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Birthday Advocate Needed

Posted: August 27, 2020 by Patrice Miles in C.A.R.E. Africa, Child Sponsorship, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Miles In Missions, Missionaries, Nigeria, Orphans, Prayer, SIM, Sponsorship, Volunteers

Have you ever thought about volunteering for a non-profit?
Could you spare a few hours a month to make a difference in the lives of 73 children?

MW2C8181 In Egbe, the majority of C.A.R.E. Africa children do not know their birthdays. Generally, with a little research, we are able to discover their birth date but there are times we simply have to give a child a birth date. Birthdays are not celebrated in Nigeria the way we CELEBRATE in the Western world. Only the “wealthy” are able to purchase a small cake for their child and sometimes a present. When C.A.R.E. Africa children have their first birthday celebration complete with a present and cake it is very special to them. Our goal is, on their birthday, every child in our ministry would receive a present and a small cake to share with their extended family.

So, back to our earlier discussion about volunteering. Here’s your chance! We have created a new volunteer position called Birthday Advocate. This volunteer would spend a few hours a month helping us make our kiddos birthdays special.

This volunteer position is virtual and can be done anywhere in the world with reliable internet connection. We would provide you with the data to keep track of all the birthdays. At the beginning of each month you would make a list of each child with a birthday in the following month and reach out to the sponsor/s of each birthday child. You will ask if they would like to send the birthday child a present or have us purchase a birthday package in Nigeria for their child. There will be a point of contact at C.A.R.E. Africa for you to communicate which children will need a birthday package/ cake purchased. Once the child receives their birthday package our staff will send you a picture and/or video of the child opening their present which you would forward to the child’s sponsor/s. It’s an easy task with such a great reward.

Help us create some smiles and lasting memories for these precious children by becoming our new Birthday Advocate. I am ready to greet you and teach you all the fundamentals. I look forward to hearing from you soon! Email me at patrice.miles@sim.org

IFFY5211 (1) VXFG5225 JSPQ6778

COVID-19 Cancellations

Posted: August 6, 2020 by Patrice Miles in C.A.R.E. Africa, COVID-19, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Etsy, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, Orphans, Patrice Miles, People of Egbe, Seamstresses, SIM

So many of us have experienced a COVID-19 cancellation. Graduations, weddings, birthdays, funerals, proms, camps, vacations, and so many other life events. In Egbe, Nigeria the case has been the same. We have all suffered in so many ways from this pandemic.

Screen Shot 2020-08-06 at 4.19.45 PM It has been encouraging to see people think outside the box of ways to celebrate these life events amongst the social restriction. I have seen car birthday parades through neighborhoods, small intimate outdoor weddings, online funerals and graduations, at home proms with a few friends and vacations in state at locations that you normally may have never visited. We have all had to really get creative to find ways to adapt.

care booth 7 Diana Beville (Etsy store manager), Tofunmi Salako(Operations Manager in Egbe) and myself are also trying to do the same for C.A.R.E. Africa. All of our yearly large exposition events were cancelled due to COVID-19 and moved to online platforms. We had scheduled expo booths in Northern KY, Dallas Tx and Louisville, KY that would normally generate around $15,000 a year in sales of our handmade products from Nigeria. Our ladies in our seamstress ministry work so hard to create these beautiful products. The income they make helps them support their families and put food on the table so we were deeply saddened to not be able to participate in these events.

We started to think of how can we could get creative and help these ladies sell their goods without having a booth set up for people to come and see and touch the products?

How about a C.A.R.E. Handmade Empowerment Package?

You can pick any amount $50, $100, $500, $1,000 or more and we will put together a package of handmade goods from our ladies that equals that amount.

You can;

Wrap them up as a gift for Christmas or to appreciate a teacher or a co-worker.
Resell these items at a small at home party, church, bible study or online through social media.
Give them away with a C.A.R.E. Africa Etsy info card to friends and family to help us create awareness of our Etsy store and ministry.
Be a secret neighbor and leave a gift on a front porch.

