Mpongwe

Welcome to Mpongwe Baptist Association

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We are a faith based organisation who are working to help people in our nation both physically and spiritually. In short, this is what we do:

Spreading the gospel of Jesus through our churches.
Provide healthcare through Mpongwe mission hospital.
Giving hope to orphans by supporting their education through the OVC-program.
Provide practical services through our workshop.
Provide accommodation for staff, volunteers and visitors on the mission compound.

Please read more about these different areas through the menus above. The purpose of this website is to let you know about our work and how you can engage in it!

May God bless you,

Mr Edwin Chipelelo

Director of Operations

Our Partners

Interact — Thu, 14 Dec 2017 07:58:19 +0000

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History and Future

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Where we work

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We work in Zambia

In the context of a developing country that won its independence from Great Britain in 1964. Zambia is poor in a material sense, but rich in a spiritual sense. This means that we face challenges that often times are very different from western countries. Most of our members struggle every year to get enough food on the table for themselves and their families. Also, at the same time Zambia has been declared to be a christian nation, use of witchcraft is widespread and also preaching of prosperity gospel.

We work in the Copperbelt region

An area very rich on minerals, close to the Democratic Republic of Congo. The mining industry has been around for a long time, for good and for worse. The biggest cities in the region are Ndola and Kitwe, about a two hours drive from Mpongwe. As far as commerce goes, you can find almost anything you would expect from a European city in these bigger cities and towns. In Zambia there are over 70 different tribes, with many different languages, but in this area the dominant language is Bemba. Apart from these bigger cities most of this region is very rural with sometimes very poor roads.

In you want to know more about where the MBA churches are in this region, take a look at ”What we do – Churchwork” for more information.

We work in Mpongwe

In the beginning of the 20th century, Mpongwe was little more than wild bushland, known by the locals to be haunted by dangerous animals and evil spirits. Today the once small village is starting to look more and more like a town with a lively market at its center. Here you can find locally harvested foods, household articles and beautiful patterned cloth for your chitengi!

The mission compound is close to the marketplace. In this area you will find the MBA office, the hospital, the workshop, guesthouses and the Baptist church in the midst of Jacaranda and Flamoyant trees.

Our Identity

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Vision

A self sustainable organisation that is effectively spreading the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to all

Mission

• To preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to All (Mtt. 28:19-20)

• To promote unity and brotherhood between member churches (1 John 4:7)

• Provide physical and spiritual well being through our Lord Jesus Christ by providing quality health, hospitality and beneficial services to all as a means of communicating the love of Christ.

Our core values

Organizational map of MBA

Guest houses

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MBA are happy to provide accommodation in guesthouses for students, visitors and the public. The guesthouses are situated on the mission compound, only a few minutes walk from the Mpongwe market.

Apart from the guesthouses, MBA also owns a number of houses on the mission compound that are rented out to workers on the mission, mostly hospital workers. Combined, these mission houses and guesthouses provide the main income for the MBA administration salaries, though it’s always a struggle to keep the salaries close to a decent level.

The New Guesthouse

This guesthouse is divided into two wings of three bedrooms, a sitting room, kitchen and bathroom each. Each bedroom has two single beds.

Shared kitchen
Shared toilets and bathroom
Bedlinen and towels are included

For visitors: 100K/room and night
For students: From 40K/bed and night

The Huts

Two single beds in each hut
Shared toilets and showers
Bedlinen and towels are included

For visitors: 100K/room and night
For students: From 40K/bed and night

The UK-Hut

Two single beds
Kitchen
Bathroom
Bedlinen and towels are included

For visitors: 150K/room and night

If you have special requests concerning cooking or help with transport, we’re happy to assist, although we cannot stand for the costs involved.

Would you like to book a stay at our guesthouses? Please contact Mr Mutakela or Mr Adamsson!

Mr Patrice Mutakela

Guesthouse in charge

patrice.mutakela@mpongwe.com

+260 978290433

Mr Adamson Shamfuti

Director

shamfutiadamson@gmail.com

+260 967997511

Social Work

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The social work of MBA takes a couple of different shapes. However, all of them aim to help people to help themselves. Here are a couple of examples of that.

OVC program

The main goal of the OVC program (OVC stands for Orphans and Vulnerable Children) is to support the orphans and vulnerable children of MBA with education.

School policy in Zambia states that the children must have shoes, uniforms and other necessary equipment in order to be allowed into school. This is more than many families can afford. Orphans, mentally challenged or physically handicapped children are often the ones that miss out.

What we do

What the program does is that it finds these OVC, chooses caregivers to look after these children and support them with all the necessary school requirements. The children are generally found through the MBA churches and the caregivers are usually hand picked by the local pastor for being responsible and caring enough to be a caregiver.

