Grace and Healing Ministry

Community Event in Chididimo Village

2011-12-30T01:34:00.000-08:00

This time our community event took place in Chididimo village a village located 30km South West of Dodoma town.

Chididimo Village was our main venue due to the presence of our Kanisa La Mennonite(KMT) Water Ministry in the area. The water Ministry are building sand dams in the are and we saw the need of taking our Health ministry to the villagers too.
the response was awesome and large turn out was seen and we saw great response and willingness of the villagers to know their status.

Graced by many performance by our own educators,singers and traditional drums the event was like no other since it was beautiful and attracted many villagers who came to get the message.

We had four professional medics who were doing the testing and counseling which saw about 152 people to get to know their status and live a healthy life.

Plumpy nuts

2011-10-27T23:55:00.000-07:00

The phrase may seem as a new word to many reading this post. but to be precise, plumpynuts is a nutrition food given to the severe and mild malnourished people to boost their nutrition status.
plumpynuts is packed in a 92g Sachets an one has to use six sachets in a day as recommended by the Doctor

The government has partnered with us by providing us with this essential food to our ministry.

GHMD has recieved the plumpynuts from the government to help people with severe malnutrition
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Before giving this plumpynuts to our clients, they need to be done a medical check-up for verifications. GHMD Director, Esther Muhagachi uses her medical experience to do the medical check-ups and to determine if they are eligible to get plumpynut.

She also gives instructions on how to use the plumpynut to the clients before giving them. plumpynut is 'medicinal food'in swahili "Chakula dawa" and clear instruction has to be given out before one starts using it.

Close follow-up is done to the clients to see and record their progress at the end of each week to determine if there is increase in weight and fats in their body. once they improve it has to be discontinued and regular follow ups is done to maintain health to the clients.

GHMD staff retreat

2011-10-17T02:21:00.000-07:00

Recently GHMD staff had a retreat where by all the staffs volunteers,board members and HBC (Home Based Care) providers went to relax and meditate about God,this was a good moment to relax and learn more about different names of God

Tiffanee taught about different names of God, Esther and Emelia Helped in translation.

Bishop Amos Muhagachi joined us on a closing day we thank God that we had a good time together as one family serving God in Dodoma. We pray that God will grant us another opportunity,and we thank God for all people who contributed for the success of this retreat.

May God bless you by,Esther E.B.Muhagachi Director GHMD

2011-08-30T01:24:00.000-07:00

We take this time to thank God for our director, Esther Muhagachi who has been away for further studies having arrived safely from Uganda.
The GHMD Director arrived and was directly involved in various program issues and community service to our clients.

Esther will be in Dodoma for about five months and she will play an important role in our ministry while she is around.We ask you to dedicate her into your prayers as she gets involved with GHMD over this time!

Birth Day Party 2011

2011-08-30T00:19:00.000-07:00

Happy Birthday GHMD Children! The first of its kind started in glarmour and color. it was joy and jubilation as we kickstarted the day with various exercises and games

There were various races, from three legged race to water balloons to water bottle filling it was exciting and all the kids participated in each race!

We got winners at the end of each race :)

The party was just starting and each kid received a birthday gift and a present!

.... and also each kid received a piece of cake prepared by our own Home Base Care Program (HBC) clients

Happy Birthday GHMD Kids( happy Birthday watoto!)

Donations from Mama Tunu Pinda

2011-08-27T01:00:00.000-07:00

Joy and jubilation engulfed Grace and Healing Ministry as the kids received present from Honorable Mama Tunu Pinda the wife of the Hon.Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania.

The family of the Hon. Prime Minister donated various gifts to the children in the Program. The program has at least 100 children who are registered in the program and receive holistic care and support.

With humble background beginning, the program started with 21 children in 2006 and God has been faithful to us in Partnership with our various Partners such as Lahash International-U.S.A and Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT)we are now able to register 100 children in 2011.

On behalf of the church, Kanisa La Mennonite Tanzania Central Diocese, Rev. Musa Marwa said, "There is great deal in Partnership and we thank the Prime Ministers family for the love of children that we have in our Ministry and may God keep on blessing the family"

The Honorable Prime Ministers family donated food items and a goat that will be used during the Idd National Holiday Festivities in the coming week.We really appreciate the love that you have shown us.

Prime ministers Aides with Rev.Manase Mhana

Courtesy visit by the Prime Ministers Wife

2011-08-24T23:45:00.000-07:00

The wife of the Prime Minister of the United Republic of Tanzania, Mama Tunu Pinda paid a courtesy call to our GHMD program and she was really impressed with our program and the children who are being supported.

Mama Tunu Pinda signing Visitors Book

Mama Tunu Pinda has been in the fore front in extending her gifts and support towards our ministry and she promised even more support towards our ministry.
It is of great honor that goes along when we have our National leaders see the extend of the services being rendered to the Dodoma community and far much beyond.

She specifically thanked Bishop Amos Muhagachi and Kanisa La Mennonite Tanzania (KMT) for the good mutual relationship that has co existed between church leaders and National Leaders.

She later joined the church service and listned to the Wednesday sermon which was preached by Rev.Manase Mhana

GHMD Kids Birthday Party 2011

2011-08-24T23:31:00.000-07:00

It is kind of an unique event that will take place on Friday 26th August 2011 for the first time in our Ministry. This will be full of pomp and color since all the kids will be celebrating their birthday at the same day!

We got more than 75 children in our Most Vulnerable Children Program(MVC)and this will be a great deal and a treat to them since not all have ever celebrated their birthdays.

We will post pictures of the celebration and we also ask your prayers for the smooth running and proceeding of the event with an impact to our children!

New Center Uniform

2011-07-30T07:48:00.000-07:00

We would love to be greatful and give thanks to God for the availabilty of funds from Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT)which was used to make uniforms for the children in our Most Vulnerable Children (MVC) Sponsorship program.

All then children in the program were very happy to be in their new uniform outfit and for sure they all look very smart and pleasing to watch them move up and around in them!

Human Rights and HIV/AIDS Seminar

2011-07-19T04:24:00.000-07:00

With Gender and Human Rights violation going throughout the world countries ,this seminar came about in trying to speak,teach and learn and understanding on Gender and Human Rights in our community and our surroundings.

