Money for Nothing for Burundi

Dear Team,

In October 2005, I wrote the email below, which saw thousands of dollars come in to impact thousands of lives. It was so simple, and really is money for nothing to be used for the transformation of Burundi. Everyone can help (actually people in North America can’t on this one, you use a different system, shame!), so please get this out to your networks. Here’s what I wrote back then:

“One of the most heart-wrenching and deeply-impacting moments in my life was when an African brother asked me for $4 for medecine for his sick baby boy. Without that $4, the boy would die. So many diseases out here are easily treated, but fatal if you cannot access medicine. Indeed, my pastor's 18-year-old brother died in his arms because he couldn't afford the medicine across the counter in the pharmacy. So this incident with the baby boy struck me deeply. It was $4 FOR A LIFE! It took me a long time to get over that - I had so much STUFF, so much I wasted. The rawness of the experience made me sell my whole CD collection. Don't worry, I am not asking you to do that! But when you have such an impacting experience, it has to lead to action.

Well, brothers and sisters, here's inviting you to action (beyond the prayers, for which I am so deeply grateful). When I was leaving the UK, I needed a new phone, and two of my sisters had three spare ones between them because they have subsequently upgraded to newer and better and more sophisticated models. Wow! So that was three spare phones, just in my family, that were sat there not being used. I have been able to bring them out here, where they are worth $80/phone... do you see where this is going?

There are 14,087 of you receiving this. Let's say 4,087 have already got bored and stopped reading, about 2,000 are in North America so can’t help, and another 2,000 don't have a spare old functioning phone - that still leaves 6,000 redundant phones. Then there are those of you who, if you got excited about this idea and advertised through the church bulletin or rounded up your homegroup, relatives, or colleagues in the office, or mates at school or university, you could whip up 1,000s between you, multiply that by $80, and we are talking big bucks.

PLEASE GO FOR IT! IF $4 CAN SAVE A LIFE, THINK WHAT AN IMPACT YOUR EFFORTS COULD HAVE. The fact is, I have only used that extreme example to highlight was a sick world it is, and $4 does not usually save a life, but can you see what a difference we can make? PLEASE DECIDE TO ACT ON THIS.

As for logistics, please send the old phones (chargers NOT needed) to David and Rosemary Corfe, 1 Hartley Court, 12 Winn Road, Southampton SO17 1EN, UK.

Guys, Burundi is one of the most exciting places to be on the planet right now. God is moving powerfully. We want to keep up with the pace and maximise this season. Responding to my request is a way of empowering us to do so. God bless you.”

Well, that was the email. The message is the same. Go for it!

Simon Guillebaud

Great Lakes Outreach