You will be empowering women in Nigeria while also creating awareness of C.A.R.E. Africa and putting a big smile on someone specials face.

Our Seamstresses

What do you think?

Are we thinking outside the box?

If you think it is a great idea and would love to help us keep these ladies in Nigeria busy click Empowerment to make a general donation and make sure to write in the memo Empowerment Package. You can also always visit our Etsy store at www.CareAfricaStore.com and purchase all your Christmas and or appreciation gifts.

Hopelessness!

Posted: May 14, 2020 by Patrice Miles in C.A.R.E. Africa, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Miles In Missions, Missionaries, Nigeria, Orphans, Patrice Miles, People of Egbe, Prayer, SIM
Tags: Business as Missions, Empowerment, Nigeria

I am always jealous when I hear of missionaries in the big cities of Nigeria opening up pizza parlors, small grocery stores, or coffee shops that generate income for their ministry. C.A.R.E. Africa is located in a rural community called Egbe. Rural business has its share of challenges such as geographic isolation and barriers to capital. I ask God all the time, “Why couldn’t you have called me to do ministry in a large city like Jos, Abuja or Kano in Nigeria. It would have been so much easier! Why Egbe?”

iyabo2

Many times when I tell someone about Egbe and the challenges we face they often ask how I keep up the faith amid such – hopelessness….

I am a businesswoman at heart. I love commerce, marketing, planning and executing and then watching the rewards of the endeavor. I will never forget the first business class Emma and I taught in Nigeria to a Yoruba Fulani woman who could not read. I made her a picture chart for inventory keeping and helped her realize when she sold her pure water for 10 naira each or 15 naira for two, she was actually losing money. This encounter inspired me but the many obstacles and failures in other endeavors has caused me to feel… hopelessness.

Sometimes the obstacles are culturally based. Women who are empowered to start a small business are oftentimes threatened with being cast out or disowned by their family if they do not use their business funds to pay for a family member’s wedding, funeral or hospital bill. As a result, this once empowered woman will not have the money needed to restock her shelves and has to close her business. Hopelessness…

Sometimes the obstacles are unforeseen. Weddings are a big event in Egbe. We saw an opportunity to teach our high school girls how to make wedding cakes to later find out the neighboring city of Ilorin would be our competition. In Egbe it is considered prestigious to have your wedding cake, wedding dress and catering to come from a bigger city like Ilorin. If you bought it all in Egbe then you must not be doing very well. Hopelessness…..

“I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.”

~Mother Teresa

I recently found this quote and it meant so much to me because it is the antidote to hopelessness and it is what we are doing at C.A.R.E Africa. We invest in one child, one caregiver, one staff member at a time. We invest by focusing on their relationship with the Lord first. We know that if their relationship with Him is strong it doesn’t matter what obstacles they face – they will always have hope! They will be content in all things. Their joy and hope will spill out onto others and change the environment and culture around them one person at a time.

Do I still dream of a C.A.R.E. Business Complex where our sponsored children and our caregivers are trained and working in the eatery, bakery, wedding shop, hair salon, coffee shop, business center, bicycle sales/repair and KeKe service? Oh Yes!!! All I need to do is cast a single stone into the waters of life and God will do the rest.

Give Away Unwanted Items, Time or Money on #GivingTuesdayNow

Posted: May 5, 2020 by Patrice Miles in #GivingTuesday, African School, C.A.R.E. Africa, Child Sponsorship, COVID-19, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Fundraising, Miles In Missions, Missionaries, Nigeria, Orphans, Patrice Miles, People of Egbe, Prayer, SIM, Sponsorship
Tags: #givingtuesdaynow, Africa, COVID-19, Egbe, Nigeria, orphans, orphans in africa, Stimulus

On #GivingTuesdayNow there are so many ways you can give to C.A.R.E. Africa during this pandemic.

Give away your stuff, give away your time or give away your finances……….

