Women from Lake Oconee Presbyterian Church (LOPC) and throughout the Lake Oconee area have been spending cold winter days knitting and crocheting knit stocking caps for orphans in Africa. More than 250 colorful caps (also called beanies) will be shipped to the Heart for Africa ministry for orphans in Swaziland .

Swaziland is a country of under one million people but has the highest HIV/AIDS rates in the world at 42.6 percent. Some estimates are that there are as many as 200,000 orphaned and vulnerable children in Swaziland .

Christians from America and Swaziland have joined together to create a day of praise and worship for 15,000 orphans in Litsemba on July 23, 2010.  The children will be provided with transportation, food, as well as Christian praise music and worship services for a memorable day and to let them know they are loved by the Christian community and their Heavenly Father.

Each child will be given a beanie to warm their heads and message from a Christian friend to warm their hearts. Both the beanie and message will be treasured.

Some 250 of those beanies and messages of encouragement and Christian love are coming from the Lake Oconee area, reports Barbara Pomarolli, coordinator of the program for LOPC. Barbara and Dick Pomarolli’s daughter,  Kerri Pomarolli, a Christian comedienne, and Kerri’s husband, Ron McGehee, also a Christian comedian, traveled to Africa last year on a Heart for Africa mission trip. Recognizing the great needs these children have, the Pomarollis have solicited support for various programs including the Celebrate Litsemba program for the orphans this summer.