Nigeria (MNN) — A woman-to-woman ministry sprung up during a conference this year in Nigeria. It's called The Bucket Project.
The conference was held by Dorothy Ardill, a member of the Nigerian branch of SIM International, to focus on the effects and prevention of HIV/AIDS. In many cases, the disease results in the women and children in Nigeria being left alone to fend for themselves. A large part of the conference was spent on education and the other part on the need for counseling and testing.
An SIM "Spring of Life Team" also tested 645 people for HIV; only three tested positive.
The Bucket Project is an introduction of the idea of "Iri na Kauna," or "the seed of love." Each woman who participate has a five-liter bucket in her home. Each time she prepares a meal, she puts a handful of grain into the bucket. On a set date, all the participants gather at the ECWA, the Evangelical Church of West Africa, where the conference was held. They then combine the grain they've saved and distribute it to women and children who are living on their own due to the loss of a bread-winner resulting from HIV/AIDS.
Ardill has already scheduled three more Bucket Project conferences for 2010. The feedback received from the women who attend is very positive, and Ardill continues to receive requests for
more conferences. SIM would like to hold 15 more conferences, but funding is needed.
Pray that God will bless the three scheduled conferences and make funding available for additional conferences in othe regions. Pray that the Bucket Project will
be a powerful tool for sharing the love of God and the Gospel with people in need.
