Beyond sympathy

Story
Written By Chenga Ose staff

Here’s Lucia speaking at a recent workshop: Disability Friendly Church – Beyond Sympathy: Towards Empathy and Altruism.

This conversation included a message about how important it is to move past our tendencies to feel sorry for those with disabilities and move on to building relationships.

VIVA Network Country Coordinator and staff were in attendance as a follow up to the first ‘Value and Purpose’ teaching COA shared. VIVA Network has embraced the vision and decided to invite more pastors and leaders to hear this message and take action in their own churches and communities.

Join us in our mission to support over 500 families in Zimbabwe by donating to COA, fueling our work to foster a world where all differently abled children and their caregivers receive love, food, education, and the dignity they deserve.

 
See Also
About Chenga Ose
About Chenga Ose
How your donation changes lives
How your donation changes lives
Our Greatest Mission
Our Greatest Mission

How it began.

Uniting for disability 
support in Zimbabwe
Uniting for disability 
support in Zimbabwe

A Mother's Quest: Overcoming Economic Meltdown & Fighting for Inclusivity

Understanding The Stigma
Understanding The Stigma

Unseen Chains: The Stigma of Disability and Witchcraft in Culture

Protecting The Children With Disabilities
Protecting The Children With Disabilities

Hidden Lives: The Untold Stories of Children with Cerebral Palsy

Power of Together
Power of Together

COA and Global Solutions unite to create a powerful alliance for the betterment of people with disabilities in Zimbabwe.

The Cost of Ministry and Walking with the Poor
The Cost of Ministry and Walking with the Poor

Davis and Lucia Mambure are Zimbabwean missionaries with Cru who also founded the Chenga Ose Association for women with disabled children. They provide updates on their family, ministry, church growth, and fundraising efforts.

The Blessing of Having a Child with Special Needs: A Testimony of God’s Grace
The Blessing of Having a Child with Special Needs: A Testimony of God’s Grace

Parents of children with special needs, Bruno and Nadine, share their testimony of how their children have been a blessing to their ministry. They hope to reach out to pastors and leaders with similar stories to empower a generation of caregivers.

From down South to the Oceanic Region of the Indian Ocean
From down South to the Oceanic Region of the Indian Ocean

As the GCM National Leader, Davis focuses on equipping his team to support churches in Zimbabwe and fulfill the great commission by planting vital churches in various communities. He and Pastor Sanjaye Sahye participated in MCC, training 200 leaders in evangelism and discipleship.

Introducing our Journey as Missionaries
Introducing our Journey as Missionaries

Lucia and Davis Mambure are CRU missionaries in Zimbabwe who founded Chenga Ose Association to support caregivers of disabled children, including their own son Tapona. They provide emotional, spiritual, and social support, and started initiatives like farming projects and food distribution during COVID lockdown.

Two gather
Two gather

This week, Davis and Lucia collaborated with Global BP, sharing their impactful partnership with COA during the national lockdown, and highlighting their combined efforts with local churches to support caregivers and disabled children in Epworth, Zimbabwe, while emphasizing the potential growth of this relationship through divine guidance and forthcoming initiatives.

Growing empowerment
Growing empowerment

Davis and the team have made significant strides in the Chinyani village's agricultural project, battling unpredictable weather and climate change, while learning invaluable lessons on teamwork and project coordination, with plans to expand and replicate their conservation farming techniques across other communities in Harare, as well as intending to improve water security via irrigation systems, all towards the broader goal of community empowerment.

Every life used
Every life used

Celebrating the life of a cherished woman who has passed, her story and her mother's love, and the support they received from COA, have been instrumental in nurturing seeds of faith and relationships, inspiring the growth of COA's outreach from a single family to hundreds, thus leaving a lasting, beautiful legacy that continues to influence and inspire global acts of kindness and justice.

Mothers up for the challenge
Mothers up for the challenge

Celebrating the life of a cherished woman who has passed, her story and her mother's love, and the support they received from COA, have been instrumental in nurturing seeds of faith and relationships, inspiring the growth of COA's outreach from a single family to hundreds, thus leaving a lasting, beautiful legacy that continues to influence and inspire global acts of kindness and justice.

Farming video update
Farming video update

When the initial wave of the COVID19 pandemic hit Zimbabwe, a food crisis emergency emerged, especially within the disability community. Fortunately there were angels out there who partnered with COA and came up with a relief food aid distribution program. Our Chinyani support group in Murehwa, Mashonaland East was part of the beneficiaries.

Harvest
Harvest

“We tilled the land, planted the seed and God watered…”

Let it begin
Let it begin

Davis, Lucia, and the Chinyani Village Support Group have been diligently cultivating a five-acre plot of land in Murehwa with steadfast faith, aiming to start planting soon, with a hopeful prayer that their efforts and the ensuing garden will flourish and multiply in the coming days and years.

Clearing the fields
Clearing the fields

As COA prepares a community garden amid the COVID-19 lockdown in Zimbabwe, the project, supported by widespread community participation, aims not just to provide food and income but also serve as an agricultural model for other villages, demonstrating resilience and adaptation in these critical times.

Current farming project
Current farming project

Check out what COA is busy with right now!

Family Support Doubled
Family Support Doubled

As COA prepares a community garden amid the COVID-19 lockdown in Zimbabwe, the project, supported by widespread community participation, aims not just to provide food and income but also serve as an agricultural model for other villages, demonstrating resilience and adaptation in these critical times.

Blast fast challenge
Blast fast challenge

Join the Blast Fast Challenge, an initiative asking participants to forego one weekly meal for a month, translating approximately $40 in savings into a month's worth of food for a family of six in Zimbabwe, through a donation to the Chenga Ose Association Zimbabwe (COA), which aims to serve 300 families amidst increased COVID-induced hardships.

With 322 families
With 322 families

In response to the challenges posed by COVID-19, Davis and Lucia, through the Chenga Ose Association (COA), have mobilized their local and U.S. network to provide essential food supplies to 300 families they support year-round, showcasing a powerful example of unity, love, and generosity amidst crisis.

Food and love during Covid-19

As the lockdown exacerbates the already precarious situation of many people with disabilities and their caregivers in Zimbabwe, COA is appealing for donations to provide meals to this vulnerable community, urging supporters to contribute and engage with related initiatives.

COA family Christmas
COA family Christmas
Learning to work together
Learning to work together

Global BP Solutions joined a recent Epworth support group meeting organized by COA, where they shared stories, testimonials, and visions of creating employment opportunities in Zimbabwe, fostering a sense of encouragement and camaraderie, and furthering their collective understanding of the community's needs and strengths.

Power of together
Power of together

So in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. Romans 12:5

What can happen when two God fearing organizations join forces for the good of Zimbabwe? We are about to find out…

Chingwaru support group
Chingwaru support group

The newly-formed group in Murehwa, Zimbabwe, has seen rapid growth, with 19 new members and significant stakeholders such as the Social Welfare Officer joining in August, who, along with the community members, expressed gratitude for COA's involvement, noting its role in identifying and mobilizing people with disabilities for collective advocacy, thus exemplifying a communal embrace of inclusivity.

Critical conversations
Critical conversations

Davis participated in a meeting with Tearfund and the Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe (EFZ), emphasizing the intrinsic value of individuals with disabilities and discussing how their increased participation can enrich communities, with thanks extended to the leaders pioneering this shift in perspective through engaging in meaningful dialogue.

Chenga Ose staff
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