Cape Girardeau residents travel to Africa to lend a hand

Raelenna Ferguson is looking forward to taking a bit of Cape Girardeau to Africa.

On Friday, Ferguson and 48 people leave on a mission trip to Swaziland, Africa, where they will help local farmers, celebrate a groundbreaking for an orphanage and spread the Gospel. Ferguson organized the trip through Heart for Africa, a not-for-profit based in Atlanta.

Ferguson said the four dozen people on the trip range from 8- to 68-years-old and come from all walks of life. She said once they get to Swaziland, they will break up into groups of 10 and visit different areas.

The southern African nation, located between South Africa and Mozambique, is slightly smaller than New Jersey, with a population of 1,354,051 people. According to the CIA World Factbook, it recently surpassed Botswana as the country with the world's highest known HIV/AIDS prevalence rate at 26 percent. The country averages 14.99 deaths per 1,000 persons, the 14th worst rate in the world, and has an average life expectancy of younger than 48 years, which results in a high number of orphans in the country.

Feeding orphans

Ferguson said one of her goals on the trip is to encourage churches in Swaziland to adopt community gardens to provide food for orphans in the area. She said the group will furnish seedlings and fencing and teach basic irrigation techniques. She said the gardens are part of a larger effort called Project Canaan, a Heart for Africa project, with the goal of touring 250,000 acres in Swaziland into fish farms and gardens.

On July 23, the group will gather at the Somholo National Stadium for an event called Litsemba. The event is sponsored by Heart for Africa, and will have 15,000 to 20,000 orphans bused in for a worship celebration. Ferguson said her group will distribute 2,200 blankets, 1,562 pairs of underwear and 73 soccer balls. She said they will also be giving out long-sleeved shirts for children to wear in winter.

Ferguson helped organize a Celebrate Hope fundraiser earlier this year where $125,000 was collected to go toward a children's home in Swaziland. Construction on the El Roi Baby Home will start July 24. When completed, the center will house 50 children younger than 2 years old.

First trip to Africa

Danea Johnson, a hairstylist in Cape Girardeau, said this will be her first trip to Africa. She said she is looking forward to working with children and seeing poverty first hand.

"I want to be the hands and feet of Jesus," she said.

Angel Klund, a counselor at Jackson High School, will be bringing three students from class 2010.

She said she will be working in Bible camps that will teach 60 pupils. She said the group will be bringing over bags of corn to be distributed by the churches, because they can service the area within walking distance. She said the churches selected had a record of giving back to the community.

In Flourish

Find out more about Celebrate Hope's Raelenna Ferguson and Teresa Birk in the August issue of Flourish, a new magazine for Southeast Missouri women. Sign up for the monthly e-zine version of Flourish by e-mailing cmiller@semissourian.com