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To our LifeNets Supporters and Friends!
“Sometimes the greatest reward in humanitarian work is seeing a child you once knew become a successful adult—and realizing that kindness helped make that journey possible.”
This is our first newsletter of the 27th year of LifeNets service. My husband Victor and I have just returned from Zambia, where LifeNets has been working since 2000. This was our first visit there in seven years, and it was deeply meaningful for us.
During our time in Zambia, we saw firsthand the fruit of your generosity. Together, we are helping people in one of the poorest parts of the world, and it was incredibly encouraging to witness the impact of these efforts. After more than two and a half decades of work there, one of the most rewarding areas we observed is the LifeNets Developing Nations Scholarship Program.
We had the privilege of meeting several scholarship recipients who, over the years, have completed their studies, found meaningful employment, and remained faithful in their church communities. Seeing these young men and women succeed was truly inspiring. Some of the children that we first met are now college graduates with careers and families of their own. It is one of the most life-changing programs I have ever had the privilege to be part of.
| With our students and graduates in Mufulira, Zambia on January 17, 2026 | With our students and graduates in Lusaka, Zambia on January 31, 2026 | |
In this newsletter, we have included photographs of some of these students from two congregations—one in Mufulira and the other in Lusaka. Their stories are living reminders that your support is not just helping individuals—it is changing families and communities for generations.
In other news, we have also passed a very sobering milestone: the fourth anniversary of Russia's war of aggression against Ukraine. My husband is of Ukrainian heritage, and this weighs very heavily on our hearts. It is difficult to fully express the sorrow we feel for a nation enduring such immense suffering—loss of life, destruction, and severe hardship.
This past winter has been especially difficult for Ukrainians. Yet despite the hardship, the people continue to demonstrate remarkable resilience, courage, and determination.
One of the most important ways LifeNets has been able to help is through humanitarian convoys of supplies traveling from Germany into Ukraine. Volunteers in southern Germany have driven large trucks filled with humanitarian aid to western Ukraine. From there, dedicated LifeNets volunteers transport the supplies further east into more dangerous areas.
These volunteers are truly heroic. Many risk their lives to bring help to the most vulnerable—especially elderly people who are often forgotten and left with very little support.
We have also continued our long-standing partnership with the Revival Center in Chernihiv, Ukraine, a relationship that now spans nearly 30 years. The doctors and staff there work courageously near the Russian border, caring for children with neurological diseases and disabilities. They have even brought children from active war zones to the Center so they can receive treatment and care.
We continue to pray that this terrible war will soon come to an end. Already it has lasted longer than the period of World War II fighting in Ukraine during the early 1940s. We remain in close contact with friends and family there, and we deeply admire their courage, their resilience, and their enduring hope. If you would like to follow more of these stories and updates, please visit our website at www.lifenets.org, where we regularly share the ongoing work of LifeNets.
In this newsletter we feature just a few testimonials and outcomes from some of our other projects. They represent only a small portion of what is happening.
Above all, we want to express our deepest gratitude to you—our supporters and donors. Your faithful, ongoing support makes every one of these projects possible.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you for caring and for standing with us in this work of compassion and service.
Finally, at the end of this newsletter, you’ll find important notices on how to contribute through Qualified Charitable Donations (QCDs).
| Thank you for your trust and for making LifeNets your charity of choice. Only a few stories are featured in this newsletter--please go to our website http://lifenets.org for more stories from the past quarter. Together, we continue to make a difference. Thank you for standing with us. | | |
How to Effortlessly Double Your LifeNets Donation
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Many companies will match their employees' charitable contributions. Check with your personnel office to see if your company will do so. They will provide the necessary forms and instructions. Thank you very much! Donations to LifeNets are tax-deductible in the United States.
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2026 Calendar
Many of you have received our Annual Calendar, which contains many photos of our projects. You can see them here.
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Wheelchair Recipient Says "Thank You."
Dear LifeNets,
“I can’t thank your wheelchair program enough. My daughter recently lost the use of her old wheelchair, and we couldn’t afford repairs or a new one. Finding your program felt like a blessing.
My daughter underwent brain surgery and now lives with partial paralysis and severe seizures that can knock her unconscious. She can walk with help, but she often falls, so having a safe, reliable wheelchair is essential for her.
The chair we received from your organization has made such a difference. It’s comfortable, sturdy, and gives her the freedom to move around safely. She’s been using wheelchairs for years and is very skilled, but this one is truly the best she’s ever had. Seeing her so happy and confident again means the world to us.