Give away those unwanted and or unused items lying around your home! Furniture, books, clothes, toys and appliances. We will come and get them and sell them on the marketplace and donate all the proceeds on your behalf to C.A.R.E. Africa. It’s called a Gift in Kind!

Give away your time! Email me to volunteer at the next C.A.R.E. Africa booth, help us plan and run our next fundraiser event, join our next mission trip and or use your marketing and or administrative gifts to help with website updates and data entry for prayer cards and calendars.

Give away your finances! Donate to our ministry to help our children and caregivers during this Corona Pandemic by visiting https://give.icareafrica.org/careafrica/COVID19 for US donations and https://www.sim.ca/care-africa/for Canada donations.

Whatever you have to give we an use it at C.A.R.E. Africa on this #GivingTuesdayNow!

precious

Tomorrow is #GivingTuesdayNow

Posted: May 4, 2020 by Patrice Miles in #GivingTuesday, African School, AWANA, C.A.R.E. Africa, Child Sponsorship, COVID-19, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Fundraising, Miles In Missions, Missionaries, Nigeria, Orphans, Patrice Miles, People of Egbe, Prayer, Sponsorship
Tags: #givingtuesdaynow, Africa, African Education, CARE Africa, Fundraising, Nigeria, orphans, orphans in africa, SIM, Stimulus

Facebook_ A Global Day of Unity (1)

You can give to help our children and caregivers at C.A.R.E. Africa on this global day of giving at https://give.icareafrica.org/careafrica/COVID19. For Canadian donations you can visit https://www.sim.ca/care-africa/.

#GivingTuesdayNow

Posted: April 30, 2020 by Patrice Miles in #GivingTuesday, C.A.R.E. Africa, Child Sponsorship, COVID-19, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Fundraising, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, Orphans, People of Egbe, Prayer, SIM
Tags: #givingtuesdaynow, Africa, CARE Africa, caregivers, COVID-19, Egbe, Nigeria, orphans, Stimulus

#GivingTuesdayNow is a global day of giving that will take place on Tuesday, May 5, 2020, as an emergency response to the unprecedented need caused by COVID-19. It is a global giving movement that has been built by individuals, families, organizations, business and communities in all 50 states and in countries around the world. Millions of people have come together to support and champion the causes they believe in communities around the world.

#GivingTuesdayNow is the day we hope to raise money for our children and caregivers. We know that as we recover from COVID-19, the need for food and other provisions will increase significantly. Food is not always available as the markets are not open for many days. Finding food is already becoming a difficulty for some. Many people who are fortunate enough to have a job were not paid in April and possibly won’t be paid in May. There isn’t any such thing as stimulus money in Nigeria. We need you to be the stimulus that helps us get these families through this pandemic. If you want to help a family or two or three then please give any amount on #GivingTuesdayNow.

$50 will feed a family of 5-6 people for one week.

$100 bag of rice will feed 30 families a meal.

$200 bag of beans will feed 30 families a meal.

Visit https://www.donorrise.com/careafrica/COVID19 to donate from the United States

Canadian Residents can donate at https://www.sim.ca/care-africa/

#GivingTuesdayNow

Please mark your calendar to support us on this national giving day!

Will You Be That Someone?

Posted: April 15, 2020 by Patrice Miles in C.A.R.E. Africa, Child Sponsorship, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, Oke Ere, Orphans, People of Egbe, Prayer, SIM, Sponsorship

front marking

This is Damilola Amarachi’s remodeled home. Below the two little feet pictured – you will see these words etched in the concrete: “Is the time of joy, favour, happy, Mercy is the work of God”. These words express gratitude for the house that love built.