Grace and Healing Ministry came with this seminar as we saw the need to speak and teach on this topic to our various stake holders;the church,various departments,our clients and also to some of the children in our programs.

Human Rights violation has been going on in the world and we can see the impact of the violation in our community especially to the people living with Hiv and Aids and this was an opportune time to learn on how we can provide equal opportunity in human rights!

Our acting Director,Tiffanee and our program counselor Rev Manase and Frank from Mugumu attended a national human right seminar in Dar-es-Salaam and had to encorporate what they learned in the vast Dodoma Community.

The seminar will take 3 days as we learn on Gender and Human Rights and Hiv and Aids and ensuring that people living with Hiv and Aids get to know their human rights and how we can set an example for the community as we serve them!

Bible Camping Safari Tour

2011-07-08T01:36:00.000-07:00

This is was one of the years highlight for some of the Grace and Healing Ministry kids who are in the program as they took a tour to the national park and to study Gods word.
with the theme "Gods Creation" they went to learn and see Gods creation of wild animals and seeing the beautiful scenery. we were 46 in number with 36 being the children and 10 adults who accompanied the children.

We went to Mikumi National Park one of the biggest and largest park in Tanzania, it has the big five animals namely Lion,elephant,rhinoceros, Leopard and buffalo. The children got a glimpse of some of the big five animals and also got to see some of the big animals in the park including crocodiles and hippopotamus.

They enjoyed the safari and seeing some beautiful animal groups of gazelles,giraffes, zebras and wildebeest.

As they saw this, they learned the story of Gods creation by seeing the creation of beautiful landscape and wild animals. in addition to that, they went for bible class lessons to learn the word of God and to really understand "Gods creation story".

We would love to thank Portland Mennonite Church through Lahash International who made this tour possible to our children, it has been a blessing to us and the children too.May God bless you!

African Child Day

2011-06-16T23:28:00.000-07:00

In observing this day we would like to thank the unification of "the day of the African Child" by the Africa Union, A.U in celebrating our children in the entire continent!

since 1991 this day has been observed each year on the 16th of June in observing and acknowledging African child.
Even as we celebrate this day, millions of African Children undergo various challenges in their survival as they grow up. Extreme poverty in their families, devastation of HIV/AIDS and poor education awaits them as they struggle to cope with in their life's.

We can save the lives of thousands of children who live in harsh conditions, who can't afford a meal,children sleeping under a roof has been a dream to them, we can stretch our hands and reach out to them and save their lives and restore their dreams!

Hunger Walk

2011-06-15T23:59:00.000-07:00

Hunger is one of the major concern of African countries in sub-Sahara and southern Africa. Millions of children die each year because of hunger and related illness and disease.
In Tanzania,hunger walk was carried out at national level in Dodoma and thousands of children took to the streets for the walk.

We can see a glimpse of the impact of hunger that can cause to a child.

photo courtesy of Magaret Aguirre/International Medical Corps

In our ministry we are concerned of our children and we are providing meal to our children to see that they can afford to have a meal. We have various children in our program and some of them can not even afford a meal but through this hunger walk awareness and your support our children can eat and afford to put a smile on their face.

we recently started a nutrition meal program which provides food to some of our children who lack balance food in their meals and it is doing a great deal to them since they are growing-up to be healthy and strong!

The walk is to put out an awareness to the people in showing the real prospect of hunger and great devastation is causing to thousands of people in our continent and in other parts of the world.

Let us stand together to fight hunger and be in the fore front in helping children in our program by providing at least a meal for them and their family. Your support towards this will save a child's life! Be a part of the change and restoration of hope to a Child

Health Development initiative

2011-05-20T05:20:00.000-07:00

As we serve the community of Dodoma and its environs we come up face to face with the reality of life on how people are living in their day to day life.
Poverty, lack of education and of course diseases are the main challenges that we are dealing with every day in serving the community.

In relation to Christ Jesus, we follow his teachings he came to give salvation to all not only that but he fed the hungry, quenched the thirst of many, healed the sick and much much more that he did.

Being under the Central Diocese we would like to thank God for the big heart that and blessings that he has given our church leadership lead by Bishop Amos Muhagachi in incorporating various ministries in our church.

From Child ministry to Health ministry to Development ministry and many other activities going on in the church established to reach out to the vulnerable ant the needy in the vast Dodoma community.

From Left to right: Rev. Manase Mhana, Rev John Mwita, Bishop Amos Muhagachi, Bahi District Commissioner Mrs Betty Mkwasa, Bahi District Medical Officer and church Secretary Veronica

With all this ministries put across it is of an aim to show Christ love to people and sharing the good news of Christ to them.
Few kilometers away about 50km from Dodoma town lies a new District known as Bahi which was recently established came to the church attention and it now aims to establish a District Hospital in that area.

The intended District hospital in Bahi will be a ‘salvation’ to thousands of people who have no acess to any reliable health center in that are unless they travel for more than 100km to and from Dodoma town.

On 19th may the Bishop and some of the church leaders went to meet and talk with the Bahi District Commissioner, Mrs. Betty Mkwasa on final allocation of land for the proposed hospital. We thank God since the talk went on well and soon we are going to be allocated land location for the church establishment.

We have seen the need of a hospital in Bahi and we would like to ask for prayers for our partners so as to take health services to the people. We would like to acknowledge the commitment of the government on this issue and their willingness in cooperating with us as we look forward to make affordable good health services to the community.

This is a big initiative as well as a big development and it needs commitment and finances and prayers and we are asking for your prayers and commitment upon this new initiative that we are taking in our Diocese.

Blanket Distribution

2011-05-10T02:59:00.000-07:00

Dodoma is depicted as being one of the driest and hottest place in Tanzania but during the month of May and June is the coldest place for someone to be.

We thank God for the container consignment which came from Mennonite Central Committee, USA it had blankets and sheets. These will be used by the vast Dodoma community we are serving to protect them from harsh cold weather.

The blankets and bed sheets were distributed to each client in our Home Base Care Program to use them this cold season here in Dodoma.

Nutrition food

2011-04-30T02:05:00.000-07:00

Nutrition food is important to every person whatsoever.In ministry we have 75 children who are registered in the sponsorship program. Among those, we some of them in a "special nutrition program" which provides lunch to them everyday due to their various background circumstances.

