Mission and Giving at Cambourne Church 

• Uzimatele Ministries near Nairobi, Kenya – set up by Pastor George and his wife Jackline in the Gituamba informal settlement and visited 15 years ago by a group of young people from Cambourne with youth worker Jon Sanders. Since 2004, over 30 orphan children have benefited from the Uzimatele Family Home, “a place they call home”, starting as young as 4 and some going on the higher education and local employment. The Education Centre is the only school in Gituamba, currently teaching children up to about age 13, but wanting to expand if finances permit the provision of more buildings and teachers. Pastor George also leads the Community Church and is hoping to start a feeding programme for children, as well as a women’s empowerment programme to enable the setting up of self-sufficient business programmes.
• Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) – this ministry is managed by Claudaline who has visited the UK (including Cambourne); her husband Bishop Desire died in 2020 and Claudaline is continuing the work. Goma is close to the border with Rwanda, an area which has suffered from local unrest and violence as well as natural disasters in recent years (flooding and a volcanic eruption). Claudaline’s main focus is on women’s ministry. The overall local development organisation is called ASDIG – focussing on agriculture (crops, animals and beehives), health and nutrition, primary education, entrepreneur businesses, self-sufficiency, emergency planning. Claudaline also works with 2 local primary schools focusing on providing food for students. This contact began with Peter Wood when he was minister here at Cambourne Church.
• WCCYM - West Cambridge Christian Youth Ministries. Young people from Cambourne Church join others from local churches in the area for monthly worship services, discipleship groups, social activities and residential weekends/summer festivals. WCCYM also works in Comberton and Cambourne Village Colleges and Sixth Forms, participating in assemblies and lessons, providing support for students and staff as well as helping to run Christian Unions. Please look at the WCCYM website for more details.
• CompassionUK – lots of children are sponsored by church members; additionally the children and young people of Cambourne Church fundraise together to sponsor a boy named Thomas in Kenya.

 
Goma/Kinshasa (Democratic Republic of Congo) - Claudaline

I thank you all so much for taking us in your prayers. Our situation was so bad. After rebels taking over, people are killed night and day. 
I am now in Uganda, but left one of my children in Goma because her passport has expired and her baby has not yet got a passport.
I travelled with my son who is finishing secondary school and will be sitting for the national exams soon in June. The government will not send the exams to the rebel areas. Today I have sent him to Kinshasa (capital of DRC) - he flew this afternoon from Kampala (Uganda) to Kinshasa.
My neighbour sent me a message yesterday that on Thursday night rebels came to my house willing to take my car, but did not manage to break the door of the gate.
We need your support and prayers - all the banks are closed.

July 2024 - Update on Claudaline's ministry in Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo
Claudaline has just sent a Whatsapp to inform us that she has just presented 52

 tailoring certificates to men and women, boys and girls, who have completed a one-year training course. This will enable many individuals to operate small businesses and raise funds for their family and community.
She thanks us for our ongoing support and prayers.

June 2024
Please click here to read an update from Uzimatele, including information about flooding which has impacted their work.

March 2024
Please click here to see an update from Pastor George in Uzimatele.

November 2023
Please click here to read the latest updates and see photos from our mission partners in Africa.

Update on Claudaline in Goma: June 2023
We have just heard from Claudaline, who confirms that she is safe and well after the recent floods and landslides in the Goma area. She is very grateful for our gift of £750 which arrived recently and has sent some pictures showing that her support for women in agricultural development is progressing well, despite some losses owing to recent events.
Please continue to pray for her in her ministry in this poor region of the Democratic Republic of Congo.



May 2023
Please click here to read the latest updates and see photos from our mission partners in Africa.

The church building at Uzimatele

January 2022
Many thanks to all those who contributed to the extra donation of £450 which we sent to Pastor George and Jackline in December to support the Uzimatele ministry, in particular the funding of the Family Home where George and Jackline look after over 15 young people. We received this message from George:
Our children are fine and we are grateful to God  because he has been faithful.
The schools will be reopened on 24th January and we are looking forward to it 
We want to thank you again for your prayers and support, especially the donations we received from Cambourne Church last month to help with the bills and for festive celebration. 
We trust that we will continue to serve God together in this new year and we pray that God will be gracious to you in all your activities and he will make our plans successful. Kind regards to the Cambourne Church family.

November 2022
Please click here to read the latest updates and see photos from our mission partners in Africa

Easter 2022
Please click here to read the latest updates and see photos from our mission partners in Africa.

January 2022
Please click here to read the latest updates and see more photos from our mission partners in Africa.

















Uzimatele Family Home children

Claudaline with women at the ASDIG agricultural project in Goma


July 2021

Please click here to read the latest updates and see more photos from our mission partners in Africa.

