Being in Pretoria is an opportunity to connect with other YWAM staff and to work on common projects that are normally developed by email! Dave and Ali Swann are a couple who relocated not so long ago from the YWAM center in Burtigny, Switzerland. Alongside their work supporting community development projects around the world, Ali also has lots of experience in offering communications training. As a Comms Team we realise that to effectively serve this huge continent and the wide-ranging YWAM projects here - and to promote an intra-organisational cultural shift that embraces communication - we need to multiply communicators, and that will happen through training.
We're in the early brainstorming/planning stages for a mobile, short communications workshop that can be taken around the continent and offered to staff teams on the ground. We're hoping that by the last quarter of this year we'll have a really helpful tool that can be piloted in a couple of places. Watch this space!
27 January 2008
Field Service Team meetings
This week Martial and Miranda have swapped the sunshine of Cape Town for the stormy rainclouds of Pretoria. They are attending the annual meetings of YWAM Africa's Field Service Team. It has been great as a Comms Team to be part of this wider group of people, all of whom are working in some way to strengthen the work of YWAM in Africa.
Currently we have people on the team who represent not only communication but also Member Care and Staff Development; Community Development; HIV/AIDS; and the Africa Leadership Team. We are a very disparate group, located in different places and with different focus to our work ... but what we have in common strongly connects us: we all love Africa, the people of the continent and the work of YWAM here; we are committed to seeing this work grow and become stronger and more effective; and we recognise that many different sorts of equipping is needed to make this possible. One reason why our times together are so special is the opportunity to hang out with others who work widely across the continent, since this is very different from the context of a local training or ministry center. It's fun to share those crazy travel stories, but also to contribute those insights that help us direct our help to where it's most needed.
Back at home base Tim and Pam are working on the ongoing projects of compiling the Prayer Guide and gathering news articles. They are also preparing to welcome Evelein who arrives from Holland to join the team on Friday.
Currently we have people on the team who represent not only communication but also Member Care and Staff Development; Community Development; HIV/AIDS; and the Africa Leadership Team. We are a very disparate group, located in different places and with different focus to our work ... but what we have in common strongly connects us: we all love Africa, the people of the continent and the work of YWAM here; we are committed to seeing this work grow and become stronger and more effective; and we recognise that many different sorts of equipping is needed to make this possible. One reason why our times together are so special is the opportunity to hang out with others who work widely across the continent, since this is very different from the context of a local training or ministry center. It's fun to share those crazy travel stories, but also to contribute those insights that help us direct our help to where it's most needed.
Back at home base Tim and Pam are working on the ongoing projects of compiling the Prayer Guide and gathering news articles. They are also preparing to welcome Evelein who arrives from Holland to join the team on Friday.
23 January 2008
Prayer for Africa
Tim and Martial both have their heads down this week, working busily on the Prayer Guide that will go out to YWAM Africa staff ahead of the month of prayer in June. They have 2 more weeks to finish writing the text and completing the design ... after that we have to get the English text translated into French and Portuguese before we go to print. We always have to leave at least a month before the material is needed to allow for the slow postage systems across much of Africa.
We have been producing a Prayer Guide for the continent for the last 4 years; it has been an initiative that has really helped to bring a sense of family to the Africa teams. To date we have focused on gathering and passing on information about YWAM, primarily, with some background information about the different regions. This year, however, we have decided to create a guide that will have more longevity ... the information will be primarily about the ongoing issues that Africa faces, such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, child soldiers, and so on. We'll run a story about each issue with some guidelines for prayer and action. Then we'll print an insert with current information from the YWAM projects so that the guide itself can be used for future prayer times and up-to-date YWAM information can be inserted as appropriate.
So far Tim and Martial's work is looking great and we're excited to be able to offer this well researched material to people all over the world - both in YWAM and beyond - who care about Africa and have a heart to pray for transformation. Look out for it - or request a copy!
We have been producing a Prayer Guide for the continent for the last 4 years; it has been an initiative that has really helped to bring a sense of family to the Africa teams. To date we have focused on gathering and passing on information about YWAM, primarily, with some background information about the different regions. This year, however, we have decided to create a guide that will have more longevity ... the information will be primarily about the ongoing issues that Africa faces, such as HIV/AIDS, poverty, child soldiers, and so on. We'll run a story about each issue with some guidelines for prayer and action. Then we'll print an insert with current information from the YWAM projects so that the guide itself can be used for future prayer times and up-to-date YWAM information can be inserted as appropriate.