GHMD Director Esther Muhagachi having lunch with the children

We are really glad to Lahash International in seeing that these children get food which they can't afford at their home place.
Currently,we have 15 children who get lunch at our office each day and it has really impacted the lives of this children in a great way.

A case study of Eliya Alloys stays about 5km walk away from our offices;a place known as Bai Raodi but manages to come for lunch everyday since he can not afford to eat lunch at home.Mariam Munga our Social Worker ensures that the lunch is prepared and served to these children.

Social Worker, Mariam Munga with the children

Easter Celebration

2011-04-21T07:34:00.001-07:00

God has been so faithful to us. We appreciate you taking your time and going through this blog and seeing the massive hand of God has been doing to our Ministry here in Dodoma, Tanzania.

We are greatful to God for the advocacy that is going on within Tanzania and outside our borders as we show the world the love of God to the people living with HIV/AIDS and vulnerable community in Dodoma.

We are really seeing people totally changed, saved from dying and above all dozen of them receiving Christ Jesus as their personal saviour.Our story has been a proof on how God is moving and revealing Himself to his people and this has touched the hearts of many inlcuding the Prime minister of the United Republic of Tanzania Mizengo Pinda.

Medzedeck receiving the food on behalf of the children in the ministry

The prime minister and his family has been touched by our ministry and donated food stuffs and a goat to the Most Vulnerable Children who are in our Program.We take this opportunity to thank him and his family on behalf of our ministry in putting a smile to our children this Easter.

We believe as our children celebrate this Easter with great happiness they would not only enjoy but meditate on the love of Christ coming to save the world

Bishop Amos Muhagachi receiving the food items on behalf of the ministry

40 feet container for GHMD

2011-04-02T04:49:00.000-07:00

We are greatful to our MCC partners who donated a 40 feet container to the ministry.The container will be converted into various office space and also be used as a store.

With ministry and departments becoming many at the church and our Cental Diocese expanding we are facing office space problems to carter all the staffs in our church.

On receiving and commenting on the arrival of the container Rev, Manase Mhana; GHMD staff and a church pastor thanked the donors and praised God for answering their prayers since it was one of their prayer item to get a container for use in the ministry and the church as a whole.

We thank God for this container gift.

Dedication of GHMD gifts

2011-03-28T05:45:00.000-07:00

In our recent updates, we posted updates on the container consignment with various gifts for the GHMD ministry and dedication of the gifts was carried out on a Sunday service in our church.

The dedication was led by Bishop Amos Muhagachi and the entire church leadership on asking Gods blessings upon the gifts and it will provide hope to the Dodoma community we are serving and beyond the borders of Dodoma.

We also got the opportunity to purchase a new video camera and a Public Address system (PAS) which was sent to us in the container consignment, these will be essential to our ministry in capturing many events carried out in our ministry especially community events and other important program in our ministry.

our new video camera

public Adress System (P.A)

GHMD Container consignment arrives in Dodoma

2011-03-25T10:42:00.000-07:00

We thank God for our container consignment from America which arrived safely in Dodoma after six months long wait.

We received various donations from MCC Pennsylvania,United States such as Aids kits,Health kits,blankets & sheet,wheelchairs,clothing,books ,new born kits,relief kits and computers.

These items will really help our ministry to meet its vision and fulfill its mission in reaching out to the community in showing Gods love and spreading the good news of christ Jesus.

On receiving the consignment on behalf of the church the Bishop,Amos Muhagachi thanked our partners and praised God for the love he has shown to the entire Kanisa la Mennonite Tanzania Central Diocese.

Dodoma Community Event

2011-03-25T08:12:00.000-07:00

It was big,better and fruitful, the second community event which was held at the famous Nyerere square in the country capital, Dodoma attracted many and more people as we spread the fight of HIV/AIDS and breaking the silence of the dreaded disease in our community.

Over 600 people attended the community event and we had 70 people who got tested and unfortunately 2 people tested positive.

Despite the fact that it was a hot sunny afternoon that did not hinder the people who came at the square to get the message. We collaborated with various organizations and groups so as to make this event successful.

We had a colorful performance by acrobats,traditional dancers,our own choir and puppets which kept people wanting to see more and more and kept pulling large crowds of people.

With a theme motto of "know your status and live well" we encouraged many people who came at the event to test and know their health status and we were very happy this time round that our goal was met since the message was passed out loud and clear and many people came and found out about their health status.

We had long ques of people who wanted to do some testing and this necessitated us to create two testing booths to ensure that we meet the growing demand of the crowd.

Together we worked and pulled hands together from young to old,GHMD staffs to our clients; just to pass out the message of "know your status and live a better life"

Come let us join together lets hold our hands to unite,united we stand to fight the spread of HIV/AIDS and show love to people living with HIV/AIDS!

Christmas Gifts distribution Party

2011-03-17T03:30:00.000-07:00

Joy and jubilation filled on the face of the children in the sponsorship program when they received different gifts from their sponsors.
The children could not hide their jubilation for the gifts each one of them got from their sponsors.

In our Lahash sponsorship program we have 75 children who are registered in the program and they all received gifts from their sponsors and Portland Mennonite Church which is in Portland Oregon,in the United States of America.
each child received a special gift from their sponsors and a mosquito net thanks to Portland Mennonite Church.

Dedication of the gifts

we had different gifts from,bicycles,clothes & shoes,mattresses, beds and food. it is hard to believe how this gifts has touched the hearts of these little ones. some of the children were sleeping on the floor without a decent mattress, while some of them were going days without food but thank to God for the love he has shown to the different sponsors back in the U.S to share the love of Christ in the lives of these children.

Dr.David and Grace Shenk missionaries from America were the guest of honor during this day and we thank God for his message to to them- "what you do for these little one you are doing for me"

We want to thank each one of our sponsors for the Christs love you have shown to these children, we really appreciate what Lahash International is doing in reaching out to the vulnerable here in Tanzania and East Africa.

Land Dedication for "Land For Life"

2011-02-04T01:49:00.000-08:00

Singing, dancing, and working together...Forty people gathered together on Thursday, February 3, 2011 to dedicate the land recently purchased to build homes for families affected by HIV/AIDS.

In partnership with Christian Council of Tanzania (CCT), Grace and Healing Ministry has selected the first 8 families who will be the beneficiaries of this project. The 4 acres of land will be large enough to accomodate 32 houses and 16 gardens. Under the theme "with unity we are strong" our clients came together to support these first families in preparing the land for planting and laying foundations.

