RENEWED HOPE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, INC.

Working Together For Zimbabwe's Future

April 22, 2003

The knitting women who had gone for five weeks of training came back to school on Friday, April 11.  They have their knitting machine put together and it is in operation.  The two women who took the training are now in the process of teaching the other women in the group.  They are all excited and sweaters are being produced.  When school reopens, Mr. Bondeponde plans to announce that school sweaters are now available for purchase.  I hope they will not be out of reach for the community price wise.  However, the sweaters will sell for less than they sell for in the stores.  In addition the community members will not have to pay bus fare to the city to make the purchase.

Last week, diesel doubled in price and petrol tripled in price.  Immediately bus fares went up.  It has been reported that it now costs 3,000 ZD from school to Harare one way.  That makes a round trip cost 6,000 ZD per person.  It is simply out of reach for most of the people.  The time now is when the community is using the bus to take their produce to Harare to sell.  In addition to the fare for themselves they are charged so much for each bucket or bag of produce they take with them.  There is no way they can pay the charge and have any money left over to live on for the coming year.  The situation was bad when we came and it is getting worse daily.

Ralph has recently read the book Castro’s Daughter.  I haven’t had time to read it.  He says it could have been written about Zimbabwe.  The situations in the book, mirrors the situations people here are experiencing.  It will take a miracle for the situation here to improve.  Zimbabwe needs your prayers.

As an example of how desperate some people are—one mother recently had gone six days with nothing to eat and with nothing to feed her children.  In desperation she gathered cow dung, mixed it with water and cooked it.  She fed it to her children and ate of it herself.  The children died quickly.  She became ill and was hospitalized but did not survive.  Whether she knew what would happen or whether she thought it would sustain the family is unknown.  Another woman with five children attempted suicide because she could no longer deal with the situation of trying to feed her family.  Life is tough!

A father brought his little boy, six years old, to us about three days ago.  The child had the worst infection on his buttocks that anyone could imagine.  I asked if the clinic had seen the child.  He said they had given him a prescription for some medicine but that he couldn’t find the money to pay for it.  I first thought the child was not cleaning himself after going to the toilet.  Later, I decided that it was mosquito bites that he had scratched and they were infected.  Apparently, it is common for children to sleep naked.  We cleansed and treated the area and gave him a pair of pajamas from the OCC to wear at night so that the mosquitoes cannot bite that area.  Situations like this break my heart.  I feel for the child and for the parent who cannot care for the children properly.  This has not always been the case here in Zimbabwe

The child came again today for the fourth time to have me treat the sores.  This time an orphan girl that is living with the family brought him rather than the father.  I discovered she had something similar on her wrist.  I have about decided that the infection is not from mosquito bites but is possibly Scabies.  If I remember correctly this is a sign of malnutrition.  

Our most recent patient came with a case of worms.  This is the first time such a case has been brought to our attention.  I have no idea how to treat such.  I told the mother that the child should see a Dr.   At one time I think, Tom, you asked if this was a problem here.  At that time we had not encountered such.

A new teacher, who is living in the remaining old house, woke Mr. Bondeponde two nights ago.  The house was infested with termites and they were dropping from the beams in the house.  Termites were everywhere and they were unable to sleep.  So yesterday everyone around was helping to clean another house for the teacher and his family to move into.  Up till now that house has only had a couple of rooms occupied.

Two of the men teachers and Ralph spent the day replacing broken windowpanes in the portion of the house that has been unoccupied.  Mr. Bondeponde took the garden hose in the house and hosed down the walls and floor after the cobwebs and wasp nests had been removed.  So now, two families are occupying one house. 

We spent a quiet Easter Holiday here at school.  We thought it best to stay off the highways.  On Thursday evening a group met in the school library for a time of scripture reading, meditation and prayer.  The group decided to fast for 24 hours until our meeting on Friday.  On Sunday morning we had a sunrise service on the rocks where people gather at the school grounds.  Unfortunately, the clouds covered the sun and it misted rain.  So the service was short.  I gathered that from these three services many of the people in the group did not understand the whole meaning of the scriptures until now.  We explained what the scriptures meant as we went along.  Mr. Bondeponde commented that the scriptures were very powerful and full of emotion.  I noticed that sevral had tears in their eyes during that time.

April 27, 2003

The house infested with termites has been torn down.  It is just a heap of rubble at the moment.  The next step is getting it hauled away.  Ralph wants to get the ground where the house stood treated for termites.  Eventually a new house will be built on or near that same site.

Yesterday, we loaded the Orphan Care Truck with food supplies for child-headed households.  We also loaded in some of the gift boxes that were put together by children in Denver area.  Ralph and I loaded our truck with blankets that had been donated as well as hygiene packets.  The two trucks started out cross-country, driving blindly through thatching grass higher than the truck in some places.  What an adventure and an eye opener as well!  The pictures can’t begin to tell the whole story.  The conditions these children exist under is heart wrenching.  It is something one has to see with your own eyes to understand.  I can’t begin to describe some of the things we encountered.  We visited nine families of children.  The family size ranged from two children to five children.

Three of the families of children had managed to raise a crop of maize.  Two of the three families had a good yield, possibly enough to supply them with meal-meal for several months.  One family of one girl and four boys not only had a good maize harvest but also had raised soya beans that they had shelled and had them on the ground drying.

The children were not at home at one stop.  They had gone to church.  Only a bedridden mother was at home.  At another home, the family consists of two boys and a mentally retarded mother.  This group is in serious danger of starving to death.  It is obvious the boys are not too bright.  Inside the rondavel, the floor was only dirt.  The only contents were a couple of worn out blankets that the mother and two boys share.  They must all sleep on the dirt floor.  The only evidence of clothes was the rags they were wearing and there was no signs of food. The dishes they brought to put the food supplies in had holes in them and were not useable.   It was necessary to resort to plastic bags.  We left a new blanket and a hygiene packet for each of the boys.  There was not much else in the rondavel.  We saw no signs of a toilet anywhere around the rondavel.

To all of those who had anything to do with putting the hygiene packets and gift boxes together, we extend a hearty Thank You.  Boys and girls who participated, you have brought joy to children who have very little to be joyful about.   You have no idea how happy you made them.  It was the first time I had seen some of them smile.  At first, some of the children did not realize the packages were for them.  You can see pictures of children receiving gifts boxes, hygiene packets and gift boxes in the picture section.

Thousands of bricks are being molded, see picture.  Now if we could only get cement we could proceed with some building projects.  However, the bricks will be ready when cement is available.

I must close so that this journal can be on its way.

In His Service,

Ralph and Roberta

Top

Renewed Hope Charitable Foundation, Inc. | a 501(c)(3) charity | P.O. Box 1476 | Castle Rock, Colorado | 80104-1476