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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| October 22, 2004 Dear Readers, What an exciting day we had on the 10th of October. We were invited to speak at Wilbert’s church. Wilbert is one of the three Presbyterian Pastors who visited Denver in June. His church is located in Highfield, one of the high-density suburbs of Harare Our message about how God has worked in our lives was really well received. People listened intently, even the children. I must say I was rather surprised. Yes, we had an interpreter and I must say he did a marvelous job. This church has rarely ever had white people worship with them. While we have worshiped in all African churches before, this was a whole new experience. Their only instruments were gourd rattles and home made drums but the music filled the air. They didn’t need a speaker system. The church is experiencing growing pains. The church was packed all the way to the doors. Since the ground area is very small, their only option would be to expand into the Fellowship Hall. The hall served as the church for many years before the present building was built. Many in the congregation were children. We later learned that most of the children are orphans and came on their own to church. The church has recently started a small group of HIV positive and non-positive people. It is an effort to get the positive people to come out in the open and share their stories. One of their ministries is to go into the community and visit people who are now in the last stages of AIDS and are bed-ridden. Those who are positive are also working with the youth group by sharing their experiences and mistakes in an effort to educate the young people. Many of them shared with us that they had been given false information. Wilbert and Rachael, his wife, came to visit us at Nyamashato on October 20. Wilbert said the pictures he had seen took on a whole new dimension after seeing the place with his own eyes and meeting the people we work with. He also witnessed the line up of children who come to be treated for one thing or another. Doctoring orphans is becoming a time consuming business. More and more children with scabies are coming on their own to be treated. Some have even brought clean clothes to put on after they bathe. They seem so pleased when they are clean. Yesterday, we treated 15 children with scabies. Our wash line is getting longer each day with towels that have to be laundered after each treatment. I have lost count of the number being treated for ringworm. I only know that we can hardly keep medicine on hand. We need to find a place to buy in bulk. The need to have the children bathe before being treated with the medicine has promoted Ralph to decide to put a shower in the clinic. In the future the nurse in charge of the clinic can have the children shower before she applies medicine. In cases that are not severe, it is necessary to treat on three consecutive days only. We are having good results. The wash line grows longer every day with towels that the children have used for bathing. A day last week, it was necessary for two children to be taken to Musami Hospital for x-rays. This was necessary because Murewa hospital had no film for the x-ray machine. A technician had stolen it. Musami Hospital is a Catholic Mission Hospital and is a long way from Nyamashato. One little boy has a serious case of TB. The little girl is a preschooler. She had fallen outside the Feeding Center and hit her leg on the edge of the sidewalk. The x-ray showed a fracture. Now she is wearing a cast but having difficulty with crutches. Medical bills for orphans are growing. On the 14th, Ralph and I took a 14-year-old orphan to Motoko to the Luis Guidotti Hospital for AIDS patients. This hospital is also a Catholic Mission Hospital and is served by an Italian Dr. who has been there for 22 years. The hospital is located in the rural area outside of Motoko and of course over some rough roads. The Dr. plans to keep her for at least two weeks for observation and treatment. The plan is to put her on antiviral drugs. We believe that she was probably infected at birth. Her growth is extremely stunted. A third cook has been hired for the Feeding Center at Nyamashato. Two people could not keep up with the serving of two meals to more than 425 children. The third cook will also be in charge of the Feeding Center maintenance and store of supplies. Hopefully a routine will be well established before we leave to come home. We are feeding approximately 700 children twice a day at the three centers. Ralph and I have been spending any spare time we have working in the large storeroom helping various ones to get prepared for the shipment that is on its way. We find that a great deal of supervision is required to accomplish an organized system. How long it will remain organized after we leave remains to be seen. I am sorry but I fear we will just have left when the shipment arrives. I wish we were going to be here to help with distribution. Today, October 25, we are in Harare. This morning we drove to Howard Hospital who had received some supplies on one of our recent shipments. They were very appreciative and said that all of the consumable supplies had been used up. That is a huge compound and operation. They are located about and hour and a quarter from Harare. Yes, over some horribly rough roads. This hospital serves a population of more than a quarter of a million people. They also have a home visitation program that goes into the community for those who are unable to come to the hospital. The compound is a buzz of activity. The facility is bursting at the seams. They are desperate to get into their new facility. However, it is not yet ready. It will be a show place once it is complete. I am guessing it will have 300 beds. In the past Paul has been the only Dr. but at the moment he has six doctors working with him. This afternoon when we returned to Harare we found a place to buy medication in bulk for the Orphan Care Center. I now have plenty of medicine to treat the various ailments that come to our door. I must send this before more time passes. Ralph and I are both well and very busy. We ask for your continued prayers. 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 07 |