Many neighbors came out to watch us sing, work, and thank God for his amazing provision thus far. Please pray that the work will continue quickly, and that funds will be available to dig a borehole so the community will have access to water. If you would like to support this project by sending a monetary gift, please contact us at graceandhealingministry@yahoo.com

life touching Lahash video in Tanzania

2011-01-26T03:28:00.000-08:00

Seeing is believing and this is what some of the GHM Partners,Mennonite Central Committee board members and their staffs got to watch a spectacular video done by the Lahash media team.

The video was well articulated to show out the real story of us here in Dodoma and what we are doing in our service to the less fortunate and people living with Hiv/Aids.

Land for Life Project

2011-01-18T22:13:00.000-08:00

This is a new project that is introduced in Tanzania and it aims to provide affordable housing for people living with Hiv/Aids and Orphans.
The main Goal of this project is:
To provide safe and secure housing for AIDS-Affected families and families of Orphans & Vulnerable Children (OVCs);along with the tools to achieve financial security.
Grace and Healing Ministry is one of the biggest beneficiaries who are going to benefit from this project.So far the project has bought a piece of land in Nzuguni some few kilometers from Dodoma town.

Nzuguni Area where piece of land was bought

The project spear headed by the Christian Council of Tanzania is collaborating with GHMD to provide affordable housing to the families targeted.
The ground breaking of the land is set to take place next week and already we have eight families who are chosen to be the pioneers of this adorable project.

The above is a sample house structure that is going to be built for the families in the program.The house will have two rooms and a shared built outside toilet and bathroom

off to school....

2011-01-07T03:01:00.000-08:00

This week was a week where Grace and Healing Ministry (GHMD)was bidding good bye to our Director Esther Muhagachi who is going for further studies.Esther Muhagachi will be taking a degree course in nursing Uganda,Uganda Christin University for the next three years.

Esther has been one of the pioneers and founders of GHMD and she has helped in the directions and leading the organization since 2003.She is leaving behind other dedicated staffs and Tifanee Wright will be the acting director for that time span.
She said she believes in the spirit that she is living behind of her staff and she believes that they will perform even better without her presence in the ministry.She kept on saying that she will be assisting where possible and giving her contributions toward the the ministry.
We ask you for your prayers and assistance where possible towards her schooling for the next three years.

hope for the future...

2010-12-31T03:25:00.000-08:00

Hope is anticipation of thing that you do not have but you put your faith in it.
The years have gone by and new years are knocking on the door ushering in for the future, but do we have hope for the future?
Grace and Healing Ministry have been on the front line to ensure that hope is restored to the vulnerable people and children in Dodoma and beyond
Poverty, hunger and diseases are the main challenges that the organization has been dealing with here in Dodoma.Through our Home Base Care program partnering with Mennonite Central Committee we reach out to 100 people living with Hiv/Aids by giving them the hope in their lives and most hope in Christ Jesus.

Through our MVC program (Most vulnerable Children) we have seen hope shining in their faces and smiling all the way. With Lahash partnership we have 75 children at the moment in the sponsorship program.

you can be apart of our program in ensuring that their is smile in the faces of the people we are reaching out to.
Yes there is hope, a lasting hope which is found in Christ Jesus.

christmass party

2010-12-28T05:37:00.000-08:00

We would love to thank God for the life that he gave us in this year 2010 and as we look forward to the end of it is some few days.
Grace and Healing ministry would love to thank each person our partners and friends for being with us through out this year and giving us their support.

We would love to thank Mama Tunu Pinda the wife of the Prime Minister of Tanzania who gave here support towards our MVC(most Vulnerable Children)program by donating food stuffs and food items.

She sent her representative Mama Felister Bura,Member of Parliament of Dodoma to come and represent her in our Christmas party.

Mama Felister Bura
she gave out bible to the kids in the program and seven bicycles to the HBC providers
who are taking care of people living with HIV/AIDS.

These are the bicycles which were given to the HBC providers

Rev Mwita receiving bicycle from the guest of honour.

One of the kids,Amina Bakari receiving bible from the guest of honor she encouraged them to read the bible and medidate upon the word of God in their lives.

we are looking forward to a new year 2011 and we ask you to keep on partnering together as we reach to the vulnerable and the most vulnerable children.God bless you for your support and we wish you a blessed new year and a prosperous one!

COMMUNITY EVENT GETS EVEN MORE BIGGER

2010-09-21T03:29:00.000-07:00

Last week we did the first of its kind community event in Dodoma town passing out our theme motto "know your status, to live healthfully " and encouraging people do testing so as to know their status.

We held the event at Nyerere square a recreation garden at the middle of town and we thank that we took the message across to many people who were passing-by and also to the people who came to listen and see what were doing in that event.

We had various activities during the event such as dramas,songs,acrobats and skits to pass out the information in a more interesting way to people.

According to survey done in Tanzania, about 615 people get infected with HIV/AIDS everyday and this is an alarming rate if we do not pass our the message to the people a lot of people are going to be infected and increase the rate of Orphans in Tanzania.
This has been a more powerful way for GHMD to pass out information about HIV/AIDS to the community and the feedback about the event has been so helpful on planning on the ways to reach out to people and breaking the toll trend that the disease is doing to them and their families.

People need awareness and information about HIV/AIDS since some of the people have no information about it according to our post survey that we carried out after the community event.
Through efforts from our various quarters such as the GHMD Director, Coordinator, Doctor, Counselors, Staffs, Peer Educators and Volunteers made this day to be successful and bore some fruits to a lot of people who came or listed to us.
Some of our clients who are in the program gave out testimonies and encouraged people to come forward and speak about their status.

We were able to do some counseling and HIV/AIDS test to 12 people who were willingly to know their status but still the need was high for more people who wanted to do voluntary testing

The above picture shows our booth were by people came and received counseling before they were voluntarily tested for HIV/AIDS by our Doctor.

