It is easy to understand why we should need a hospital, a school and so on - but a guest-house - why do we need that?
Each year we have folk who come from overseas and spend a short time to help us at HVM - a couple of weeks, a month or two or three. We have had folk from Britain, Switzerland, Belgium, Australia, America, France, Germany, New Zealand, Holland, South Africa etc. We have had all of the following and more:
Eye surgeons, orthopaedic surgeon, general surgeon , pharmacist, laboratory technicians, nurses, electricians, carpenters, builders, engineers, architects, accountant, pastors, medical students, nursing students, gap year students.
We have had visitors from Tear Fund, Christoffel Blinden Mission, MAF, Gideons, etc.
We have had the pilots of MAF and Helimission who have stayed overnight or for several nights during a trip to Mandritsara.
We have had Malagasy visitors - pastors and leaders from the Baptist churches we work with, engineers and other specialist helpers.
We have had lots of "guests". But until now we have had no special place to put them and looking after them has been shared out among the missionaries.
We have had it in our hearts for a number of years to build some accommodation for such visitors, provided we could find a couple ready to look after this "Guest-house". At the end of April 2005, Robert and Christine Blondeel, from Ypres Evangelical Church in Belgium, arrived to be host and hostess of the guest house. We are very excited about this. Robert & Christine have already spent several short periods here in past years, helping in various ways (Robert is an electrician by training - and this has been put to much good use). They see the great benefit that short term volunteers can give, and they see also the time that long-term missionaries can expend looking after them.
So Robert & Christine's vision is to have a guest house at the hospital, next to the other staff houses, where they will live, and with rooms for visitors and short term helpers.
Plans have already been drawn for the guest house - and a team of short term builders from Belgium is being put together to come and do much of the building work in mid 2006. But in order to make this a reality we also need funds. We calculate that the contruction will cost about £50,000 to build - including accommodation for Robert & Christine and 5 or 6 single or double guest rooms and living accommodation, kitchen etc.
If you would like to contribute to this project, please contact Bryan Lumb, treasurer of Friends of Mandritsara Trust:
Mr Bryan Lumb
Friends of Mandritsara Trust
Stedfast
41 Upper Tooting Park
London
SW17 7SN
email: lumb.stedfast@ntlworld.com
(For Gift Aid forms etc for those wishing to support the project.)
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