Charles Weza is leading drought-stricken villages in his home district both spiritually and physically. Spiritually he holds Sunday worship and teaching services, Thursday prayer meetings and he walks from village to village evangelizing, sharing scripture and hope, praying with the elderly and ill. Physically he is continuously serving through INHLELO ZENKOSI (God's Plan)—a faith-driven initiative restoring soil and teaching sustainable farming and animal raising using the Farming God’s Way plan with intent to establish self sustainability in the villages.
Most recently the chicken production project has been launched. However, high chick mortality remains a major hurdle due to a lack of proper fencing, feed, brooder boxes, and heat lamps. They are loosing eggs and chicks to snakes, dogs, hawks and weather. Furthermore, without a vehicle, walking 30 miles to the city for essential supplies and market sales is nearly impossible.
Can Free Range Chickens change lives?
Absolutely! But your prayers and help are needed to establish the adequate infrastructure for developing the chicken runs with safe housing, and a multipurpose vehicle
for transporting supplies and taking products to market.
My name is Irene. Before retiring, I owned and operated an African Basket and Fair Trade store in Northwest Montana called First Choice Decor. My greatest take away from that business was meeting people, especially the artisan suppliers in Africa, learning their stories and growing in understanding about their circumstances. One of them to whom I’ve been able to stay connected is Charles Weza in an African rural village near Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe (one of the 7 Wonders of the World!). We still communicate nearly every day sharing family news, prayer, encouragements, and needs with each other. My husband and I have been blessed to be able to help support Charles directly for many years, but we lack the extra to do more. Any funds collected from this GiveSendGo campaign will go directly to Charles for use in the INHLELO ZENKOSI free range chicken project. Every time we have sent Charles money for a special need, he has sent us photos of receipts for which the money was used - even when not expected.
Our current request is that you will pray with us for provisions to create the vital infrastructure these resilient villagers need for their community chicken business:
- Chicken wire and all other materials to build a large 16M x 39M fenced chicken run (calculated to contain 15,000 chickens)
- Housing to keep chickens safe from predators at night.
- Brooding boxes where mama chickens can safely lay their eggs and hatch their chicks.
- Plentiful and proper feed for different stages of chicken development
- Heat lamps for chicks
- Surrounds for the baby chicks
- and a truck!
The materials for building the 16M x 39M run and protective structures have been quoted at $9186 and the truck at $6,000, totaling $15,186. We are asking $16,000 to help cover bank transfers fees, heat lamps and startup feed.
Here is a personal note from Charles
regarding the Impact being made by the most recent INHLELO ZENKOSI project - Free Range Chickens!
“Free range chickens, changing lives!
Our Vision: To take the gospel into all corners of the world.
Our Mission: Disciple making movements, and PROFIT WITH PURPOSE!
In many villages across Zimbabwe, one drought, one hospital bill or one term of school fees can break a family.
INHLELO ZENKOSI - God's Plans -believes there's a better way - that is the reason why we're raising free-range chickens - not just to sell, but to serve.
Every egg sold, every chicken bought, becomes a borehole [well] so children and elderly people don't walk miles for water.
It becomes medical bills paid so a parent/guardian doesn't have to choose between medicine and food.
It becomes school fees so a girl can stay in class instead of being married early and to avoid drug abuse and exploitation.
It becomes conservation farming trainings so entire communities can feed themselves and grow with dignity.
My mind keeps on replaying what my heart cannot delete as Nelson Mandela would say............
"Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world"
This is a very good way of cultivating the spirit of "Ubuntu" - "I am because we are"!
When you buy from us, partner with us, or support us, you're not just buying chickens, eggs and manure.
You're reaching the unreached people groups. You're watering villages. You're sending a child to school. You're crowning a family with hope.
"There are only two ways to live your life. One is as though nothing is a miracle.
The other is as though everything is a miracle" - Albert Einstein
Inhlelo ZeNkosi
Founder/CEO
Charles Weza”
Charles and many local members of the area once supported their families by selling their art and crafts to the steady flow of tourists to Victoria Falls. But after years of intense political and economic upheaval, drought, and COVID-19 the tourism trade all but died.
Charles returned to his mother’s village with a deep desire to minister Gods Word and serve the discouraged and needy. He found food and personal care products were in extremely short supply. Water sources were far away and not healthy.
Widows and orphans were especially in great need. Sickness and death were prevailing. Transportation methods to get the sick to the city were unavailable. Help was infrequent and inadequate.
Charles was overwhelmed. Where could he begin to make a difference? He had nearly zero income of his own. Though he would share that, it was not and still is not enough. He prayed for God’s guidance and studied other communities that were doing somewhat better. He studied and prayed and paid attention to options and ideas. He sought outside help and got some. He determined that the villages in his district must find a way to become self sufficient. They must develop their own sustainable food supplies and marketable products. And the village members are listening and agreeing and stepping up.
Charles developed an extensive overall plan for community development which will involve more gardens, greenhouses, an orchard, animals, an outside latrine for workers and visiting missions campers, and a brick home to house himself, to hold training meetings in, and to welcome missionaries and other travelers. He currently stays in his deceased mother’s mud hut with a leaky thatch roof! His brick house is started, but lack of funds has left it unfinished. All of these projects will also provide work for the locals. Charles named this plan INHLELO ZENKOSI (God’s Plan). It is taking much time to carry through and, over that time, will also take large financial investments. But for now he and his fellow workers are doing what they can, as they can, and seeking smaller helps along the way. Besides his church leader training with All Nations Kansas City, Charles has taken training in Farming God’s Way and in chicken raising. He is teaching others. He has helped obtain a clean “borehole” with fresh water for the local homesteads and community gardens.
He is doing the actual physical labor while leading others in developing a large community garden to support the widows, orphans and aged. Fences have been built. There have been tons of mulch gathered from nearby forests and carried in buckets on heads to enhance the garden soils. And it’s working! Mulched crops are thriving!
Every time a gift is received it is used to improve the village in some way. But too often gifts need to be used for urgent needs instead, like food or medicine, or a community member’s funeral.
Thank you so much for your prayers, sharing our story, and your financial support if you are able. You demonstrate God’s love in action! Together we will make a difference!