Lahash team in GHMD

2010-09-21T02:57:00.000-07:00

We are pleased this season of the year at GHMD, Dodoma-Tanzania to be with our friends and partners Lahash international members who payed us a visit and to see our progress in the ministry.
Ever since the inception of the OVC(Orphans and Vulnerable Children) program in our ministry which was later changed to MVC(Most Vulnerable Children), Lahash has helped us a lot in sharing in the lives of the 75 children whom we are serving in the ministry.
We thank Dan Holcomb,Nate Grubbs, Edwin Angote, Dana Bertermann and Casey&Abey family who came to share their love with us here at GHMD.

We usually feel privileged and encouraged to see our partners coming and sharing the love of Christ with the children and all the other people we are serving here at the ministry.
we felt very happy being with the Lahash media team this summer especially putting their time to come up with HOPE IS ALIVE MAGAZINE from Tanzania! God bless you for being part of this ministry and being in the lives of our children.

Peer Education

2010-09-02T03:51:00.000-07:00

Ghmd is an ambassador of educating the peer especially the youth and students in primary schools in Dodoma.
We educate and teach the students on good behavior, behavioral change, testing and trying to abstain from engaging in sex.

Generally we do teach them about HIV and AIDS and how to abstain using our own trained children who are peer educators.

Nuru Rajab during the event

The last held Peer education we carried it out at Amani Primary School where we were successful in reaching and teaching to more than 300 pupils of that school.

Amani Primary School students during the Peer Education event

Both our director, Esther Muhagachi and the Coordinator, Tifanee Wright led other staff members in this colorful event at the school.

Esther and Tifanee talking to the students

GHMD BRONCHURE

2010-08-30T05:07:00.000-07:00

Glory be to God for being part and parcel of our ministry.God has been so faithful with us.We thank God for the new bronchure which we have came up with recently and we are so grateful to God and for your continuous prayers towards our ministry and for this yet another step forward as we try to communicate across to people from various calibers about our ministry and how they can be part of this ministry.

The new bronchure has incorporated in new information and updates about GHMD and this is seen as a fast way to pass message across to the people nationally and internationally although now is still in English language, we are translating it to Swahili language spoken by vast majority of people in Tanzania and East Africa

We are still in the process of mass producing this bronchures in order to reach out to many people, organizations and institutions who are willing to come together to achieve one goal of fighting against HIV and AIDS and helping the Vulnerable in the community.

Restructured GHMD Mission and its Vision

2010-08-30T03:50:00.000-07:00

Glory and thanks be to God for this Ministry of GHMD which its main course is to reach out to the Vulnerable community in Dodoma and its environs.
Over the past seven years since its inception, GHMD has seen tremendous steps forward in trying to reach to many people who are suffering in Dodoma as well as increase of people who are in need of help especially those who are infected or in any way affected by HIV and AIDS.

At the moment the ministry serves directly and indirectly more than 1000 people in Dodoma and its vicinity having been led by the mission statement and the Vision which the GHMD family incorporated together to make this ministry archive its mission and its reality.

GHMD time line from its inception in 2003 to date

This is the newly re-structured vision and Mission of GHMD
Vision

A society in Dodoma where people infected and affected by HIV/AIDS flourish and live with hope, dignity and peace through Christ's love.

Mission Statement

To provide a holistic, supportive environment in Dodoma for people living with HIV & AIDS and their families through education, health services, advocacy, enterprise development and spiritual support in order to empower, promote healthy living, reduce stigma and discrimination and to replicate these services to other vulnerable communities.

We hope and believe through Gods grace we will archive our new mission and vision to the people living with HIV and AIDS as well as the vulnerable in Dodoma and beyond.
We thanks God for you for your support towards this ministry.God bless you!

GHMD loves children

2010-08-12T23:25:00.000-07:00

Grace and Healing Ministry really loves kids and this is the fundamental core of the Ministry.From 20 children to 75 children now is the number of the sponsored children who are in the program at the moment.

The children meet every fridays for the bible class program which they learn from the bible.there are bible class teachers who teach the children in two groups the younger children and the older children who are in the program.

children in friday Bible class lessons

children having fun during games

GHMD director having fun with the children

GHMD strategic planning...

2010-08-01T04:17:00.000-07:00

wambui facilitating the seminar

The far God has brought us for sure what we have to say he is Ebenezer.From the Genesis Tree with 6 women from the church to fully equip ed offices,from 21 sponsored children to 75 children at the moment and to over 100 clients who are in our Home Base Care Program.

GHMD-Genesis Tree

We were fortunate enough to hold our strategic planning for the coming three years this past week which was organised by EASUN-center for Organizational Lea ring facilitated by Wambui and it went on well.
we are looking forward to have a successful next three years and also looking forward to expand our wings to even more parts of Dodoma and its environs.

GHMD staffs and other members in the seminar

GHMD Director Esther Muhagachi and Facilitator Tiffanee Wright led all the staff in the seminar. Bishop Amos Muhagachi was also present and he opened and formally closed the seminar with wise words from the bible that we are looking forward to Canaan when Moses was leading the Isaelites to the promised land.He Challenged the Ministry that we have to follow the prospects from Moses in order to reach our main aim of our vision and mission.

Bishop Amos following the proceedings in the seminar

International AIDS Conference 2010

2010-08-01T03:36:00.000-07:00

We at GHMD we reach out to the people living with HIV/Aids and we were lucky this year to send to representatives who went to represent our Ministry in the just concluded International Aids Conference in Vienna, Austria last month.
one of our client Mariam Musula who has been living with HIV/Aids for the last thirteen years, was awarded full scholarship to attend the conference she was accompanied by Rev.Manase Mhana.

mariam msula during monthly fellowship

This has been a big achievement to our ministry which for the first time was represented by one of clients in such an International Conference.
The ministry has a program known as Home Base Care which reaches out to people living with HIV/Aids. At the moment, the program is currently giving food items,counselling,medicine & treatment to 100 people who are registered in the program.
This program is growing very fast such that we get many people who need to be supported through the program.

IGA exchange visit to Kiteto

2010-06-30T03:52:00.000-07:00

We thank God for the IGA (Income Generating Activities)which we have here at the church for our clients who are in our Home Based Care Programme.We have one group which try to generate income so as to support themselves in life.Ilumbo group is the fist group formed to kick start group formation of such groups in our programme.It has thirteen members who are selling batiks(Tye&dye)and getting loans from the group to start their own Small businesses.

Recently they got to have an exchange visit to Kiteto to learn from their counterpart who are doing the same thing.