The caregivers are obliged to stay well informed of the childrens education, but also their family situation, health and other living conditions. Apart from the caregivers there are currently two staff workers for the program that call, visit and talk to the children to see how they are doing and provide them with books, clothes, schoolbags, school fees and other requirements.

Stats

There are currently 170 children in this program. Apart from caregivers and staff that work to make this possible, it is entirely funded by Friends of Mpongwe in the UK. This makes an enormous difference for these children.

The future

However, if you who reads this would consider donating more funds to this program, it could make a big difference. As the children age, the school fees increase and the funds are sometimes not enough to send the children to secondary school. Another challenge is that the caregivers need help with transport to their OVCs, who sometimes live far away in rural Zambia. They are provided with one bicycle per district, which, unfortunately is sometimes far from enough.

If you want to know more about the OVC program, or have any questions on how to help, please don’t hesitate to contact Mirriam or Ann!

Mirriam – shamfuti.mirriam@yahoo.com or +260 968872526

Ann – annpowell49@gmail.com

One boy has been in the

program for many years now.

At first, he hardly talked and

was very shy. Now, thanks

to the program he could

move to town to ger proper

education in highschool, he

looks like a different person,

is very clever and a lot more

outgoing than before. Now

when I talk to him in Lamba

on the phone he says ”No

no auntie, we speak English

now!”

As I was interviewing one

potential OVC, she started

crying uncontrollably. I

asked about her father and

mother but she only cried.

I decided to put her in the

program and came back

another time to check up

on her. This time she spoke

to me and told me that her father was dead since long and her mother was mad. When you asked where I slept or about things I had I cried because I had nothing and no place to live.

Women groups

Sometimes the women start a club where they teach each other skills like knitting, building, marketing etc. Occasionally outside professionals are invited to teach.

One example is the sowing group in Mpongwe. Here a group of women meet to sow bags, uniforms, curtains or whatever else is ordered. Apart from a appreciated social meeting place, this small workshop provides some extra income to the families.

Johansson Christian Academy

The school, situated on the mission compound in Mpongwe, has great ambitions. Starting off with grades 1-4, we’re hoping that in a few years we will offer education to grades 1-9.

Furthermore, the school wants to focus on educating its students in “life skills” that will help them get good jobs. That means there will be a focus on practical work, computer studies and other areas that will benefit the students in a very real sense.

Want to know more?

If you want to know more about the social work of MBA, please contact Mr Adamson Shamfuti.

Mr Adamson Shamfuti

Director

shamfutiadamson@gmail.com

+260 967997511

Workshop

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If anything needs fixing, it’s taken to the mission workshop. Here you find cars, trucks, bikes, furniture, coffins and more. The workers need to be ready to repair and build a variety of things. The workshop has been around for many years, in slightly different shapes and purposes.

Currently, the main income of the workshop comes from selling coffins. This is a sensitive business here since the conductors can be accused for causing deaths just to make money. However, as it is the mission workshop and closely related to the church, it is a trusted business by the locals.

The workshop means a lot to me. I get experience in many areas, painting, even plumbing. Getting a pay keeps me from suffering, like I know others do. Also it’s like a family here, like a home.

– Joshua

This job gives me good experience in carpentry. I want to have my own carpentry some day. That way I could also help the community by passing on my knowledge.

– Wesley

Want to know more?

If you want to know more about the mission workshop and what they do, please contact Mr Steve Powell.

Mr Steve Powell

stevepowell.sp1@gmail.com

+260 961611439

Mpongwe Mission Hospital

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The vision
”To promote healing through our lord Jesus Christ in the provision of healthcare for all”

The mission hospital is situated on the mission compound, in central Mpongwe. Patients in great numbers were treated by the mission workers already in the 1940’s. In 1950 permanent wards for men, women and children were built. In 1978 the new hospital was built with funding from SIDA.

Just to give an idea of what the hospital has to offer its patients, here’s a list of the current departments:

OPD
Pharmacy
Laboratory
Administration
MCH (Mother and child health)
TB department
Maternity ward
Female, male and children ward

X-ray
Theater
Physiotherapy department
Eye department
Kitchen
Laundry
Maintenance
ART clinic and HIV/Aids counseling

The significance of this hospital is difficult to exaggerate. It serves people in a big and rural area, even patients from outside Mpongwe district come here. It is common that you find long lines of patients waiting for treatment, advice or drugs outside the entrance. Every week outreaches are arranged to provide help for patients that cannot travel to the hospital themselves. If you are interested in viewing some statistics from the hospital, see below for contact information.

Listed below are some of the greatest challenges for the hospital.

Malaria

Malaria is a life-threatening disease caused by parasites that are transmitted to people through the bites of infected female Anopheles mosquitoes. It is preventable and curable.

Zambia is one of the sub-saharan countries that are the most affected countries in the world from this disease.

