Zambia needs your help!
Operation Helping Hand invites you to attend a taco meal.
We are rebuilding after drought, fires, and famine. Please visit our web page at OHHZ.org for the latest updates, and please consider attending our upcoming fundraiser!
Friday, September 13, 6:30pm-8:00 pm
Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church
1905 East Broad St., East Petersburg, PA 17520
Cost: free will offering
RSVP to anita@ohhz.org by Sept 10, but walk-ins welcome!
A Personal Message from Randall Trythall:
I’ve kind of kept this off my personal wall. Why? Because I’m struggling to deal with it.
On the 4th of this month on our farm in Zambia, a fire jumped our fire break. My sister-in-law was the only one home with the baby. The fire moved fast. We lost our daughters house, 3/4 of our fencing, our skid loader, welder generator, water lines and so much more.
I’m struggling with this.
We estimate around $100,000 of stuff lost. I know things can be replaced but this is a gut punch. The plan as of right now is we are doing a fundraiser on September 13th at the Zion Evangelical Lutheran Church in East Petersburg. We hope to raise funds to replace critical equipment that was lost and to put in a retention pond and buy pumps for fire suppression. One fire company in New York has donated turn out gear.
I’m not going to lie… we need your help. Please ask everyone you know to come to the event or to give online OHHZ.org to help with this loss. I will also share the event on my page. Seriously we really need your help!
Zambia, a landlocked country in Central Africa, relies heavily on hydroelectric power, which constitutes 85% of its energy supply. The current drought is affecting every single person in Zambia, with water scarcity reaching critical levels, especially in rural areas. Without sufficient government funds to address the situation, the outlook for people living in these areas is increasingly dire.
We are Rev. Randall and Anita Trythall, and we live in Chibangu, in the Mpongwe district of Zambia. This area is just 26 miles from where Anita was born, and where her parents, Rev. Stephen S Fisher and Ruth N. Fisher, first paved the way for our community work. We focus on teaching organic agriculture and self-sustainability, empowering people with practical skills that have a daily impact on their lives.
The drought has devastated our community. Farmers, who rely on maize not only to feed their families but also to sell for essential goods like soap, matches, and cooking oil, have seen their crops fail. For instance, our own farm expected a yield of at least 1.5 tons of maize but harvested only 380 pounds—far below the break-even point due to the severe lack of rain.
Now, wells are drying up, which means the water table has significantly dropped. Most wells that previously reached water at about 65 feet now need to go as deep as 150 feet or more. This scarcity threatens not only human lives but also the livestock that many families depend on.
We need your help to build a “super well.” We have partnered with a company specializing in commercial wells for large-scale farms, equipped with a 4×4 deep boring rig capable of reaching depths of up to 750 feet. Given our remote location—26 miles off-road from the nearest traditional road—this equipment is essential.
We aim to raise a minimum of $40,000 for this life-saving project. Your support will directly impact the lives of people in Chibangu, providing them with the water they need to survive and thrive.
Please consider contributing to this critical cause. Together, we can offer a hand up to those in desperate need, ensuring they have the resources to build a sustainable future.