So far Tim and Martial's work is looking great and we're excited to be able to offer this well researched material to people all over the world - both in YWAM and beyond - who care about Africa and have a heart to pray for transformation. Look out for it - or request a copy!
21 January 2008
Mind the Gap
Over the past week or so there has been an exchange of emails between some leaders in Africa that really demonstrates the need for Comms Teams such as AfriCom. It's also a good motivator for us to be proactively seeking solutions to the communication gap we have in YWAM. Internationally are we aware that there is a major gap in communication if as an organisation we consistently use the Internet as the primary means of communication?
One of our leaders in Mozambique (a nation where the work of YWAM is thriving and making a real difference in local communities) wrote this:
At a recent YWAM leaders wedding here I was able to catch up with a lot of YWAM staff and I casually asked them: how easy is it for you to get the prayer info from the internet. All of them said that it was not easy. I mentioned that there was a website where they could read about the things that God said from all our brothers and sisters all over the world, no one had been to the site and no one knew what was on it. Not because they did not want to but because it is not easy for them. Food for thought. So God is speaking in the mission but we are cut out of that?
YWAM's international leaders have recently initiated a monthly Day of Prayer for the global mission. Information has been sent out by email with instructions to register on a website for further communications. To quote our leader in Mozambique once more:
I received a lot of information [about the Prayer Day] and in my current capacity as acting National Director for Mozambique I tried my best to make sure that this information reached all our bases here, namely Dondo (40km out of Beira), Beira, Quelimane and Lichinga. Then I was asked to subscribe so that the senders of the info would continue to send it. They warned me that if I did not subscribe, then I would not receive the info again. To do this I needed to get on the Internet. I had to find another computer that was compatible with my cell phone to be able to do that. When that was done it took me the best part of the morning to fill in just a few line; connecting the way I do with my cell phone, it takes 6 -10 minutes just to move from one page to another. When I finished and sent the info, I thought 'Phew! Its done'. I was wrong. I then received a reply saying that having done that, I needed to go to another website to provide details like who I was etc. If getting onto the Internet was easy here, I would have done itgladly, but it is not. At that stage I realised that I needed the info for the January Prayer Day. I was desperate for the whole of Mozambique to participate in this great prayer initiative. I began to call the other bases to find out from some of them who are not in a setting as rural as mine if they would be able to access the website and register. To my horror, everyone was struggling to get through because of reasons ranging from poor connections, to the site displaying a page saying: PAGE NOT FOUND!
What is our response as a Comms Team for the continent? Should we print and mail information to the 100+ teams continent-wide? Aside from the expense of doing that, the postal services would mean that YWAM staff in Africa would be praying for information that everyone else covered the previous month. Then there's the question of whether feedback from prayer times around Africa would get back to the Prayer Day organisers if staff are unable to complete the feedback forms on the website. Sending text messages is another option - at least we could remind our staff in Africa that a Prayer Day is coming up and give them the key info points.
This is a hot topic at the moment given that our global magazine, the International YWAMer, is soon going from print to e-zine. What will this mean for YWAM staff around Africa, very few of whom will have the bandwith necessary to download such a communication piece?
One of our leaders in Mozambique (a nation where the work of YWAM is thriving and making a real difference in local communities) wrote this:
At a recent YWAM leaders wedding here I was able to catch up with a lot of YWAM staff and I casually asked them: how easy is it for you to get the prayer info from the internet. All of them said that it was not easy. I mentioned that there was a website where they could read about the things that God said from all our brothers and sisters all over the world, no one had been to the site and no one knew what was on it. Not because they did not want to but because it is not easy for them. Food for thought. So God is speaking in the mission but we are cut out of that?