You may remember the Amarachi family from a C.A.R.E. Africa blog several months ago. Here’s the link to that story https://milesinmissions.wordpress.com/2019/10/24/amarachi/ We shared with you the deplorable living conditions of this kindhearted family of six. You opened your hearts to the Amarachi family and donations flooded in. With those donations C.A.R.E. Africa was able to build a new roof, windows, doors, walls and concrete floor. The renovations were completed just in time for the rainy season. Because of your donations, Damilola and her family will never sleep on a wet, foam mat in the dirt again! Here are some before and after pictures of the Amarachi home renovations.

before side sideafter

Before front front2

before dami afterinside

During this Coronavirus pandemic it is easy to forget that the church, along with local and international ministries, rely solely on donations. We can only help as much as the Body of Christ empowers us to help. When we make a difference in people’s lives, it is ALL OF US who are engaged in that work. God says in His word (Mark 14:7) that the poor you will always have with you. This reminds us that the work never ends. It must continue during good times and bad times. During prosperity and pandemics. Most churches and ministries will need increased support during and after this pandemic in order to help all those that were affected.

I am reminded of the widow in the Bible who gave during her uncertain time and challenge you to continue your support or to become a new supporter during these uncertain times.

Luke 21:1-4 (NIV)
As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. ²He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ³“Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. ⁴All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”

Damilola and her family would not have experienced Christ’s love for them by way of this house renovation if it wasn’t for people saying “yes I will give”.

Please consider and pray about becoming a C.A.R.E. Africa child sponsor.

There are so many more “Damilola’s” out there who need someone to help them out of a life of poverty and into a life filled with hope. Will you be that someone? We have 12 new children that have basic needs for food, healthcare and education.

Click Give.iCareAfrica.org to learn their names and to see their precious faces. We would love to have all 12 sponsored over the next 40 days. If you already sponsor a child, please consider sponsoring a 2^nd or 3^rd child or sharing this blog post with a friend or family member. We cannot do this without you!

Egbe, Nigeria COVID-19 update from C.A.R.E. Africa

Posted: April 8, 2020 by Patrice Miles in African School, C.A.R.E. Africa, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, People of Egbe

Here is an Egbe, Nigeria COVID-19 update from Emma Salako our CEO;

The news of this virus has really broken a lot of people down with fear, both old and young are so scared. For the past week it has been crazy! Shops were forced to close, banks and hospitals were not allowing people in without washing of hands. Food became like gold to find, prices of everything increased overnight and churches were not allowed to hold worship services. All schools were closed with no alternative way for the children to do school lessons. There was no traveling and markets were not allowed to sell. Anyone who opened their store or anyone walking about was getting caned and or harassed severely. Many people were saying it’s the end times as they sat home starving.

This week things seem to be getting back to normal. People are opening their small shops, banks are working half days, the motorcycle guys are transporting people around town again, gas stations are now open but schools and churches are still locked down.

home The CARE Africa kids, caregivers and staff are all in good health. We are checking on them regularly to encourage them to keep the faith and know that all things will soon be back in place in God’s timing. Today and the rest of this week we are going house to house to share small bags of rice and other provisions to our families to help sustain them the little we can. Please pray for the well being of our children and staff at CARE, pray for Egbe land, pray for Nigeria, pray for the poor, pray for the lost who are thinking that God wanted to punish them with this virus. Pray for all nations to feel the hand of God and see His power at work. Pray for God’s comfort to those who lost their loved ones during this hard time. Pray for the leadership of CARE not to give up or feel discouraged. Pray strongly that more people will draw closer to Jesus during this time and that many will come to accept Jesus.

Thank you all for your love. We just want you guys to know that we are doing fine here on the other side of the world and you are all in our prayers just as we need your prayers.

Voiceless and Exhausted

Posted: March 12, 2020 by Patrice Miles in African School, C.A.R.E. Africa, Child Sponsorship, Egbe, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, Oke Ere, Orphans, Patrice Miles, People of Egbe, Prayer, SIM, Sponsorship

“We need to take C.A.R.E. Africa outside of Egbe. There are so many voiceless and exhausted children in Nigeria and in Africa as a whole”

For two years this was a recurring statement in our team meetings in Egbe. How could we only help children in Egbe when there were so many children in other towns in need of help. We prayed and just never heard God tell us where, who or when.

