The Big Give 2025

Chikumvitso ( Memory) was a young man, school teacher and lay pastor when his son Ian was born with disabilities. With little help available locally, for many years, the family struggled to cope with Ian’s difficulties and the stigma that came with it. He felt that his experience couldn’t be unique and decided to set up group to support parents in a similar situation to him. For Memory, ‘Blessed are the merciful for they will be shown mercy’ (Matthew 5:8) epitomised what he was hoping to do and the Heart of Mercy was born.

The group has grown to support around 90 families and employs 4 members of staff. The geographic area is large and travel is often difficult, limiting the number of children that can be supported. Parents of children with disabilities often find it hard to get work (due to stigma and the care needs of their child) and in an area struggling with malnutrition, these families are on the frontline.

It has been a long term dream of the staff to have a centre which the children could attend and where they could be safely left for a few hours with caring staff, whilst their carers found work or worked in their fields. This dream in now becoming a reality and in 2024, Billericay Baptist church donated the funds to buy a piece of land on which we were able to build foundations for the new centre.

2025 has seen us take even greater strides towards this goal and through our partnership with Mission Direct and with the help from the pupils of Fulham cross Academy, the building should be watertight before the rains start at the end of this month.

This years Christmas Big Give is to raise funds to enable us to complete and open the centre in the New Year.

When the centre opens, the children will be able to attend and receive basic education and therapy, in a safe and secure environment. They will have a nutritious meal to eat, helping to combat the widespread malnutrition seen in these vulnerable children and the land will also be used to grow foods to help supplement their diets.

The long term aim is for the centre to grow to become a centre of excellence for children with disabilities in the local area. Raising understanding of disabilities through outreach and education of others and supporting those most in need, by offering respite to families and employing individuals who have disabled family members of who have a disability themselves.