Build Jona a life
Donation protected
BUILD JONA A LIFE!
Imagine if you could give someone a good life for just $14,000!
Here's the crux: last year Jona was paralysed from the waist down due to TB of the spine. He has nowhere to live and nobody to care for him properly, so he faces misery and death when discharged from hospital. We plan to build him a basic house, and tiny shops so he can support himself. It will save his life, and give him a life back in his village. For more details, please watch the 3 minute video or read on...Jonathon (Jona) was a very fit 23 year old when he got tuberculosis (TB) of the spine and came to Murgwanza hospital, in north-west Tanzania,in 2015. The disease left him paralysed from the waist down. He cannot use his legs and he can't control his bladder or bowel.
It's been a very tough road for Jona, but thankfully he's had ongoing help from the hospital chaplain, Jenny Bennett. You see, Jona's parents died when he was young. He has no family except an estranged sister. Since the age of 11, he's been living with a friend, James, who's about 10 years older. James lives far from the hospital and has his work and family commitments , so he's only been able to visit Jona every couple of weeks. In any case, James could not afford to help with the medical bills, food, and other expenses that Jona's had... for the past year in hospital! (The TBwas healed but horrendous pressure sores developed, which took many months to heal.)
Now Jona is close to being well enough to be discharged from hospital, but where will he live, who will provide daily care for him (helping with the problem of incontinence, etc), and how will he support himself financially? This is Tanzania and life is tough, but much tougher when you're disabled - no disability pension here, no district nurse to visit him daily, and Jona has no money or property. Doctors say that without help, he won't survive. They only know of one such patient who survived, because his wife - a nurse - looked after him so well. James is happy to share his food with Jona, but cannot have a disabled person living in his tiny house with his wife and five kids!
This is where you can help! We've already bought Jona a wheelchair from donations, plus a small block of land next to James to build Jona a house - and a tiny plot in the centre of his village (Kigarama, in Ngara District) to build four tiny shops (each one 2.5 x 5 metres). His house will only have two bedrooms, but it will be designed to be wheelchair friendly. A carer will live there too. And the rent from the shops will cover the cost of the carer and Jona's ongoing medical expenses - brilliant! The house will cost about $10,000 (including a water tank and minimal furniture), and the shops $4,000.
Please give generously to help build a life for Jona, who has no hope without this house and shops. We need to build in time for Jona's discharge from hospital, so please donate NOW.
By the way, Jenny and I are gospel workers from CMS-Australia and we've been working in Murgwanza (near Ngara) since 2008 - you can checkus out on www.cms.org.au/missionary/africa/andy-and-jenny-bennett . We're trustworthy and we'll be managing the donations to ensure that ALL funds received go towards building Jona's house and shops. There will NOT be any admin expenses. If the donations exceed these costs, we'll put any excess towards finishing a health clinic which has been half-built in Jona's village for years - the people there will be delighted to have some health services in their village!
God bless you
Andy Bennett
PS Check out the 3 minute video and photos.
Imagine if you could give someone a good life for just $14,000!
Here's the crux: last year Jona was paralysed from the waist down due to TB of the spine. He has nowhere to live and nobody to care for him properly, so he faces misery and death when discharged from hospital. We plan to build him a basic house, and tiny shops so he can support himself. It will save his life, and give him a life back in his village. For more details, please watch the 3 minute video or read on...Jonathon (Jona) was a very fit 23 year old when he got tuberculosis (TB) of the spine and came to Murgwanza hospital, in north-west Tanzania,in 2015. The disease left him paralysed from the waist down. He cannot use his legs and he can't control his bladder or bowel.
It's been a very tough road for Jona, but thankfully he's had ongoing help from the hospital chaplain, Jenny Bennett. You see, Jona's parents died when he was young. He has no family except an estranged sister. Since the age of 11, he's been living with a friend, James, who's about 10 years older. James lives far from the hospital and has his work and family commitments , so he's only been able to visit Jona every couple of weeks. In any case, James could not afford to help with the medical bills, food, and other expenses that Jona's had... for the past year in hospital! (The TBwas healed but horrendous pressure sores developed, which took many months to heal.)
Now Jona is close to being well enough to be discharged from hospital, but where will he live, who will provide daily care for him (helping with the problem of incontinence, etc), and how will he support himself financially? This is Tanzania and life is tough, but much tougher when you're disabled - no disability pension here, no district nurse to visit him daily, and Jona has no money or property. Doctors say that without help, he won't survive. They only know of one such patient who survived, because his wife - a nurse - looked after him so well. James is happy to share his food with Jona, but cannot have a disabled person living in his tiny house with his wife and five kids!
This is where you can help! We've already bought Jona a wheelchair from donations, plus a small block of land next to James to build Jona a house - and a tiny plot in the centre of his village (Kigarama, in Ngara District) to build four tiny shops (each one 2.5 x 5 metres). His house will only have two bedrooms, but it will be designed to be wheelchair friendly. A carer will live there too. And the rent from the shops will cover the cost of the carer and Jona's ongoing medical expenses - brilliant! The house will cost about $10,000 (including a water tank and minimal furniture), and the shops $4,000.
Please give generously to help build a life for Jona, who has no hope without this house and shops. We need to build in time for Jona's discharge from hospital, so please donate NOW.
By the way, Jenny and I are gospel workers from CMS-Australia and we've been working in Murgwanza (near Ngara) since 2008 - you can checkus out on www.cms.org.au/missionary/africa/andy-and-jenny-bennett . We're trustworthy and we'll be managing the donations to ensure that ALL funds received go towards building Jona's house and shops. There will NOT be any admin expenses. If the donations exceed these costs, we'll put any excess towards finishing a health clinic which has been half-built in Jona's village for years - the people there will be delighted to have some health services in their village!
God bless you
Andy Bennett
PS Check out the 3 minute video and photos.
Organizer
Andy Bennett
Organizer
Adelaide, SA