On a Wing and a Prayer

"He's in a bad way, I'm afraid", said Steve, carrying the patient across the bus station. Six hours of dust, fumes and bone-rattling on the road from Ouagadougou had clearly been too much. His head was limp, his whole body flaccid. We laid him out on the ground and a crowd gathered. Instinctively I stretched out my hand, gently laid it on his chest and prayed. As I did, he shuddered and took his last breath. It was a sad moment.

This was the first time that I've ever prayed for a dying cockerel and I hope it's the last. I suspect that Jesus didn't do it in His lifetime, but I'd heard about a sick donkey in Djibo who sprang to life when a local missionary prayed for it. Sadly it didn't work for this chicken. The man who helped us with our bags back to the house was pleased, at least. It was a big bird and enough to feed his whole family that night.

Thankfully, the other seven French hens were fine and have been settling in nicely to their new accommodation. It's a deluxe straw and wire-domed enclosure with ensuite clay waterpots for nesting. In a few weeks we're hoping to have eggs to share with the neighbours so we'll be able to return the gestures of milk and nyiiri that they have brought us frequently.

It's amazing how generous people with very little can be. It's easy to give away when you've got more than enough for yourself, and I've never been really poor. The testing comes for me when my supply of English chocolate is nearly up and we've got English guests (I'll confess now that I've failed badly in that area).

But in all seriousness, giving is a complicated issue. I'd be happy to hand out rice to everyone in the neighbourhood but it would create an unhelpful dependency, I'm told. So I've been wondering how I can best help those in need around me.

I believe that faith in Jesus Christ is the answer to personal and social transformation for the better. Without Jesus I'd probably still be wasting my life away, more miserable inside than ever. I'm so glad I'm not, and that's only by God's grace. Christ is so good that I am compelled to share what I know of Him with others. And unlike the chocolate, there's enough of Him to go round.

I'm not the kind of person to stand on a soap box and preach. And that would be an especially weird thing for a woman to do here even if I wanted to. I like the St. Francis of Assisi quote that went something like "Preach the gospel – use words if you have to". I do intend to use words (once my Fulfude is up to scratch) but I also want to live out the gospel – which means doing good, sharing my wealth, loving and living with integrity. I want to use the gifts that God's given me to bless others if I can.

I wish I could dig wells or perform life-saving surgery but that's not going to happen. An ex-fashion editor isn't the most likely candidate for benefiting a developing community on the edge of the desert, I know. But hey – God's creative and He knows what He's doing.

So I've got a plan brewing, and I'd love your thoughts on it. I'm going to set up a sewing club to offer to teach embroidery and basic sewing skills to local women who are interested. I have some ideas for some simple accessories – sarongs and bags, which I think would be fairly simple to market back in the UK, and I'll make sure the women get paid well for their work.

The club and label will be called Ladies of Djibo. I'm hoping to establish it as a local charity called The Ladies of Djibo Sewing Society, because it sounds kind of English-retro and I like the idea that it will be something sociable as well as income-generating for the women involved. I've started running up samples and sourcing local materials already…so any ideas are welcome! I'm excited about the plans – I thrive best when I am able to be creative and have a tangible task to work at.

Most days I am still in contact (via a very temperamental internet connection) with the Precious Girl Magazine team in Cambodia. Since I left last June, they've been carrying the vision forward and have been doing remarkably well. I still quality-check all of their articles before they go to press and help them with ideas. The 9th issue has just come out and they recently ran a high- profile dress design and song writing competition in conjunction with some other NGOs so the magazine is more popular than ever with Cambodia's garment factory workers. However, the project continues to exist while teetering on the edge of an empty bank account and so my prayers are frequently for its funding. They also need more staff – a Khmer writer and sales person to keep going. If you are at all interested to know more about the project or to help support it, the website is http://www.preciousgirl.co.uk/ . Since I left Cambodia, international support has been non-existent but their needs are as great as ever. It's hard for me knowing this – a bit like having a struggling grown-up child in another country. Praying for the situation seems to be the only thing I can really do now. I only hope it turns out better than it did for the cockerel.