June 2021
On Saturday 22nd May a volcano close to Goma erupted, fortunately the lava stopped before hitting the airport and city centre but not before it destroyed one of the townships. Claudaline has been camping out with her family and other community members at the Hope School 8km west of the centre of Goma since then. There is a possibility that a lake of magna has formed under the city and that this lava will erupt through cracks in the substrata. There have been frequent earth tremors and there is a risk of a further eruption. Please pray for Claudaline and the wider community in Goma through this ongoing crisis.

May 2021
Please click here to read the latest updates from our mission partners in Africa.

Information about ASDIG, the charity set up by Claudaline in Goma, and an obituary for her husband Bishop Desire who died in July 2020.

March 2021
Please click here to read the latest update and see more photos from our mission partners in Africa.

Children in Goma praying for their sponsors


Children currently living in the family home at Uzimatele



At the end of 2020, Cambourne Church giving was distributed as follows:

Pastor George & Jackline at Uzimatele, Nairobi, Kenya (£1500)
A ministry project including a children’s home for orphans, a primary school in the local Gituamba slum area, a community church and a training centre for adults. On their website (created by German partners) click on the Union Jack flag for the English version, then look at the ‘Current’ tab and ‘Pastor George’s letter’ for the latest news posted there. Key information is also on the church website. www.uzimatele.org

Bishop Desire Mukanirwa & Claudaline in Goma, DR Congo (£1500)
A long-standing link with Cambourne Church established by Peter & Emma Wood, including Desire’s church leadership and evangelistic ministry and Claudaline’s ministry in a local school and in a training centre for women and girls. As reported already, Bishop Desire died tragically in July 2020, but we are still supporting Claudaline in her ministry. www.indiaafricafoundation.co.uk

West Cambridge Christian Youth Ministries (£1500)
Youth ministry involving churches of all denominations in the West Cambridge area (youth events, weekends away, school visits and leadership training) which our young people participate in regularly. Our youthworker, and several volunteers all helped to lead WCCYM activities throughout 2020. www.wccym.org 
 

Compassion UK

Individual and families in the church also support 12 children in Kenya through the Christian charity Compassion UK, in addition to our giving as a church.

January 2021
Please click here to read the latest update from our mission partners in Africa.

October 2020
Please click here to read the latest update from our mission partners in Africa.

July 2020
We have sad news to share. Bishop Desire of Goma in the Democratic Republic of Congo, with whom Cambourne Church has partnered for many years, died a few days ago from Covid.
I will quote in full a letter sent on Saturday by the bishop of a neighbouring diocese.
 

Dear in Christ,
With sorrow and anguish in heart, we announce the death of the Rt Rev Desire Mukanirwa Kadorho, Bishop of the Diocese of Goma.
His death happens after two weeks of sickness. He was receiving treatment in Heal Africa hospital of Goma.
Bishop Desire leaves a wife, Mme Claudaline and 4 children.
Goma Diocese and Bishop Desire's family need prayers for comfort.

Rt Rev Bahati Bali-Busane Sylvestre, 
Bishop of Bukavu Diocese.

 
Please pray for his family, friends and diocese. These are sad times.
Shalom,
Bill
(Image of Bishop Deisre and Claudaline from Anglican Aid)

May 2020
Please click here to read the latest update from our mission partners in Africa.

April 2020 Please click here to read the latest update from our mission partners in Africa.

At the end of 2019, Cambourne Church giving was distributed as follows:

Pastor George & Jackline at Uzimatele, Nairobi, Kenya (£1500)
A ministry project visited by our church youth group several years ago, including a children’s home for orphans, a primary school in the local Gituamba slum area, a community church and a training centre for adults.www.uzimatele.org

Bishop Desire Mukanirwa & Claudaline in Goma, DR Congo (£1500)
A long-standing link with Cambourne Church established by Peter & Emma Wood, including Desire’s church leadership and evangelistic ministry and Claudaline’s ministry in a local school and in a training centre for women and girls. www.asdigcharity.com

West Cambridge Christian Youth Ministries (£750)
Youth ministry involving churches of all denominations in the West Cambridge area (youth events, weekends away, school visits and leadership training) www.wccym.org

Our recommendations for current and prospective mission links are informed by the five marks of mission:

1. To proclaim the Good News of the Kingdom (tell)
2. To teach, baptize and nurture new believers (teach/train)
3. To respond to human need by loving service (tend)
4. To seek to transform unjust structures of society (transform)
5. To strive to safeguard the integrity of creation and sustain and renew the earth (treasure)

More detailed information about our mission partners can be found in the Mission & Giving updates that are produced:
 

• April 2015
• October 2015
• April 2016
• October 2016
• June 2017
• January 2018
• September 2018
• January 2020