Ouagadougou: The Church of the Assemblies of God of Zone 1 collected on Sunday in Ouagadougou, tons of living and non-living on the occasion of the closing of the month of solidarity, which it has been celebrating during the month of June for 17 years, to help to poor people, noted the AIB on site.The Church collected food, clothing and many other useful items to help people in distress.For the pastor of the Church of the Assemblies of God of Zone1, Wendyam Philippe Yaméogo, the reason for this humanitarian action 'is that the primary mission of the Church is to help the needy. It's sharing God's love with those in need.''Our solidarity is the measure of our faith,' he added, mentioning that this active solidarity finds its source in The Bible which speaks of love of neighbor.Luke Chapter 10 from verse 25 advises the works of the good Samaritan 'who was not associated with the wounded man who was on the side of the road but as he passed by he saw that it was a man who was in distress', he clarified.In this sense, he explains, the donations collected by the Church are distributed to the needy without discrimination, to Christians but also to non-Christians. For him, only the criterion of vulnerable people is eligible for donations from the Church.These include "widows, orphans, internally displaced people and also families who do not have food, who have difficulty paying for their children's schooling, who have difficulty getting clothes."However, the pastor recalls that this work is far from accompanying the lazy because, he added, the Church knows how to differentiate between the needy and the lazy.Organized for 17 years, the solidarity evening has successively gone from a week of solidarity to a month of solidarity.In his opinion, this longevity is due to transparency in the management and distribution of donations collected. The ardor of the contributors is growing and no one within the congregation remains on the sidelines of this initiative. Everyone participates according to these means, h e reassured.'We said to ourselves that it is good to open (the distribution) so that the members themselves participate directly in loving, supporting, accompanying these people in difficulty,' he said.For the Pastor, this is a duty of transparency and accountability towards the members of the Church.Open since the 1st Sunday of June, the collection of donations within the Church ended on the 30th of the same month. Donations are distributed as they are collected.Thus, around sixty families have already benefited from donations where some have received at least a bag of food plus the sum of 5000 FCFA.To perpetuate this tradition, all members of the Church including children are invited to this saving work by contributing what they have, and also participate in the distributions.In this outpouring of solidarity, the faithful also visit the needy, the sick and the prisoners.'Our church is a holistic church. Which means that it not only takes care of the body, the soul and the spirit,' says retiree Laurent Dieudonné Abga.Mr. Abga made his contribution to 'show the church's love for humanity.' Because Jesus said that if you do good to your neighbor, you do it to me.'For him, love of neighbor is stronger than his condition as a retiree because giving is a 'natural' duty for the Christian and it contributes to the fulfillment of the Lord's will.'God has given us grace. We have something to eat, something to wear. So, it's being able to share this grace with those who are in need,' indicates the donor Madame Kaboré DianeFor her, 'let's not wait to be rich to give. With the little we have, let's give a little of what we have and together we are strong. Each Burkinabé must learn to share with his neighbor without discrimination. Let's imitate what this church is doingSource: Burkina Information Agency