Emma has had dreams for years of our expansion into other countries but I have always been the one to put God in a box and keep C.A.R.E. Africa small. About six months ago several of us started having dreams of expansion and felt God clearly directing us to the town of Oke Ere. So we put the word out that a team from C.A.R.E.Africa would be coming to Oke Ere. If God wanted us to open the doors of C.A.R.E. to other towns then He would have to bring the children.

In February a team went to Oke Ere not knowing if the word had gotten out and if anyone would show up. Over 100 mothers, grandmothers and children were there waiting on us! The need was so overwhelming. We were able to interview 12 families and make home visits to about half of them. This town with only three small churches and two schools has poverty unlike anything I have ever witnessed. We had one little boy who hadn’t eaten in days and when given food he ate like a dog. It brought tears to my eyes.

I thanked God for bringing the children. Now I needed Him to bring the sponsors!

Almost all of these kids are extremely behind in their studies. Many cannot read or write. A few don’t speak English. We are in the process of hiring special teachers to work directly with the Oke Ere children. We hope to catch them up so in September when the 2020/2021 school year starts, they will be able to cope in the classroom.

We need your help both prayerfully and financially.

We need to find sponsors for the children of Oke Ere. The need is great!

If you already sponsor a child I ask you to prayerfully consider sponsoring a second child. I also ask that you forward this blog to as many people as God brings to mind. Tell a friend, post on social media and pray for these children and their families. Also pray for the teachers that will work directly with them as it will not be an easy task. This work would not be possible without your faith, prayers and continued support. Thank-you!

Click on any child to learn more about them or visit our giving website at https:/give.icareafrica.org to see all the kids available for sponsorship.

Restored Hope, Mommy Favour

Posted: February 27, 2020 by dbeville in C.A.R.E. Africa, Child Sponsorship, Egbe, Egbe Nigeria, Miles In Missions, Nigeria, Orphans, People of Egbe, Prayer, Sponsorship

Mommy Favour in a dress she designed and created.

Meet Joy. In Nigerian culture, women are often called by the name of their youngest child, so Joy is better known as “Mommy Favour.”

Mommy Favour grew up in Egbe and completed secondary school (high school). After Favour, her daughter was born, her husband moved to Lagos for work and was never heard from again. Alone and unable to find work, she could not pay school fees for her daughter to attend school. She wanted something better for her and Favour, so she registered with a seamstress in town and trained for 3 years. She completed the program, learning to make high-quality work. However, to follow protocol, a student must pay for their certificate of completion, buy a sewing machine, and pay for a graduation celebration. Together these requirements were going to cost her over 100,000 Naira. This equals around $300 US. She was unable to save enough to pay these high fees. In Nigeria, it is against regulation to sell seamstress work until you are certified, so Mommy Favour was back to where she started – alone, unable to work, and unable to pay school fees for her daughter.

Joy & Mommy Favour and her sewing machine.

Mommy Favour learned of C.A.R.E. Africa through word-of-mouth in Egbe and began to hope when she applied for the program in 2016. At just 3 years old, Favour was bright and beautiful. The following year, when she was old enough to start nursery class, Favour was accepted into C.A.R.E.’s program.

Mommy Favour joined C.A.R.E. Africa’s seamstress program, learning to hand-sew bottle cap trivets. Each handmade trivet takes about 10 hours to complete! She immediately set a goal to make forty trivets so she could buy a sewing machine. She did it! Now she diligently continues to work in the seamstress program making trivets and sewing clothes saving for her certificate and graduation.

All of CARE Africa’s “Joy Trivets” are tagged with her picture.

Please consider sponsoring this beautiful family. They are very grateful for the opportunities they are empowered with through C.A.R.E. Africa. Sponsorship commitment is $35 a month. We are seeking two sponsors so Favour can continue her education and Mommy Favour can continue her seamstress work. Click https://give.icareafrica.org/careafrica/festusfavour. You can also support her through the purchase of her beautiful trivet’s at www.CareAfricaStore.com

Favour modeling the new girls’ dresses that can be purchased at http://www.CareAfricaStore.com

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