived in Mossoró, some 300km from the Rio Grande do Norte state capital in the NE of Brazil, everyone assumed we would live in the city, and Mike would commute to the rural areas. For us though, Jesus’ incarnation has always been an important example to follow, and we began to look for somewhere rural to make our home. We ended up at Trapiá because it was a desperately needy and neglected area, but one where the people had land. Moreover, how could we resist a welcome like Antonio’s? He offered us his (tiny, but brick, as opposed to mud) house. When asked where he and his three children and pregnant wife would live, he said, “under a tarpaulin, but please come!”

Fighting Infant DeathWe imagined we’d gone mainly for Mike to use his agricultural skills – this was rather scuppered by practically no rain for our fi rst four years. Instead, we were horrifi ed by the number of babies dying around us. One little lad, the same age as our own 2-yr-old, died in our car on the way to hospital – we found out that this was this lady’s FOURTEENTH baby to die. As Mike put together a coffi n from bits of wood used in building our house and I helped wash the tiny body, my resolve was formed that I would fi ght this in every way possible. The main thing was to get the Mums breastfeeding again. Eventually, after many battles, much prayer, and several years, babies no longer died in Trapiá and we were actually chosen by a government project as an example of what breastfeeding could do for babies’ health.

[Follow the continuing record of work with Daveen and Mike in our next issue.]

Daveen with one of the early babies.

A recent photo of the whole family.

The Wilsons on the birth of their first

child, before their first visit to Trapia.

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For such a time as this…Extract from a message received from a worker in a

Muslim majority country in North Africa.

After 5 years of study and many comings and goings

to Spain, I am delighted to inform you that I fi nished

my Social Work training by distance from UNED, the

Spanish Open University. This victory was only made

possible by the generous scholarship I was granted by

Operation Agri, for which I am grateful.

As a member of a development agency, I have worked

in this country for nearly 10 years in the area of social

work and development in rural areas and small towns.

The training enables me to plan, implement and follow

up diff erent projects in various sectors of the overall

work. I am currently involved in several projects

aimed at diff erent groups, like the elderly, for example,

providing training for the carers and social activities

for the elderly. We also work with poor and vulnerable

families. Currently we run nine projects of micro

business and farming.

Many doors have opened up recently. God has been

good and gave me opportunities to be here for such

a time and to use the new skills from the Social Work

course.

Goat keeping in Nepal

“My name is Chandra. I live in Triveni with my husband

and two children. My husband works on a meagre

daily wage - never enough to cover the daily living

cost of our family. When training in income generation

activities was off ered by the OA supported MCDS/

CHEP Project I grabbed the opportunity to participate

in training about Goat Raising. Besides the training,

the project also provided goats to the participants. I

began raising and breeding with the goats and was

eventually able to sell two of them for Rs. 11,000

(£75). This enabled me to pay my debts. Now there

are seven goats in the shed. I am planning to extend

these activities. Goat keeping is helping to support our

household and I am happy.”

Goats again in GuluThe sustainable agricultural project supported by OA

and managed by Paul Kyalimpa in Northern Uganda

has aimed at providing small animals to women in

Gulu and surrounding districts to help improve the

livelihood of women in the area. This is achieved

by improving small animal enterprise management

which includes the introduction of adequate housing

for small animals such as goats and pigs, training on

feeding the animals, animal health, marketing and

other general animal management requirements.

At the start the women received support for housing

the animals from the grant provided by Operation

Agri. They were given cement and nails and then left

to provide the local items such as grass, timber, stones

and the local labour. Today these groups of women

are sharing the goats and building their own animal

houses on their farms. The project is changing attitudes

on keeping goats in the area and the enthusiasm of

these women is changing the community.

Jane’s Story from Uganda Jane is 20 years old

and dropped out of

school at stage 3 in

2009. After the early

death of her father,

her mother struggled

to pay Jane’s

school fees, fi nally

withdrawing her from

school when the fees

increased. Then when

OA’s Uganda partner,

SDKF, advertised

the Tailoring and Design course Jane applied. She

graduated last year, was given a loan by SDKF to buy

her own sewing machine and started her own business.

Jane says that her monthly income is 200,000 Ugandan

shillings (£50) and from this, she is able to help her

mother and her siblings in school.

News in BriefC

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Jane using her sewing machine

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Chandra with her goats.

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Prayer Points Please use this page in conjunction with other information in the magazine

India■ Oasis Borivali. Give thanks for progress on this OA

supported Slum Community Development project in the Ganpat Patil Nagar area of Mumbai. Pray for the 25 children who have enrolled in the pre-school programme, and the teachers managing the classes and events. Other programmes include classes for vulnerable members of the community on child rights, HIV/AIDs and anti-human traffi cking.

■ WUAC. Please pray for the ongoing activities of West Utkal Agriculture Centre in Orissa, and in particular the OA supported Water Projects at 2 villages and Livelihood Projects at 4 others. These provide physical improvements to village water supply infrastructiure, and training to increase agricultural productivity in this rural area.

Sri Lanka■ Give thanks to God for the faithful development work

of Farms Lanka under the leadership of Clarence Mendis. Pray that workers at all levels will be fruitful in this ministry to feed the hungry, and that as they faithfully seek God’s guidance in managing their work load and trust him to lead, they will experience his provision and blessing.

