Stellaris Ministries Inc

Programs:

Our mission program in Africa concentrates on theSingida region of Tanzania. This area is especially susceptible tofamine, disease and starvation due to chronic drought. They have twolakes there, but the water is too salty for healthy human consumption.Regardless, they still water their livestock at the lakes so that allavailable fresh water can go to crops or people. During a very rainyyear, nature waters the crops and there is enough for the people todrink.

During a dry year, the crops fail and the shallow wells that theyhave dry up so that there is not enough water for the people. To makematters worse, the metal pumps on the wells (which look like the pumpsthat they used on Little House on the Prairie) often break down (manyare very old) or are stolen to sell for the metal. Once a pump isremoved for either reason, the water must be drawn out using littlecups through the pump hole (roughly 6 in square) until a large bucketis filled and the bucket is then carried home for daily use. In orderto make access easier, well covers are often removed which leaves thewell very susceptible to contaminates from animals and water bornediseases/germs such as cholera, e coli, girardia, and many others. As aresult many children die from dysentery or other preventable diseasesevery year. The shallower and muddier that the wells become in a dryseason, the more likely it is that disease will spread.

The good news is that there is water underground that the peoplecould use if they had a deep water well. It is our hope to build thenecessary relationships and raise the money to complete the wellproject.

2009 was a dry year, and the people will be in huge need of foodrelief and we will be working with some very isolated local Christianchurches in order to deliver some emergency rations with money donatedby members of the United Methodist Church as a Lenten offering.

In June of 2009, members of the Kentucky Baptist Conventionpartnered with us on our Africa project. A team of 29 worked with thelocal church in the town of Singida to build a worship and communitycenter and begin negotiations for digging a deep water well for thevillage of Sagara in this region.The building will be used as a sanctuary and worship facility by thelocal church in Singida, as well as a Bible school for discipling newpastors and new church leaders for the more rural evangelized areas ofthe region. It is our goal to also use this facility as a communitytraining center to teach appropriate technologies such as solarcooking, drought resistant farming techniques, healthier cookingmethods and possibly begin a cottage industry.Due to the hard work and generosity of the KBC, the church already hasits foundation in, and most of its walls up. Plumbing has even been runto the building, so it will have indoor plumbing, sit down toilets andeven showers for the trainees who come to the Bible School and for thecongregants- making this the nicest church facility by far that I havevisited in the region.

Stellaris will be taking applications from students and "adultexplorers" for participation in future programs including our July 2010trip. A safari extension will be planned as well, which is not only agreat experience to witness God's amazing creation, but it supports thelocal industry which grows jobs and infrastructure and promotesconservation of natural resources for this developing country.