Blanket Distribution & Bible Camping

2010-06-25T01:58:00.000-07:00

I got to spend Thursday and Friday of last week putting together gift bags of donated items from CCT for the Lahash kids. CCT donated blankets, toothpaste, toothbrushes, soap, combs and various other toiletry items. The kids were as excited to get these kits as a kid in America would be on Christmas morning. It never ceases to amaze me how little it takes to bring a smile to a kid's face here. They know what it is to have absolutely nothing. They know what it's like going without soap and even water much of the time, so getting a toiletry kit is better than any toy. We often laugh about various aid organizations sending boxes and boxes of toys, when all the kids really want is some toothpaste. This donation, however, was exactly what the kids needed.

We are also preparing to take the older children Bible Camping hopefully within the next couple of months. Right now, Lahash is working on raising support for this 2-3 day camp and we would appreciate any support you could give the program either financially or in your prayers. We will rent out a small hall where the children will spend several days studying and being taught God's word. We specifically plan to teach them about how to become strong, well-adjusted, godly men and women. This event is so important in instilling biblical principles and giving the children a greater sense of belonging in the program. These few days, like many youth camps in America, have the potential to change the lives of these children and we hope that we can find the financial support to make it happen again this year. If you are interested in donating to this event, please visit the Lahash website at http://www.lahash.net/donate.html.

Leah Burkholder, Lahash Volunteer

Home Base Care monthly report

2010-05-25T06:14:00.000-07:00

We are very happy for the Home Base Care Programme in the Ministry and we as an Organization partnering with other Partners we are pleased to see the immense impact that the programme is doing to ensure that we reach out to the people living with HIV/AIDS.
The Programme has been able to reach out to 100 people in giving out hope,prayers,food and care.
Grace and Healing Director Mama Esther Muhagachi and the Programme Coordinator Tiffane Wright are in the fore front in ensuring that the programme helps people living with HIV/Aids and trying to stop the Stigma which is killing alot of people.
Last week has been a a week of joy and sadness at the same time as we looked forward on how we can be effective in the programme in realising our goals we were also engulfed in sadness as we lost on of our client Anna Muhando who passed away on Friday night after short illness.
This kind of situation surely reminds us on how this disease is devastating and killing millions of people in the world. we were so much touched by that situation and we asked ourselves alot of questions concerning are we taking or doing our part as required.
Anna Muhando,only Eighteen-years-old succumbed to the effect of HIV/Aids she was buried on Saturday and we ask you to Pray for strength to the family and asking God for His Courage in us as we try to help out people living with HIV/Aids in Dodoma and beyond.

Sweater Distribution

2010-05-25T04:42:00.000-07:00

This Month we were able to buy each child who is in the programme a new school sweater to keep them warm during the cold season of June to August in Dodoma.
We thank God for the money which came from our normal sponsorship budget which was supplemented by donations given for school kits.

The children were so happy to receive these sweaters especially since most of them did not have a sweater or if they did it was full of holes and patches.
we continue to be amazed at how God is enabling us to stretch our budget to meet so many of the needs of the Children

Sponsors,thank you for helping to meet the needs of your sponsor children and please know that the children greatly appreciate everything you are doing for them.
The beautiful smiles speaks a lot in the faces of these children and are really grateful for what you are doing in them to change and improve their lives.

Grace and Healing Organization Survey

2010-05-25T04:15:00.000-07:00

We thank God for Grace and Healing Ministry growth from the the first year of its birth to now.
We carried our Organization survey which took about four days and it was one of the survey which reminded us as an Organization where we came from and where we are heading to.
We came to learn on how as an Organization be able to serve to the needs of others and not putting our priorities first.

The survey encouraged us to stand out for our vision and mission in order to be able to stand firm as an Organization in being open,accountable and provide Holistic care to the people we reach out to.
We got two facilitators,Nyatito Manchoma from Arusha and Jared Onyanch from Nairobi,Kenya who led us through this survey.

The participants who were invited gave out different ideas, views and ways that can be used to ensure that the Organization fulfills its mission to the poeple.

expanding our church

2010-04-30T05:35:00.000-07:00

We thank God for the blessings that He is blessings us with and the growth of church members who are increasing in numbers.
One of our vision is transforming and changing peoples lives by teaching them the gospel of Christ Jesus.
Grace and Healing Ministry involves in community awareness of their health,counselling and the most, sharing the gospel of Christ Jesus.
We have our kids singing in choir know as nee ma gospel choir which usually sings in the church every Sundays and this is very encouraging to us to see how small children can be a used as a vessel in sharing and preaching the gospel of Christ to people.
Recently we have seen alot of people interested in joining an knowing our church through our different departments that we have here in at the church and that has necessitated the church leaders to come-up with an idea of expanding the church to have more faith fulls and opening doors to people in need of the gospel of Christ Jesus.
The construction is undergoing and it is estimated that the new sanctuary will hold about 500 people at one time when it will be fully constructed and finished.
Bishop Amos Muhagachi,Bishop of Mennonite Church Iringa Road,Tanzania spoke of the need to reach out to more people who are interested in knowing Christ as their savior."our vision is to have more people knowing Christ and opening doors to people to receive Christ"
Keep praying for this project that the church gets funds to finish the construction and to be used as a sanctuary of bring people to Christ Jesus.

Church Forum on HIV and AIDS

2010-04-24T05:29:00.002-07:00

Capacity building is very important for the Gorwth of the program,we are so thankful that GHMD director,Mama Esther Muhagachi has been sponsored by PACANet To attend the conference on Multiple concurent sexual partership,which will be held in Swaziland,southern Africa from 26 April- 30th 2010.We hope that this will not only build her capacity but also the program will benefit through knowledge aquired.
Please pray for her safely travel and stay in Swaziland.

Healthy milk to our children and clients

2010-04-22T07:28:00.000-07:00

Poverty,little food,poor living conditions and diseases are some of the few challenges that majority of the people are facing each day in their lives here in Dodoma,Tanzania.
We as Grace and Healing Ministry vision is trying to reach out and help what we can to people who are in this situations.
Alot of people are infected or affected on one way or the other by Hiv/Aids and has made them next to impossible to provide themselves with food or even thier families.Families are going hungry or not even afford to have one meal in a day and yet some are using Anti-ritoviral drugs and no food to sustain them.
We are so greatful for the new program in Grace and Healing Ministry of providing
milk to oue children who are affected and our 'clients'-the people who are affected by Hiv/Aids.
This is has been a answered prayer to us as we came up with a proposal last year November 2009 and we thanks God for it since it got approved and we recieved some grants to help our children&clients who are infected by Hiv/Aids.
The reason why we came up with milk distribution is that, it has various nutrients such as culcium,proteins and vitamins which is essential to them.
We started the distribution of the milk this month and we anticipate to do some follow-up progress of their health improvement in six months period.