YWAM's international leaders have recently initiated a monthly Day of Prayer for the global mission. Information has been sent out by email with instructions to register on a website for further communications. To quote our leader in Mozambique once more:
I received a lot of information [about the Prayer Day] and in my current capacity as acting National Director for Mozambique I tried my best to make sure that this information reached all our bases here, namely Dondo (40km out of Beira), Beira, Quelimane and Lichinga. Then I was asked to subscribe so that the senders of the info would continue to send it. They warned me that if I did not subscribe, then I would not receive the info again. To do this I needed to get on the Internet. I had to find another computer that was compatible with my cell phone to be able to do that. When that was done it took me the best part of the morning to fill in just a few line; connecting the way I do with my cell phone, it takes 6 -10 minutes just to move from one page to another. When I finished and sent the info, I thought 'Phew! Its done'. I was wrong. I then received a reply saying that having done that, I needed to go to another website to provide details like who I was etc. If getting onto the Internet was easy here, I would have done itgladly, but it is not. At that stage I realised that I needed the info for the January Prayer Day. I was desperate for the whole of Mozambique to participate in this great prayer initiative. I began to call the other bases to find out from some of them who are not in a setting as rural as mine if they would be able to access the website and register. To my horror, everyone was struggling to get through because of reasons ranging from poor connections, to the site displaying a page saying: PAGE NOT FOUND!
What is our response as a Comms Team for the continent? Should we print and mail information to the 100+ teams continent-wide? Aside from the expense of doing that, the postal services would mean that YWAM staff in Africa would be praying for information that everyone else covered the previous month. Then there's the question of whether feedback from prayer times around Africa would get back to the Prayer Day organisers if staff are unable to complete the feedback forms on the website. Sending text messages is another option - at least we could remind our staff in Africa that a Prayer Day is coming up and give them the key info points.
This is a hot topic at the moment given that our global magazine, the International YWAMer, is soon going from print to e-zine. What will this mean for YWAM staff around Africa, very few of whom will have the bandwith necessary to download such a communication piece?
14 January 2008
YWAM Staff in Car Crash
In Malawi on Monday, 7th of January 2008, four YWAMers survived a serious car crash after the bus they were traveling in overturned.
YWAM Mzuzu leader, Amanda van Saasen send out this text message from Malawi: “Last night at 10pm a Coach Line bus overturned on a mountain with 4 YWAMers on board, 3 Brazilians on outreach and one Malawian staff from the Mzuzu base. There are all fine: just cuts, bruises and shock. It is a miracle not a single person died in the accident. I found them all just after midnight huddled together with the rest of the passengers next to the bus, praying in the mist and the rain. They are now all safe with me in Blantyre. Thank you for praying.”
The incidence of public transport accidents is notoriously high in Africa, and most YWAM staff travel in this way. Over the years many fellow YWAMers have been involved in similar road accidents. In your prayer times please thank God for His protection and continue to ask for the safety of all our staff.
A Different Kind Of Christmas
Pam writes:
YWAM staff at the Muizenberg training center celebrated Christmas 2007 with a Latin American flavour. A team of ten ladies from Latin America come to South Africa as part of a project called “A Different Kind of Christmas”. Their aim and hope was to bless and encourage missionaries who are away from loved ones during these family times. The bonus for the team was the chance to get a feel for the African mission field.
They gave a Christmas Eve party for 70 people and each received a gift. In an interview I found out that the number of those attending the party increased after the team had brought all their supplies. The question was how did they manage to cater for all those extras? “In our country we have a saying, where 8 people eat, 9 people eat” came the answer. There was something about the team - from the 15 year old to the 53 year old - that reflected their passion to serve. Thoughwe didn't speak the same language I found myself talking and laughing with them, even when there was no translator.
One of the staff members from the YWAM center spoke of his experience: “This Christmas was different from the previous three years that I have been away from home; there was a program set and there was a sharing of gifts. It made all the difference.”
YWAM staff at the Muizenberg training center celebrated Christmas 2007 with a Latin American flavour. A team of ten ladies from Latin America come to South Africa as part of a project called “A Different Kind of Christmas”. Their aim and hope was to bless and encourage missionaries who are away from loved ones during these family times. The bonus for the team was the chance to get a feel for the African mission field.
They gave a Christmas Eve party for 70 people and each received a gift. In an interview I found out that the number of those attending the party increased after the team had brought all their supplies. The question was how did they manage to cater for all those extras? “In our country we have a saying, where 8 people eat, 9 people eat” came the answer. There was something about the team - from the 15 year old to the 53 year old - that reflected their passion to serve. Thoughwe didn't speak the same language I found myself talking and laughing with them, even when there was no translator.
One of the staff members from the YWAM center spoke of his experience: “This Christmas was different from the previous three years that I have been away from home; there was a program set and there was a sharing of gifts. It made all the difference.”
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