Members of an East Devon church have been helping feeds families in southern Zambia.
With a strong desire to help combat famine over 7,000 miles away in southern Africa, members of an East Devon church have immersed themselves in an important feeding project.
The Community Church, which meets at Honiton Beehive and Sidmouth College on Sunday mornings, belongs to a group called Newfrontiers, a worldwide family of more than 850 churches in over 60 countries.
One of the key themes of the group is named 'Reaching the Nations', where congregations reach out to make a difference in other societies and, with a sense of urgency, help those in need.
Embracing the core values of 'Reaching the Nations', members of the Honiton and Sidmouth churches have aided churches in southern Zambia for many years and stepped up their efforts recently to help a starving population.
Last autumn, local church leaders learnt that a lack of rainfall over the last two years has resulted in extremely poor crop growth in Zambia.
A spokesman for the church, Norman Amey, commented: "The situation in Zambia has been pretty desperate. We have heard of families going several days without eating and others who have reverted to eating plant roots".
Expressing concern and wanting to support their Zambian friends, the East Devon leaders met with their Zambian counterparts to provide a solution.
Norman added: "In the past, the church has been involved with several projects including micro-finance for small businesses and the provision of water supplies in rural areas. It was through these contacts that we became aware of the current situation and felt that we might be able to provide some assistance."
Following a collection in November, arrangements were made for food to be delivered to individual households across the African region.
The first delivery of food took place in early December, when more than 300 families were provided with basic food requirements for one month.
This was followed up in January and further deliveries will be made in February and in March, when it is anticipated that the number of recipients will have doubled.
The leaders of The Community Church would like to thank everyone who has contributed to this fantastic effort.
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