Echols Family: Namibia, Africa
“Expansion”
David & Sandy Echols have been making a huge impact in their community in Namibia since 2001! So much so that they are looking to expand and move into a new building to support their current family in Christ. They have a plan for how they’re going to use this new building (below) but they need your help! If you’d like to learn more about the Echols family and their mission please check out their website: https://3measur.es/
Young & Pregnant!
Sandy recently completed another Young & Pregnant and this most recent class was a huge success! She spent nine weeks with nine girls, teaching, encouraging and affirming value in their lives. They ended it all off with a big baby shower and Sandy has been busy visiting the girls in the hospital as their baby’s have been born. In this time they have grown close together as a community that continues to remain involved in each other’s lives.
Hope Cafe
Hope Cafe is another area where our work has really exploded. The cafe has gone from being open two nights a week, to being open 5-8 pm on Mondays, Tuesday and Thursdays and from 2-7 pm on Saturdays. We have found some ways to serve food and drinks and are closer than ever to being fully self sustaining. Best of all, the cafe is full every time we open. In fact, our small cafe is overcrowded most nights. The need for a larger space is undeniable.
3 Measures First Aid
Along with the help of a local doctor, we have trained four young men as first aid trainers. With this skill they can run first aid courses, providing income for themselves and valuable training for others. They have been accepted into an incubation center in January that will help them develop this into a viable business.
Future opportunities with the new building
We have been looking into teaching computer classes in our neighborhood. The plan is to establish an accredited program we can offer to low income individuals and use the income from these classes to fund programs and hire trainers. At this point, the only thing stopping us is the lack of classroom space.
With the continued success of Young & Pregnant, Sandy has a dream to start a pregnancy resource center for our community. Somewhere young girls can come when they discover they are pregnant. Here they could get information, advice, counselling and be enrolled in the next Young and Pregnant class. Furthermore, we would like to set up a doctor’s office with an ultrasound machine. Here a number of doctors who have volunteered or shown interest in volunteering their time would have a place to work from.
Many of the young ladies in our Young & Pregnant program have come from an abusive situation at home. We have a vision to help these girls transition from their current situation into another. In these cases we would like to establish a halfway house to provide a hand up while they get on their feet.
