Name: Helen Hoskins
Location: Bunda, Mara Diocese, Tanzania
Years on field: 24
Next tour: Girls Brigade was started in Mara Diocese in 2001 and Helen was appointed National Secretary of Girls Brigade Tanzania in 2004. "Girls Brigade is inter-denominational and has the potential to spread to the whole of Tanzania," says Helen. At the moment there is around 20 companies in Mara Diocese reaching over 400 girls with a few more groups recently started in Arusha Diocese.
Snapshot: "I think [Australian] people can identify with our girls but the pressures on girls in Tanzania are just so extreme…"
"When I see a group of girls at a Girls' Brigade meeting my heart goes out to them as I wonder and fear what the future will hold for them. Some will be pregnant before they finish primary school, some will contract AIDS, some will be in arranged marriages at an early age, and some will find themselves one of several wives… Their childhood doesn't always have much time for fun, or times to feel loved and valued. So as they come to Girls' Brigade it is a wonderful opportunity to help them grow up knowing Jesus, and to make decisions where they can, that will bring blessings in their lives, and in situations which are beyond their control, to live with Jesus and know the peace and joy he gives in all situations."
How she saw God working in 2006: "We ran 7 camps in June, and i saw God working through those… In the lives of many individual girls, I can see that coming to Girls Brigade has made a difference in their lives."
A specific example? Helen told me about the life of one young girl who was left as an orphan to AIDS. Her village elders thought that she was be best looked after if she became a second wife. Not happy with this she was placed as a house-keeper where the master tried to rape her and she ran away. She can't read or write, so what will happen to her? Through Girls Brigade she is now being trained in sewing.
Prayer points for next tour: Girls Brigade is growing rapidly. "It's only limited by our capacity to support them. Pray for more human and financial resources. We need girls brigade to have an income generating project to fund the work."