Source: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs094/en/, dec 2017

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:

Anopheles_minimus.jpg, dec-17

HIV/AIDS

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) targets the immune system and weakens people’s defence systems against infections and some types of cancer. As the virus destroys and impairs the function of immune cells, infected individuals gradually become immunodeficient. Immune function is typically measured by CD4 cell count.

Immunodeficiency results in increased susceptibility to a wide range of infections, cancers and other diseases that people with healthy immune systems can fight off.

The most advanced stage of HIV infection is Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome (AIDS), which can take from 2 to 15 years to develop depending on the individual. AIDS is defined by the development of certain cancers, infections, or other severe clinical manifestations.

Source: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs360/en/, dec 2017

Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:

People_living_with_HIV_AIDS_world_map.PNG, dec-17

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis (TB) is caused by bacteria (Mycobacterium tuberculosis) that most often affect the lungs. Tuberculosis is curable and preventable.

TB is spread from person to person through the air. When people with lung TB cough, sneeze or spit, they propel the TB germs into the air. A person needs to inhale only a few of these germs to become infected.

People infected with TB bacteria have a 5–15% lifetime risk of falling ill with TB. However, persons with compromised immune systems, such as people living with HIV, malnutrition or diabetes, or people who use tobacco, have a much higher risk of falling ill.

Source: http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs104/en/, dec 2017

Malnutrition

A main cause of malnutrition is poverty, but proper education can make a big difference too. For example, did you know that a child suffering from malnutrition may actually swell up and cause the parents to think there’s no need to become alarmed?

Our hospital feeds, educates, treats and goes on weekly outreaches to combat malnutrition.

Mother and Child health

From Monday to Friday every week there are different activities at the Mother and Child Health clinic (MCH). The MCH provides under-five clinic where children up to the age of five get vaccinations and are weighed to have their growth evaluated.

There’s also family planning, antenatal clinic and education in different subjects. Every Tuesday a team from the MCH goes on outreach in the rural areas. At the outreach the team provides the same activities as they do at the MCH clinic as well as HIV-testing and counseling.

Family planning

Family planning is offered every week at the MCH and during outreach. Apart from educating and handing out free condomes to both men and women, women are also offered contraceptive injections and tablets.

Spiritual need

Spiritual needs and the physical situation are often related. One example is that suicides are quite common in this area, usually from posion taken at a moment of desperation.

To make a difference in a spiritual sense, there are open morning devotions and a hospital chaplain there to serve the patients.

Lack of funds

Zambia is ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world. If MMH is to provide healthcare for all in need, we cannot expect the patients to pay for it. All care, medication, food etc. is offered the patiens for free.

The hospital is maintained by donations from a number of vital partnerships that you can read more about below. However, because of lack of funds, it’s a constant struggle to keep the hospital equipped to face the needs.

Need of renovations

Many parts of the hospital haven’t been renovated since its construction in the 1970’s.

Beside making the environment less pleasant for both patients and staff, it can easily become a sanitary issue.

Efforts are being done to make a change (read more about it below!) but there’s still much that could be done.

Who keeps this hospital running?

Except for the hospital staff who work daily to combat the above challenges, there are a number of donors who make the work possible.

Zambian government

The Zambian government stands for a big portion as they pay the salaries to all the professional medical staff.

Interact

Donations from Interact (EFK) contribute to the salaries for administration and maintenance staff.

The mission farm

Since MBA owns a farm in Mpongwe that is currently leased to a contractor. A portion of the income goes directly to the hospital.

CHAZ

Churches Health Association of Zambia lobby for money from international organisations and the government, which provides recourses for programmes to combat HIV/AIDS and TB.

Zambeef

This company deserves acknowledgement as they donate chicken, maize and cocking oil to the hospital kitchen, who can provide food to the patients, free of charge.

People like you!

There are both groups and individuals from Europe that contribute greatly to our hospital. Just to give a few examples, there’s a group of medical students from Galway University in Ireland, and also another group from the UK that have helped renovating/building different parts of the hospital. The UK-group tiled the floors to of the wards and the Galway students constructed the Out-patients department.

Individuals like the farmer Anders Ivarsson from Sweden have ment a great deal for the mission farm and for the building of accommodation for hospital workers. Another example is the doctor Gunnar Holmgren who have worked many years at the hospital and brought both volunteers, visitors and attention to our hospital.

If you read about our hospital and can think of something you could help with, please don’t hesitate to contact us. Maybe you can help bring attention from churches or humanitarian organisations? Can you bring together a group that could make a difference? Would you consider donating money for our cause or are you perhaps a medical student or professional who want to work with us on site? If you have an idea, get in touch!

Mr Chisenkebele

Hospital Manager

shikelechisenkebele@gmail.com

mpongwemissionhospital@gmail.com

+26 0967 590659

+26 0955 496991

Church work

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The main goal for the churches on MBA is to preach the good news to all the people.