Amazing things happening

2010-04-20T00:12:00.000-07:00

we thank God for the blessings that He has been doing to us here in Grace and Healing Ministries.This year one of our sponsored kid finished her high School studies and we thank God for her success and her high School completion.
Habiba completed her A-level and she has been a good help for the programme here.
she helps the younger children here and has made progress in showing love to them.We are very much encouraged by this development since Habiba Kigazi has been going through our sponsorship programme and this is what we can say is our product from us.
She is preparing to start computer studies or secretarial studies which willhelp her in university.

2009- Grace and healing Ministry Evaluation day held

2010-03-24T03:28:00.000-07:00

we thank God for our programme of Grace and Healing Ministry for the period of one year.
We held our programme evaluation of our various departments to see our achievements and challenges we faced for the last one year.
We thank God for the marvelous progress we have seen towards achieving our laid objectives/aim laid down for the period ending one year.
The programme has seen various progress in our holistic care including spiritually, health, education, community development and economic empowerment in our community.
During the evaluation day, we tackled various issues that we faced for the last one year and also coming up with solution for various challenges that we went through.
The programme is reaching out to 70 children around Dodoma town who come from very poor and hardship background.Some of the kids are in one way affected or infected by Hiv/Aids.
Through Lahash international,our children get sponsors and support them in their education, health, spiritual and economically.
Grace and Healing Ministry has facilitated the education of our children by buying school uniforms,exercise books shoes and other school requirements.We do school follow-ups and home visiting each week to ensure that the children are doing well in school and also at home since some of our children are infected by Hiv/Aids.
We thank God for some our kids who did their exams last year and performed well and they are now in various secondary schools in Dodoma town.
The evaluation day is one of our mirror which we reflect what we have achieved and challenges that we have encountered for the past one year.

2010-03-09T05:59:00.000-08:00

Dodoma being the capital city of Tanzania is well surrounded by various slums which has one of the poorest people in Tanzania.
Poverty has really affected thousands of people around and which is blamed in the increase of HIV/Aids in Tanzania and Africa as a whole.
Grace and Healing Ministry is helping out in reaching to the thousands of people affected and sharing hope and healing in many families affected or infected by this dreaded disease.
Mama “Shida” as she is called Shida means trouble in English is one of many people who are infected by HIV/Aids. Through Grace and Healing Ministry, Mama Shida receives some of the food items which she can use and be able to have hope of even facing tomorrow. She stays in Kikuyu; a slum area which has the highest poverty level in Dodoma.Mama Shida can not even afford two meals in a day and is very hard for her to stay well since she is infected with HIV/Aids and at the same time taking antiretroviral drugs.
Mama Shida has two kids Shida Pius, 11years old who she is staying with and a fifteen-years-old son called Augustine who stays in the village because of the hardship of taking care of two kids.
With no permanent work to do Mama Shida does some odd jobs like shelling corn in order for the corn to be grounded into corn flour.She narrated that she does this for 500 Tsh(Tanzania Shillings) which is merely half a dollar which she then uses the money for food, rent and other basic want.
Shida Pius ,her daughter is in class three in Kikuyu "B" primary school in a nearby primary school. She is quite and very optimistic of doing great and achieving well in school. She loves singing very much and she hopes to be a teacher in the near future.
She does every day house chores in her home since her mother is not feeling well most of the time.From laundry to washing dishes this is part of her daily life and is now part of her.
Most of the time,Shida uses her time to help in the family and this makes her to lag behind in class for looking after her mother.
We are looking for willing sponsors to help out children like shida to learn and achieve their dream in thier lives.

Home Visits

2010-02-23T05:24:00.000-08:00

During the past couple of weeks, the Lahash team in Dodoma has been able to visit the homes of several individuals and families in the community. Each story is unique to the people who live in it. Each situation calls out for your prayers and support.
The first was the home of one of the kids in the program, his name is Charles. They had noticed a sudden change in his disposition just before he stopped coming to the program last month, so they wanted to find out what was behind this.

When we came, he was home alone, although he should have been in school. Charles is 17 and was just able to begin attending school I believe when he joined the program. He was able to skip ahead to the 5th grade, but we found out that he hasn’t been in school since last month.

When he came out of the tiny cement house he shares with his mother and little sisters, he looked so sick. His eyes were half open and glazed over and his face was sweaty. We all sat down in front of the house and Mariam tried to get him to talk about what was going on, although he didn’t want to. He stared at the ground and spoke quietly, but unearthed what was really going on.

His father is employed but has another wife and another family. Whatever he makes goes to feed them, not Charles and his younger sisters. His mother tries to make money by digging in the dump for bones which can be ground into chicken feed. Whatever money she makes from this, she will often spend on “home brew,” home-made beer, which could potentially kill someone if they got ahold of the wrong batch. Charles admitted that he had been using and selling marijuana for the past two years, but does not use it anymore, which probably would explain the poor condition he was in – malnutrition and withdrawal. We looked inside the house, which basically consisted of blankets and a few buckets on the floor, and the only food we could find was two rotten pieces of bread. That was all the food they had. The reason that Charles hadn’t been in school was that his uniform was torn and much too small. His shoes were split in half. Children who are not in proper uniform will get sent home from school. Just the other day a child was sent home for not wearing socks. Also, I believe that the house they are living in doesn’t belong to them. If the owners come back at any time, they could be evicted.

The good news is that we took Charles with us to the market and got him new shoes and brought his family some food. He was smiling when we left. Hopefully it does the children good, because parents will often sell the food or clothes their family is given, and just go buy home brew. It’s desperation.