■ Farms Lanka activities at many different levels continue to uplift lives. One of these is Home Gardening Programmes which, with government backing, has seen many people growing a variety of vegetables around their homes. Pray that this will be successful within the Farms programme and that it will benefi t diet and improve health levels generally.

■ Praise God that LEADS and its leadership has been strengthened by the activities of Dave Navindra from Canada, who arrived two years ago to deputise for Roshan Mendis. Give thanks that in the past year LEADS’ network of programmes and services has continued to expand and evolve to meet the needs of the communities they serve. Pray that plans to improve the retention of specialist staff will be fruitful.

Nicaragua■ Give thanks to God for the difference that our partner

organisation AMOS is making in the 27 villages they serve in Nicaragua, particularly the dramatic reduction in child mortality.

■ Pray that the model they follow of training health promoters to work in their own villages will continue to be effective in bringing major improvements in the health of the village people.

■ Remember David and Laura Parajon as they return to the work in Nicaragua after a time raising personal support in the USA. Pray that their vision and wisdom for the work will continue to bring much encouragement to the rural communities.

Brazil■ Pray for Edilson and Raniela, and their young family,

who are living in the Wilson’s former home, and leading both the church work and the beekeeper’s association at Trapia. Pray for perseverance, and that they will be respected by the community. Pray too for Edilson as he studies to become a Baptist pastor.

Tanzania■ FPI (Farming Partnerships Initiatives) in Karagwe. OA

has agreed funding for the second phase of training in sustainable organic farming in this region. Pray for Rev Heavenlight Luoga as he oversees the project, for Rev Paul Kyalimpa of the Baptist Union of Uganda as he delivers the training and for Rev Apollo Anthony, the fi eld worker, as he travels extensively by motorcycle encouraging and monitoring progress.

Uganda■ Oasis Beersheba. OA has agreed to fund the new

phase of the work at Beersheba. Pray for the self help groups being established and trained in areas such as fi nance and risk assessment. Pray too for the agricultural training being given to members of the Beersheba Boys Football Club.

■ SDKF. Continue to pray for those being trained in the Tailoring and Design course - that the skills they are acquiring will be well used for the benefi t of themselves and their dependent family members. Pray too for the planning of a second phase of the Agricultural Project which aims to improve food security and sustainable livelihoods of vulnerable peasant farmers of Nakaseke district using sustainable agricultural technologies.

■ Gulu. Pray for Rev Paul Kyalimpa as he continues to travel to Gulu in the north of the country to train farmers in sustainable agriculture. Remember before God those who have benefi tted from the training that they will be able to share their knowledge with others so that more may benefi t from better crops and greater food security.

Zimbabwe■ Pray for the completion of the training centre at

Gulati so that the courses planned to commence in January 2013 will all go ahead as planned and bring encouragement and benefi t to the youth of that area.

Home■ Praise God for continued guidance in the affairs of Operation

Agri and for all involved in its day to day management.

■ Pray that God will provide more volunteers to help with the work and provide future leadership.

■ Give thanks that Elgan Evans and his family had a fruitful visit to Sri Lanka in the summer. Pray that Gill Ashley-Smith and her team will be guided by the Lord as they put together the resources for the 2013 appeal featuring Sri Lanka.

Operation Agri (charity no. 1069349 and a member of Global Connections) supports rural and urban development projects on three continents, attacking the basic causes of poverty among some of the least fortunate people in the world. Many of the projects are run by churches or organisations in partnership with BMS World Mission.

Outreach Abroad was compiled and edited by Stan Crees and Malcolm Drummond. To be added to the mailing list, or for donations or other enquiries, contact Malcolm Drummond (administrator): Operation Agri, 361 Firs Lane, Palmers Green, London N13 5LX. Tel. 020 8803 0113, or email admin@operationagri.org.uk.

Designed and printed by CPO, Worthing, on chlorine-free paper manufactured from wood from sustainably-managed forests.

© Operation Agri BMM 2013. Articles may be freely extracted for use in local church publicity in UK and Ireland provided due acknowledgement is given to Operation Agri.

Visit our website: www.operationagri.org.uk

Front Cover Photograph: Inside the hydro-electric power house providing electricity to a remote rural region of Afghanistan (see p. 3 for details). Picture: RESAP.

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SUPPORTING DEVELOPMENT SUPPORTING DEVELOPMENT IN CHRIST’S NAME IN CHRIST’S NAME

In issue 51.4Hydroelectric power in Afghanistan 3

Helping children in India 4-5

The miraculous moringa tree 6

Postcards from Sri Lanka 7

The Wilsons in Trapia, Brazil 9

OutreachAbroadOutreachOutreachAbroadAbroad

New Year 2013New Year 2013

GROWING SKILLS IN SRI LANKA – OUR 2013 APPEALThis year we will be focussing on the work we support in Sri Lanka. The appeal materials will be available in May, but for a foretaste see ‘Postcards from Sri Lanka’ on p. 7, and please pray for us as we put together the video and other materials for the churches.

PRESENTS WITH A PURPOSENot just for Christmas! Birthdays, Anniversaries and other special occasions can also benefi t the work we do overseas through our ‘Presents with a Purpose’ gift card scheme. Churches can also participate in the same way. Do ask for the latest brochure, or visit our site for the full range of gifts and cards.