F.P. Mission, Ingwenya, Bembesi,
Matabeland, 19th December 1922.
My Dear Mr Cameron,
I have received your letter dated the 26th October, and also the Bank Draft for £50 10s you sent through Reuter from Cape Town, and I thank you and our people in Scotland most sincerely for the gift, and for their kindness and interest in sending relief to our people here. Our people highly appreciate what you have done for them, and wish me to thank you and the people at home very much. It has come as a great relief to them, and it will greatly help them, too, to get seed for sowing. The Government has begun again to send mealies for seed, and as the people are so numerous that want food and seed, each family is only allowed one bag. As the bags come fortnightly, they are taken up at once by those whose names are there first, and the others have to wait till the next lot comes. Usually one hundred bags are sent at a time, and as this district is so very large it takes a long time to supply them all. So you will see that what you and our people have done has been a great help to our people here. The Chief Native Commissioner was also here last month visiting this district, and he reduced the price of a bag to 20s instead of 21s. He has done everything in his power to relieve the distress, and has himself visited the famine-stricken districts. The natives highly appreciate what the Government and Chief Native Commissioner have done for them. The price now charged by the shopkeepers is £1 10s for a bag of mealies in this district. They say they pay £1 8s a bag at Bulawayo, and railage 1s 6d a bag. So I thought it best to go to our Native Commissioner, and ask him if he could not allow me to have 20 bags of mealies from the lot that will arrive this week, and another 20 bags later on. He said he could not let one person have so many at one time. I explained to him that they were not for one person, but for our starving people at Bembesi, Ingwenya, Libeni, Morven, and Induba. So he said he would communicate with the Authorities at Salisbury, and let me know again. For £40 a person will be able to get 40 bags if they consent. I shall be glad if we can get some of these Government bags. I bought the material for clothing at Bulawayo—print for dresses and material for boys’ shirts at 1s 6d per yard, and for grown-up men’s khaki suits. Our women from Cape Colony will make the dresses and the shirts.
These things will be given to those people who were unable to attend the services for the want of clothes, and those children who were unable to come to school for the same reason. I was afraid that by sending to Cape Town the railage and Custom duties might be somewhat heavy. About June this year I bought a map of the world for £1 5s for the Ingwenya School, and they told me in Cape Town that the railage would cost 2s to Rhodesia, and yet when the map arrived at Bembesi they charged me 11s 8d, and when I asked the reason for so high a rate, they said it was because it had come by mail train. I have noted the name for your cables. I am very sorry to say the Bibles have not arrived yet, and I have not heard a word about them. I must now conclude with kindest regards to you. Our people also wish to be remembered to you. Many thanks for 10s sent by friend to me.—Yours sincerely,
J. B. RADASI.
The joy of the Lord is the strength of His people, whereas unbelief makes our hands hang down and our knees feeble; dispirits ourselves, and discourages others; and though it steals upon us under the semblance of humility, it is indeed the very essence of pride.—Newton.
The faith that justifies is the faith that purifies; the blood that justifies is the blood that sanctifies.—J. H. Evans.