CEF brings hope

Ester Kamati
Jonette De Koning

The future of the country is in the hands of the youth of today.

That is why non-profit organisations in Namibia, such as the Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF), whose mission is to influence children, are so important.

The CEF is a faith-based mission led by born-again believers, whose purpose is to evangelise young boys and girls in more than 180 countries worldwide.

To have an impact on those no one is reaching out to, can be described as their main goal. The organisation achieves this by their three primary activities - weekly Good News Clubs, yearly 5 Day Clubs and Camp Good News, which is the highlight of the year.

These events take place in any neighbourhood setting, which includes homes, backyards, schools and community centres.

The CEF is using these clubs as an opportunity to serve children the good news of the gospel of Christ on their level and in a familiar environment, which explains the origin of the name Good News Club.

From 11 to 17 August Camp Good News (CGN) took place at Maria Bron near Grootfontein. The week was filled with worship, Bible lessons, sport, crafts and adventures. A very special moment at the camp was when the children started to pray for the youth in North Korea.

A total of 91 children had the opportunity to attend this camp with the theme ‘Celebrate life in Christ’.

According to Trudie van Niekerk, one of CEF’s full-time workers in Namibia, these children only had to pay a minimal fee to cover the cost of accommodation and a CGN T-shirt.

“I would like to use this moment to thank all of our sponsors who made this camp a reality, by covering all of the remaining expenses,” Van Niekerk said.

She said one of the happiest moments of her career so far was “to see a child growing in Christ after receiving Jesus as their saviour”.

“And how this child started serving God in teaching alongside me in the Good News Clubs.”

As John F Kennedy said: “Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future.”

Namibia is privileged to have the CEF as one of the organisations with the biggest impact on children in the country. The CEF’s influence on children is synonymous with hope for our youth.