FOUR intrepid women from New Life Church in Okehampton recently set out on a mission trip to Tanzania in Eastern Africa. The women were the guests of two missionaries, one of whom is Rebecca Jackson from South Zeal, who is now based just outside Arusha in the north of the country. The team from Okehampton wanted to give Rebecca some encouragement and see first hand the work she is involved with. Local children who attend Supergang, the children?s club of the New Life Church, went without sweets so they could donate £300 in tuck money to help children in Tanzania. The money was used to provide much needed toys and equipment. The money was also used to buy a fridge to be used in a home for street children that Rebecca had established with help from Seeway Trust, another Devon-based charity helping the poor of Africa. A further £1,500 was collected by New Life Church which also went to help the poor of Tanzania. Some of the money was used for a food distribution project for 25 families living on Mount Meru, Tanzania?s second highest mountain after Mount Kilimanjaro. The women bought the food and blankets from local markets and then saw the parcels being delivered. They were able to not only distribute the much needed supplies but to gain an insight into what life was like for the Tanzanian people. A tumble dryer was also bought for an orphanage ? previously if cloth nappies were not dry by bedtime the children would have to go to sleep with damp nappies on. Esther Waters from the church said: ?It was great for Rebecca to show us some of the needs in Tanzania and to have the finance to be able to make a difference. ?I would like to thank everybody who donated, especially the children of Supergang. We hope that this will be the first of many future trips.?
