ACTION ALERT: Donate money towards food for Zimbabwe’s prisoners
Donations to the following accounts will help raise funds to go specifically towards food for prisoners in Zimbabwe.
All deposits must be referenced Zim Prisons/Zim Food
AOG Worldwide Missions
| South Africa |
| Name:AOG Worldwide Missions Reg No: NPO 019904 |
| Bank Details: AOG Worldwide Missions Bank Name: Standard Bank Account No: 272270148 Branch Code: 050410 |
| Online donations: Click here to visit the AOG Ministeries website and select WWM Zimbabwe Project : Food Aid |
Waymaker Ministries
How one person set out to make a difference
We would like to give a very big thank-you to Kathy who helped bring our attention to these organisations and in the process give us all the opportunity to help them meet their objectives.
Kathy is a regular reader of this blog, and was so outraged by our ‘Zimbabwe’s prisons are death-traps‘ article and our earlier appeal for food to help starving prisoners in Harare, that she set out to find a way other concerned people around the world could help make a difference.
Kathy is a member of AOG Church in South Africa and she spoke to them about what she had learned; they put her in touch with their world wide missions section. She then got in touch with someone named Andrew and through him discovered that AOG Missions were already well positioned to help out, with resources already in Zimbabwe. At our request she passed us the contact details of the person they worked with (who I shall call ‘Henry’), based in Harare, and we have forwarded his name through intermediaries to people we believe will be able to help Henry (should he need it). We believe that excellent contact names have also been provided to Andrew who will ensure Henry gets them.
Kathy didn’t stop there: she and Andrew set up a meeting with another Missionary/Pastor involved in working in Zimbabwe, also with Henry, in the hope they could provide necessary infrastructure in the form of transport and teams on the ground. The meeting was infinitely more fruitful than she expected. John – of Waymaker Ministries – told them that they were already exploring ways of getting food into prisons because they had been told how terrible things were.
Waymaker Ministries have already established links with a local Zimbabwean welfare organisation that works closely with prisoners and prison rights. They have set up a pilot project at one of the prisons struggling to feed prisoners, and should this be successful, other prisons will be opened up to them and they will extend their network of support.
These good people are very aware of how Zimbabwe’s economy means supplies intended for the needy often finds its way onto the black-market and they take measure to prevent this happening. Kathy told us, for example, that the food is pre-cooked by churches and taken into the prisons, so raw ingredients are not sold in bulk on the black-market.
John is planning a trip to Zimbabwe soon: in an email to us, Kathy wrote, “I asked him what would it take to get him there sooner…the expected reply: MONEY!!!”
So please give generously to get the good man here as soon as possible!
In separate communications with other people, we have also learned that the International Committee of the Red Cross who have a mandate to work in the prisons, have very recently been granted access and will be starting their work with prisons in Harare (the pilot project mentioned above is not based in Harare ). ICRC involvement is good news because there are a lot of prisons, all desperate, and it needs big organisations involved as well the committed efforts of groups like AOG Worldwide Missions and Waymaker Ministries. We’ll keep you posted with ICRC news as we learn more.
If you can afford to do so, please consider setting up regular direct debits to the accounts above. Remember, feeding people requires a sustained effort and the crisis is enormous and people are dying right now.
Kathy – thank you and great job! You are a very good example of how one person who is very determined can make a real difference.
Now its over to our readers to pick up the ball and keep it rolling. Please do.
April 8th, 2009 18:51
Thanks all you people.
April 8th, 2009 21:08
Thanks for getting this done so quickly, Sokwanele!
The AOG Missions account makes it very easy for people from all over the world to donate. You can simply use your credit card….no fuss!
The donation in the AOG account uses the ZAR (South African Rand) currency, which means (for those who aren’t sure) 1 Euro = roughly R12.14, and 1 Pound = roughly R13.46, and 1 US Dollar = roughly R9.15.
