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Ian & Simea Meldrum
OLINDA MISSION – NORTH EAST BRAZIL
 Ian & Simea Meldrum are Anglican Vicars serving at the Living Waters Church (Aqua Viva) in Olinda Brazil. The main focus of their work is with people who live in a shanty town originally established next to the garbage dump in the city but which has now closed.
Ian & Simea believe that by teaching about the love of Christ and showing a loving, caring and giving way of living, the families in the shanty town can improve their situation and have a better life.
Their work is about restoring homeless children at risk and families who are desperately poor with no love in their lives.
There are three main projects all financed and run by volunteers:
- My Father’s House which is a safe house for homeless boys.
- The Living Waters Church in the shanty town next to the dump. Services are held on Sundays while on other days the church is used for caring for children and families with a whole range of activities all week.
- The Farm which is about 40 minutes drive away from Olinda is used for away days and weekends for children and families. The teenage boys have a Peace Brigade camp there plus the congregation from Living Waters Church go for services, games and relaxation.
More details can been seen on the Olinda Mission Website.
Latest News
You can read the latest My Fathers House Newsletter from Ian and Simea on the right hand side of this page.
Ian Meldrum has retired as a SAMS Missionary but continues to work with Simea at the Olinda Mission. Simea has been taken on by SAMS as a ‘Latin Partner’. This makes it possible for Ian & Simea to continue their work.
Following the compulsory purchase of My Father’s House and many other properties in the area by the government for a new road to be built, Ian & Simea have found alternative accommodation for My Father’s House so that the vital work with the boys may continue. However, this is costing much more to rent and may mean that the work has to be relocated.
Ian & Simea have been helping families, who lost jobs when the rubbish dumps closed, to find new employment. They have been successful with younger workers finding employment in the new construction projects but older workers, whose literacy levels were low, presented more of a problem. Simea has, therefore, started a twice weekly literacy class for them to improve their job prospects.
It is good to note that the closure of the rubbish dumps has brought more peace and less violence to the streets around the church.
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