RENEWED HOPE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, INC.
Working Together For Zimbabwe's Future
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RENEWED HOPE CHARITABLE FOUNDATION, INC. Working Together For Zimbabwe's Future |
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| September 2, 2004 Dear Readers, I can’t believe that it has been so long since I last wrote. Now so much has happened that it is difficult to know where to begin. The main thing is that we are still here. Finally, Ralph was able to obtain a permit for our vehicle. It did not come without a hefty fine for having an expired permit that was not of our doing. Anyway Praise God it is now all sorted out. This place is a buzz of activity: UBM, a new supplier from Harare, just left after delivering materials for the new project here at Nyamashato. They said that they would be back tomorrow with more supplies. The truck is on its way to Inyagui and Guzha with deliveries for the Feeding Centers at each of those schools. The work is already underway at those two locations. The one builder at Guzha promises to have the building complete in 90 days. We will see. If it is, it will be an answered prayer. At Inyagui the builders are in the process of digging the footings for that Feeding Center. Here at Nyamashato, the preschool building is complete. Electricians will begin installing wiring in that building tomorrow. A cleaning crew is to come on Monday to clean the windows, wash and wax the floors and to move in the furniture. Ralph has assembled shelving in the storerooms of the building so the teachers will have a place to put the toys. A project Ralph is anxious to get started on is the leveling of all the dirt left over from building. He is concerned about water drainage when the rainy season comes. Right now it would be possible for water to get into the preschool building and feeding center. Once the ground is graded and smoothed out, Ralph can assemble the play set that came on the last container that was shipped. The ceiling is complete and painted in the Feeding Center here. Ralph had the workers put a fresh coat of paint on the walls. It all looks very neat and inviting. Ralph painted the Feeding Center office himself so the workers could see that it can be done without having paint all over everywhere. In fact we learned that they were afraid Ralph would decide to paint the big room himself. Now there is a big joke going around about Ralph being particular. It paid off as the workers did a much neater job than in the past. Electricians are working in the Feeding Center here at Nyamashato today installing wiring. Hopefully ZESA will get busy now and bring power to the center. Fencing is being moved to make way for the new toilet units we hope to install. We have not ordered them yet as the price has gone up considerably. With building materials being so expensive, we are concerned about running out of money to build the building to house the units. We feel prayers have been answered about finding a supplier who is reliable. So far UBM has delivered on the day set or have called if for any reason there has been a delay. It looks like all materials are going to be on site in advance of needing them. Construction will go much faster if there are no work delays, because of lack of material delivery, as has happened in the past. Trisha is no longer coming for me to dress her burns. I can only assume it is no longer necessary. She had to have some one walk and carry her several miles to bring her here. I will be anxious to see her on Tuesday when school resumes. The woman who had her hand torn up by an ox cart is coming several times a week for redressing of her wounds. Her hand is improving but it will be some time before she is back to normal. I continue to soak it in hot salt water. Keeping infection down is my greatest concern. I advised her to go for a tetanus injection, which she did. She had a lot of infection when she first came to me. Part of the problem was that she had waited several days to go for help. Her hand was wrapped in a dirty white skirt when she came the first time. A concern that Ralph and I share is the lack of medical care for people who have no money and especially for rural people. There are clinics scattered around the country but if they have no medicines what good are they? I shutter to think what would have happened to Mrs. Bondeponde if we had not been here to transport her to the hospital. In spite of the conditions we found, at least they had something with which to treat her. However, she came out with something that she picked up there because of unsanitary conditions. We treated her with an antibiotic that our Dr. had given us for ourselves in case either of us became ill. She began to improve within a day or so. In spite of all this a report in a recent issue of THE newspaper said that medical conditions were improving in some areas due to a donation by some AID organization of 20 ox drawn ambulances. People will no longer die at home the article read. Check the picture section to view some of things happening here. Keep us in your prayers and ask that God guide us in making decisions. In His Service, Ralph and Roberta |
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Renewed Hope Charitable Foundation, Inc. | a 501(c)(3) charity | P.O. Box 1476 | Castle Rock, Colorado | 80104-1476 2004 Journal 04 |