Please, please, please pass this link on to everyone you know. Let’s get those trucks rolling up to Zim….
April 8th, 2009 21:37
This is great. Well done Kathy.
Sok – I’d like to clarify where you say “NB: The UK government donates 28p for every £1 donated”.
The UK government does give 28p, but only if the person giving money makes a point of checking a box that says “GiftAid it” or something similar.
What it means is, rather than paying tax on the money you donate, the government in the UK takes your tax and gives it to the charity instead. But you have to indicate that you want your ‘tax’ to go to the charity rather than the government.
So… make sure you look out for ‘GiFTAid’ options on the form you fill in etc…..
I’ll look into setting up a direct debit tommorrow.
April 9th, 2009 21:09
That is excellent and thorough work, Kathy and Sokwanele, you have attempted to cover all the bases such that the plates of food do literally make it right to the laps of the starving, without being creamed off along the way. Many people who are sympathetic and generous yet do not want to “feed the regime” – literally; thank you, and now, as promised, I will alert my ‘address book’ to your plan.
Good Friday is an appropriate day, as we mark the sacrifice of Christ’s suffering and anguish, giving everything for mankind, for us to commit to giving something to alleviate the horrendous suffering of the prisoners in Zimbabwe.
April 9th, 2009 21:34
I have just this minute read that Mutambara has decided to divert humanitarian aid into govt salaries! Unbelievable! Quote:” We are redefining the meaning of humanitarian”. Boy, that will dry up the goose that lays the golden egg. How could any geese STILL be stupid enough to be giving their Aid into Zim Govt hands anyway? ( Which they must be doing, for him to be able to grab it!)
I think I’d be correct Kathy and Sokwanele in saying this AOG WWM fund will definitely NOT be able to be diverted to anything other than food??
How immoral, Mutambara – announcing it may be exercising transparency, but it is still theft!!!
April 10th, 2009 09:35
1000 rand donated…good luck!
April 10th, 2009 10:05
@ Ozzie
You would be correct, Ozzie, in saying that the AOG WWM fund will definitely NOT let it be diverted to anything other than food..to the prisons. The worst that could happen, is that some will go to cleaning materials and medical supplies, because obviously they need medical attention and sanitation if you want to give them a shot at staying alive.
But…the plan is to keep you up to date every step of the way.
You ”address book’ plan is an excellent one. Maybe you could encourage your friends to come onto this thread and post here once they’ve made a donation. They can tell us where they’re from and how they found out about this initiative.
Is that a good idea, or what?
April 10th, 2009 12:47
Kathy and Sokwanele – Problem!!
Two of us here in Oz who have tried to donate using our Visa cards, have been knocked back! We can only think that our banks will not transact in Rand, because we already know from experience that we can make online purchases in NZ dollars and US dollars.
Any suggestions?
Those now alerted to the cause live worldwide, so I wonder if there are problems donating from any other country?
April 10th, 2009 13:50
The 1000 rand I donated (see comment 6) was from the UK using VISA to the AOG link. I got a receipt so I assume no problems. Ozzie – what does your bank say? I would have thought VISA should be alright everywhere.
April 10th, 2009 14:48
@ Ozzie
I can only suggest that you re-try the transaction using the other currencies…and see what happens. If it still persists, I’ll ask Andrew from AOG WWMissions to help. I know that they receive donations from all over the world into that account, so it shouldn’t be a problem.
Thanks for your donation Anonymous…appreciate it!!
April 11th, 2009 02:22
Step 3 on the online form offers the Donation Amount in South African Rand only, no other options of currency.
I may be able to get a phone explanation on Visa’s 24hr number, otherwise I will contact my Bank on Tuesday, after the long w/e.
Pleased to hear Pounds to Rand go OK.
April 12th, 2009 07:04
R100. Went through ok from NZ in Rands.
April 12th, 2009 14:50
Four of us in Australia now have had our authorizations fail – I can only think our banks won’t translate our dollars into Rand for some reason, but shall find out on Tuesday!
