January 2022 Prayer Letter

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" Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord,
And whose hope is the Lord ."
(Jeremiah 17v7)

Happy New Year to you all, our dear friends.
Thank you very much for your support in 2021. Many communities were given free and easy access to plentiful clean safe drinking water and proper toilets. Please help other communities across Nigeria to get the same in 2022.
Thank you for your generosity.

Northeastern Nigeria is the most impoverished region in the country. Its dry, harsh climate compounded by the Boko Haram insurgency with entire communities ravaged and many people killed or driven from their homes is creating humanitarian crises.

SIM and their partner ECWA (Evangelical Church Winning All) have refurbished a clinic at Garin Maje (population 5,000) and built a new dispensary in the smaller village of Madabai (population 3,000). The two communities are in Yobe State, Nigeria. Prior to the completion of these health facilities, residents either did not have access to healthcare, or had to travel the long and dangerous rural roads to the closest town of Potiskum.

Eight thousand immediate local residents will be helped with much-needed healthcare in these rural locations but more important is the opportunity to show Christ’s love and compassion in a region where the majority of the population is non-Christian. The SIM team in the area partners with the local churches seeking openings to share the gospel through their compassionate medical care ministry.

These two new and vital healthcare provisions need a borehole each with personnel adequately trained in the Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH) programme to maximise the health benefits of these facilities.

TASTE was approached by SIM to provide the boreholes and the WASH Training. The WASH training will be for 40 participants (20 per community), including medical staff, and will be delivered by TASTE’s Sanitation Officer. The training will explain the risks of using contaminated water, provide education on safe hygiene practices, Covid-19, nutrition and relevant Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). The training event will outline responsibility for ongoing maintenance.

A WASH Committee (WASHCOM) comprising WASH Trainees will be set up in each community. The WASHCOM will teach local people through informal networks, village meetings, assemblies at schools, markets and places of worship.

Ten selected WASH advocates (5 from each community) will be trained by TASTE’s
Sanitation Officer to be responsible for the maintenance of the sanitation facilities and liaise with local government authorities and other NGOs for the ongoing community development.
The total cost of the Water and Sanitation Project is £30,035 broken down into its various components as shown in the schematic drawing above.
Over Christmas we ran a campaign #ADD2BASKET where our supporters were encouraged to buy items from the list. We have so far raised £22,135.
We plan to complete the project by early February so that these medical facilities meeting an important need for these two vulnerable communities.

This is TASTE Nigeria's new office block under construction at our own piece of land, in Jos. The team in Nigeria were hoping to move in at the end of this month but this has been delayed.. However, the building material shown have to be moved from our current offices by the end of the week commencing 24 January 2022. The staff are trying to complete the Gatehouse and employ a security guard before the material can be moved - please pray they would meet this very tight deadline.

What about the Rig? I hear you ask...
The Rig went out on its first job about a month ago but sadly when fully powered up, the gear failed. We are just waiting for the part and then it will be all systems go.

Praise for:

God’s faithfulness in keeping us all safe especially our staff who travel to many remote and often flash-point areas to carry out projects and for bringing us safely into this New Year.
The money already raised for the Yobe Clinic and Dispensary Water Project
The partnership with SIM which has enabled us to move into the Northeast

Pray that:

Our staff will continue to honour God in all that they do both in the UK and in Nigeria
Staff would be kept safe particularly for Nuhu and family who have had to relocate for security reasons.
Doris Samuel, our Sanitation Officer will know God's presence and comfort. Doris whose fiance died unexpectedly in December. They were due to get married this month.
We would use every opportunity during our projects to share the Gospel with communities
The Gatehouse would be completed and a suitable security guard recruited so that the building material can be moved to our new Headquarters.
The remaining £7,900 for the Yobe project would be raised very soon.