work-of-ian-and-simea-meldrum-olinda-brazil

Work of Ian and Simea Meldrum, Olinda, Brazil

Ian and Simea Meldrum are Anglican priests in Olinda, a town on the western coast of Brazil, with a population of about half a million people. Simea’s church is called the Church of the Living Waters and it ministers to people who live and work around the rubbish tip. It is so popular that it has been rebuilt and can now hold 450 people.

Work of Ian and Simea Meldrum

Children from the tip spent a day at the farm

The Farm was started to help boys who live on the streets and is now called the Living Waters Institute. It is 20 km from Olinda and was originally an 80 acre coconut plantation. Youth camps, family camps and monthly prayer vigils are held here now. Families come from the tip and spend a weekend living and playing together as a family unit and are taught basic family skills. A Teen Brigade from the church comes out regularly to learn survival skills.

My Father’s House is no longer a residential home. The team now reaches out to the poor communities nearby with the aim of preventing family breakdowns and reducing the risk to young people of falling into a life of crime. Support with school work is offered as well as extracurricular activities such as football. Families have been helped with income and budgeting, for example a course in “Cooking and economic guidance for mothers” was very successful, with three full classes. Food parcels have also been provided.