There is so much happening in MBAs churches, too much to list here! However, to give you an idea of the work, below is mentioned the main areas of work done in the churches, briefly described.

Training leaders In order to maintain faithfulness to the word of God and equip leaders with the skillset they need to help their congregations live and grow, MBA facilitates a few different ways to train leaders. School for Training Christians for Service (STCS). This program spans over two years and is open for any church member who believe in Jesus. The goal is not to hand out titles but simply to help the spiritual life of the members to grow. MBA arranges small scale training for leaders on district level. MBA sends recommended church members to Fiwale Bible College to become pastors. The scholarship is funded by Interact and means a lot to both pastors and the whole of MBA! MBA also arrange retreats for pastors where they get to share their experiences and receive teaching. Working as a pastor is often very challenging because the churches have many areas of need combined with very low wages. Many churches don’t have a pastor of their own, but is lead by elders instead.
Youths The world today changes rapidly and brings many challenges with it. The main goal for the youth work is to invite them to know Jesus Christ. Sometimes it’s hard to find fellowship in church if you’re not in a choir, because singing is a big part of the culture in church. However, we strive to include everyone, therefore the activities done during youth meetings may also include bible studies, memorizing scripture, drama, practical work and more.
Women The women of MBA gather regularly for a number of reasons in their local churches. Typically it means praying together, sharing the word of God together, singing in a choir, cleaning, evangelizing or cooking for individuals or groups in need. One big annual event is the women’s conference. In 2017 it gathered over a thousand participants in Mpongwe. One of the goals of the conference is to raise funds to support different needs. However, the main goal is to share fellowship with each other as a group.
Sunday school Typically the children gather in large numbers every Sunday to learn about Jesus, memory verses, dance, paint and sing. One of the challenges the teachers face is that they have large numbers of children to handle at once. The problem of child abuse is also present. In order to face these challenges the teachers receive training from MBA in how to handle the children, material to teach from and attitude towards the work. This training is being monitored by the facilitators who also offer followup meetings.
Planting churches MBA is a growing organization. New churches often arise when an MBA member move to a new area for work or other reasons. When there is no nearby church to go to, he or she starts a fellowship group in their house, and when the group has gathered enough people, a church is planted and registered in MBA. The registration is important in order to get support and keep the churches united. The support from MBA can come in different shapes, but commonly it has to do with evangelization, training and building the church building. One great challenge is to provide the many churches with pastors. Often times the churches are located rurally and the pay is very low. But without pastors it is hard to maintain unity and fellowship across all the districts.

Facts about the church work of MBA

MBA is a denomination with about 160 churches connected and more than 13 000 members.

Copperbelt Province:

Luanshya district

Mpongwe district,

Lufwanyama district

Central Province:

Kapiri-Mponshi district

Kabwe district

Ngabwe district

North-western province:

Kabompo district

Southern province:

Sinazongwe district

Want to know more?

If you want to know more about the church work of MBA, please contact the General secretary Langson Makule or the Director Adamson Shamfuti.

Mr Adamson Shamfuti

Director

shamfutiadamson@gmail.com

+260 967997511

Mr Langson Makule

General Secretary

maculegiftc@gmail.com

+260 966617124

Mpongwe

Welcome to Mpongwe Baptist Association

Our Partners

History and Future

Where we work

Our Identity

Vision

A self sustainable organisation that is effectively spreading the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to all

Mission

• To preach the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ to All (Mtt. 28:19-20)

• To promote unity and brotherhood between member churches (1 John 4:7)

• Provide physical and spiritual well being through our Lord Jesus Christ by providing quality health, hospitality and beneficial services to all as a means of communicating the love of Christ.

Our core values

Guest houses

MBA are happy to provide accommodation in guesthouses for students, visitors and the public. The guesthouses are situated on the mission compound, only a few minutes walk from the Mpongwe market.

Would you like to book a stay at our guesthouses? Please contact Mr Mutakela or Mr Adamsson!

Social Work

The social work of MBA takes a couple of different shapes. However, all of them aim to help people to help themselves. Here are a couple of examples of that.

Workshop

Want to know more?

Mpongwe Mission Hospital

The vision”To promote healing through our lord Jesus Christ in the provision of healthcare for all”

Malaria

HIV/AIDS

Tuberculosis

Malnutrition

Mother and Child health

Family planning

Spiritual need

Lack of funds

Need of renovations

Who keeps this hospital running?

Church work

The main goal for the churches on MBA is to preach the good news to all the people.

Training leaders

Youths

Women

Sunday school

Planting churches

Facts about the church work of MBA

Want to know more?

The vision
”To promote healing through our lord Jesus Christ in the provision of healthcare for all”