Thank you for this gift—it feels like it came straight from God.”
— Lan Hong
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New Water Project in Madagascar
LifeNets is working on a water project in Madagascar to provide a community with clean, fresh drinking water. We are partnering with the Senior Pastor of the French-speaking region, Tim Pebworth, to complete this essential resource. We invite you to learn more about the background of this initiative. We also now have an initial report and photos from Tim Pebworth, who has been directly overseeing the project and has just returned from a visit. Read his report.
| The borehole, pump and water tower supporting the Ambohimanarivo water distribution system sits on the property of the Blue Flower association which is across the street from the public school. The 150 members of the Blue Flower association raise spirulina, make cheese, raise livestock and grow rice as a cooperative. The previous hand-dug well had run dry and now they have clean, abundant water to continue the activities of the cooperative. The photo shows some members and children of the association standing in front of the water tower and pump. | | |
The AMBOHIMANARIVO Public Primary School in the Village d’Ambohimanarivo Antsirabé. This water distribution point now serves approximately 200 students in this school, who previously relied on a hand-dug well. This school has no electricity and previously no water source other than the well. Now it has at least a clean source of water for drinking, cleaning and students washing their hands. The school’s director Sandria Ramahatra (far right in the photo) expresses here heartful thanks to LifeNets for providing water to the school
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Chernihiv, Ukraine Rehabilitation Centre: PC Interactive Touch Panel
Our children at the "Revival" Centre in Chernihiv, Ukraine, are doing well despite the winter and the war around them. Here is a thank you from Dr. Pasichnyk and his wife, Natallia, who head the Centre. They care for more than 100 children at any time.
Dear friends Victor and Beverly,
We sincerely thank you for the funds from LifeNets for the purchase of an INTBOARD LT K 65 PC interactive touch panel for our computer room.
Your kindness has given children new opportunities, helping them overcome barriers with the help of new technologies. Thank you for your charity and investment in the bright, inclusive future of our children. We are sending photos of the children next to the panel installed in the computer room. You can see this story here.
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A Life Transformed by a LifeNets Scholarship – Silvestor Njovu in Zambia
In 2006, Silvestor Njovu of Lusaka, Zambia received a LifeNets scholarship shortly after finishing Grade 12—an opportunity that changed his life. No one in his family had ever attended university, and with no money for transportation, he hitch-hiked overnight on a charcoal truck just to reach the city and enroll in school.
Silvestor studied Information Technology and graduated in 2009. For several years he struggled to find employment because he refused jobs that required working on the Sabbath. Trusting God, he waited for the right opportunity.
In 2014, he was offered a job he had not even applied for as a Procurement Officer. His employer respects his faith and supports his observance of the Sabbath and Holy Days. Today, Silvestor serves as Head of Procurement and is also a deacon in the Lusaka United Church of God.
The LifeNets scholarship planted a seed that has blessed his entire family. Silvestor later earned a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, married his wife Isabel, and has helped his siblings pursue higher education while his parents were able to build their own home.
Silvestor says that without LifeNets his future may have remained limited in rural areas. Instead, his life—and his family’s future—has been transformed.
“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord.” — Colossians 3:23
Full story here.
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Qualified Charitable Contributions
LifeNets reminds IRA owners age 70½ and older that for 2025 they can individually make up to $108,000 in tax-free charitable donations from their IRA using a technique called Qualified Charitable Distributions, commonly called QCDs. IRA owners can contact their IRA provider to make a QCD by year-end.
With a QCD, the distribution does not get treated as income to you and if you're age 73 or older and need to take RMDs, your QCD counts toward your annual IRS requirement.
QCDs should be reported on your tax return. IRA providers will issue Form 1099-R, Distributions from Pensions, Annuities, Retirement or Profit-Sharing Plans, IRAs, Insurance Contracts, etc., in early 2026 documenting IRA distributions.
Per IRS rules, QCD donors will receive from LifeNets a written acknowledgement showing the contribution date, amount and confirmation that no goods or services were received.
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The Kubik Report Podcast
Please check out our eclectic and popular podcast that regularly features episodes about what LifeNets is doing in people's lives and speaks to world events of common interest. Tune in at https://vkubik.podbean.com/
We are also found across many major podcasting platforms, including Pandora, Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and many, many more by simply searching for "The Kubik Report."
We have just started a YouTube channel as well and you can find us at http://youtube.com/@thekubikreport.
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