April 12th, 2009 18:44
@ Ozzie
That’s really strange. Embejo managed her donation perfectly in New Zealand. By the way, does anyone remember Embejo? She’s the remarkable lady that managed acquire that garage load of donated medical supplies for a hospital in Zim…
April 14th, 2009 07:03
It is now Tuesday here in Oz; my bank says it has no record even of my attempt to send Rand to South Africa online, and says there should be no problem in so doing from their side; meanwhile a friend in canada emailed to say her effort to donate had been rejected. That’s four ozzies, one canadian unsuccessful one kiwi Embejo successful as above ( are you sure it actually went through as in deducted from your bank a/c?).
I emailed Andrew of the AOG from an email address I found online and alerted him to the problem from oz – that was before I knew of the canada one..
I now think it must be a glitch at their end.
We’ll persist!
April 14th, 2009 11:21
@ Ozzie and others,
I’ve just chatted to Andrew from AOG WW Missions, and he says that when there is a rejected transaction his bank sends him an email to this effect. He then follows it up by contacting the donor bank and requesting them to lift any restrictions…..so he is already working on the 4 rejected Aussie transactions and the Canadian one.
He also says that he has received other deposits from Australia and Canada…so it must be individual banks that have a problem, and not the entire Aussie system, for example. There have also been deposits from UK, USA and Germany…so things are ticking over quite nicely.
A special THANK YOU to everyone who has contributed so far…and….remember to pass the Sokwanele link to as many people as you can…you never know….there are many kind-hearted souls out there who aren’t even aware of the catastrophe in Zim. I passed on the details to a Canadian friend last night, and she was absolutely horrified, she was totally unaware of anything. The last she heard was about “some little problem last year”….go figure!!!!
We can’t take it for granted that people from the outside world know…..THEY DON’T KNOW!!! The 30 second snippet on CNN isn’t enough to make them sit up and take note. We have to contact people and TELL them!
So…even if you don’t have money to donate right now, you can make a very valuable contribution to this effort simply by emailing your friends, posting the link on facebook, speaking to your local church leaders, asking your local radio station to start a discussion, etc.
I’m feeling inspired this morning….how about you?
April 16th, 2009 00:30
@kathy –
Looks like Bank of America here in the US also does not like using ZAR. My 225 donation did not make it. Hopefully this is just a system glitch. Have been following the Situation for a couple of years now, glad for the chance to help where it is most needed.
April 16th, 2009 17:06
@ Jeff
Andrew from AOG World Wide Missions will have contacted your bank and asked them to lift restrictions by now. Perhaps you can try again, and let us know what happens?
He is also investigating an alternative solution, which I’ll pass on as soon as details are available.
April 20th, 2009 18:04
I was greatly encouraged to see that Zimbabwe Vigil brought the conditions in Zim Prisons to the attention of the UK public at their independence day celebrations on Saturday.
I also saw a report somewhere that they would be taking up a donation for Prison Food Aid as well. Well done!!!
Apparantly these guys are there outside the Embassy in London every Saturday…just reminding people of the plight of the Zimbos…this is awesome!
Here’s the link with some photos:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/zimbabwevigil/page9/
June 10th, 2009 07:42
I just donated R360!!! I really hope this helps.
June 11th, 2009 12:58
@ Miyet
Thanks very much for your R360 Miyet!! That will certainly be most appreciated.
Co-incidently, the Waymakers Missions team is leaving tomorrow morning (Friday)with supplies up to Zim. There’s been a flurry of activity this whole week,so here’s hoping they have a really safe journey, and that all goes well.
We can look forward to some photos and some interesting stories when they get back.
Thanks to everyone who has contributed so far…they do this trip approximately every 2 months, so we can start gathering donations again for the next trip.
June 13th, 2009 08:45
You’re welcome! Hopefully you can follow up for us