The second home we visited is a family that they have been working a lot with for the past couple weeks. Leah and Leisha had told me a lot about them.
Mama Saddam is paralyzed on one half of her upper body, I was told, because of domestic abuse. She is literally single handedly caring for her 24 year old son, Chimanga, who is completely blind, and her little son, Saddam. They had been living in a tiny 8X8 room attached to her mother’s house, until she kicked them out sometime last week. Leah and Leisha had arrived just in time to find them trying to move their belongings down the street, many of which were not worth saving, and helped them move into a new place. When we visited, Chimanga was sitting outside of the house, very cheerful. They say he likes to look his best, and won’t go to church unless his clothes are clean and he has shaved. He is also very good at singing and repairing shoes. This family is in desperate need of better living conditions. They are currently in a maybe 10x8 mud house, with no food. They have so few resources – The mother can only use one arm and the son cannot see! How can they make money to eat? So the some of the church staff are working to try to find a better place for them to live, and to help them start a micro-business, selling charcoal or fixing shoes… The problem is that there is so little extra money. There is only so much that they can do. They also understand that it is so much more than just trying to use money to fix a problem, or always buying food for a family when they need it. That would put the family in an even worse spot than before when the assistance stops. They work on sustainable living, which is where the micro-business comes in. They want to work to help families be self-sustaining, not dependant on a program, which is so good.

The third story I have is about a little girl named Victoria
It was my first time meeting the Lahash kids, about two weeks ago.
They’re a really great group of about 70 kids who get to take a break
from bleak situations at home and spend each Friday afternoon at the
program. As I was introduced to them, I looked from face to face,
trying to get to know them.
I stopped at the wide eyes of a tiny little girl, sitting in the front
row. Her eyes were the biggest thing about her. Her cheeks were sunken
in, and two veins bulged on her forehead. Her limbs, just… skeletal. I
had an instinctive idea about what was claiming this little girl’s
health. Later, I found out that sadly, I was right.
If you look at a picture of Victoria from just a year ago, you see a
big smile, showcasing baby teeth, bright eyes, glowing skin. A healthy
child. Now, at 9 years old, I would have guessed that she was 6. As
the rest of the children devoured their rice and beans, she passed
hers off to another child. I tried to get her to smile and she barely
parted her lips.
Victoria’s mother died from an opportunistic infection due to AIDs
when she was 2 years old. During birth or breastfeeding, the virus was
passed from mother to child, and now Victoria carries the virus that
took her mother from her.
HIV stands for Human Immunodeficiency Virus. It attacks the immune
system, invading the cells that protect our bodies from disease, and
turning them into replication centers, creating thousands of new
viruses that do the same thing. So while our bodies can try to fight
HIV by creating more immune cells, the virus replicates much faster
and cannot be stopped. This makes the body extremely vulnerable to
sicknesses it would normally be able to fight off easily. Once the CD4
(Immune system) cell count gets low enough, and there are certain
diseases present that the body can no longer ward off, a person then
has AIDs, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
All we knew was that Victoria was HIV positive, and being cared for by
her aunt – an educated, somewhat well off woman. However, when we
visited her house last Thursday, we found out that like way too many
of these types of situations, the aunt is focusing on her own
children, leaving her sick little niece to care for herself.
Victoria oh-so quietly told Mariam that she can’t eat because her
stomach hurts. Her head hurts too. Her nose is running and she has a
congested cough. She hasn’t been to school for an entire month. She
says she is responsible for taking her own medicine. By that, I hope
she means antiretrovirals, which she should have access to through the
programs. Antiretrovirals almost halt the replication of HIV, so
although they cannot destroy the virus, they can suppress it, giving
the immune system a chance to function properly. If Victoria is taking
ARVs regularly though, she shouldn’t be in this condition. What
worries me is that if the pills aren’t taken in a regular manner – if
dosage is interrupted or stopped, then the virus may become resistant
to them, and the medicine would no longer have any effect. Also, if
the person is not eating well and living in unsanitary conditions,
which is the case with Victoria, this compromises the immune system as
well.
This week we are taking her to the doctor to see if they can pinpoint
what needs to be done.

Please let the stories of these people be upon your heart. There is so much hope, and people like you and me have the opportunity to bring it

children gets christmas gifts

2010-02-16T06:50:00.000-08:00

We are so thankful to the Lahash team for the Christmass gifts to our children.The children were overjoyed by the gifts which they received from their sponsors through Lahash.
The children received various gifts.Some received bicycles,bed and ma tresses,clothes, school kits,shoes,food and money to pay for their house rent.

We were pleased to have manager from Tanzania Telecommunication Company,Mrs Ekaeli Manase(with yellow T-shirt) who once contributed 200,000/=Tanzania Shilings towards our programme.
Parents and care givers were also present in the function and wamama wa Upendo (women of love)helped to prepare very nice meal to the children.

Leisha,Leah,Mariam helped the Director of GHMD (Grace and healing Ministry Dodoma)Mrs Esther Muhagachi to organise and prepare this colourful Christmas gift day.
Jeff and Katie Gresham helped to take photos and other staffs and volunteers of GHMD were presnt to give moral and spiritual support to the children.
Bishop Amos Muhagachi was given a chance to speak to the children and he encouraged them to study hard so as to change their lives in the near future and to see that there is hope in hard work and dedication.
Through Lahash International, we are seeing lives being changed, restored and transformed towards building new hope for the hopeless.

Welcome to Grace and Healing Ministry Dodoma,Tanzania

2010-02-05T04:34:00.000-08:00

Welcome to Grace and healing ministry Dodoma (GHMD) is a community faith-based organization in Dodoma Urban district,Dodoma Tanzania.
Grace and Healing Ministry is a ministry of KMT-Kanisa La menonite Iringa Road,dodoma Tanzania (Tanzania Menonite Church)
The organization was formed in 2002 by the women from Iringa road Menonite church Dodoma under the leadership of Rev.Bishop Amos Muhagachi.
Women of the church identified many challenges during their weekly prayer meetings and they decided to form a support group to break the silence on HIV/AIDS in the community.They began raising awareness with family and youth in the church in addressing the issue of HIV/AIDS.
The program has developed a holistic strategic plan that considers the roots and causes of HIV/AIDS and is addressing the problem and challenges it poses on individual and community.

Vision
To have a society where the incidence of HIV/AIDS stigma and discrimination of infected and affected people is reduced.

Mission statement
Grace and Healing Ministry Dodoma is an evangelical center of excellence in the provision of education, health services and poverty reduction in the community.