In the beginning was the Word...-John 1:1

Communication between our brother and sisters is so important. We exchange ideas, give encouragement, coordinate meetings, and send word when help is needed. Here in Congo, we face many challenges to communication. We have no formal postal system. Our deteriorated roads can only be driven on in the short dry season—and even this is difficult. Travel by train is slow, and it cannot take us to many of our congregations. Most of our communities do not have phones or even electricity. Our ham radio network, which had served us so well over the years, has fallen into disrepair (antiquated equipment) and many sites were looted during the recent war. We are now down to just a few working radios. Without these radios, cries for urgent help do not arrive until it is too late. This greatly undermines the work of our Wings of the Morning program. Our goal is to have at least one ham radio per district.

When it comes to communication with the world beyond our borders, things are even tougher. Currently, there is one place in the entire conference where we can send an e-mail—the new Internet café in Kamina. The coming of cell phone towers two years ago has given Kamina and a few other communities the ability to make local and international calls—although such calls are expensive.

UMCOM (United Methodist Communications) has recently partnered with United Methodist Publishing House, the General Board of Discipleship, and Africa Annual Conferences to form the Africa Collaboration Team. They are working together to raise funds to purchase equipment for a conference communications center and other communication materials for every UM conference in Africa. See www.umcom.org/foundation or contact Tafadzwa Mudambanuki, tmudambanuki@umcom.org, for details.

Internal Communications Wish List:

Ham Radios with a power source (batteries, generators, solar panels, etc.)
Transportation (bikes, motorcycles, trucks)

External Communications Wish List:

Internet Connections
Computers, printers, scanners, digital cameras, etc.
Cell phones with budget for airtime