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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| November 27, 2004 Dear Readers, Yesterday, we experienced a hailstorm, something I never anticipated seeing happen here in Zimbabwe. It was a real storm with very strong winds and heavy, heavy rain. I had difficulty closing windows and found hail clear across the room when I turned around. The hail on the ground did not form a measurable depth but the ground was white for a brief time. As the time for our departure approaches, we are always sad. This is a beautiful country and right now everything is so green. It amazes us at how the land seems to recover even though a short while ago it seemed as though all of Zimbabwe was on fire. Crop residue is always burned here before the new planting season. Frequently these fires get out of control and will burn whole mountain sides. Only a few weeks ago, I would have thought the trees could not survive. However, right now you would never guess whole mountains have been burned. It is very difficult to leave in spite of what has been accomplished. There is always more to be done and the need to care for orphans is growing. The cost is really stretching our resources to the limit. However, we are unable to ignore the sick orphans, the children who have no one to care for them. It is very likely that in the future we will be unable to do any construction of houses or school buildings, as it will take all of our resources just to keep the Orphan Center functioning. In the future, we can see the need to have a drop-in center for abused children. This year we have encountered several situations where children needed a place to find refuge. One example is a 7th grade girl who was sexually abused by an uncle. She had no one who would listen and now she is pregnant. The relatives with whom she lives, are denying her food because they are blaming her for the situation she is in. This is another situation where a trained counselor is needed. We have not been so aware of such a need until just recently. We wonder if God is opening a new door for us. As we travel between here and Harare, we are becoming increasingly aware of the many homesteads that are abandoned. We can only assume that the family members have all passed away. That is the case in several instances that we know of personally. We had hoped the shipment that was loaded in Denver on September 25 would arrive on Friday the 3rd but we encountered some difficulties with paper work and that will delay the arrival. There are no problems with the shipment only in getting paper work signed. Our reason for wanting it to arrive by the 3rd was that was to be the last day for us here at the school. However, we have had a change of plans and we are still here. We are expecting the shipment to arrive anytime today, December 10. The Orphan Care Center has a new set of twins that they are giving support to. It is interesting that we have never been aware of twins before. The most recent set that has come for support are just four months old. The father has abandoned the family and the mother has insufficient milk for the two babies. Formula is very expensive and baby bottles are even more expensive, if they can be found. I have really had to search to find bottles and they are not always of good quality. If anyone has baby bottles that are no longer needed, we could certainly use your donation. We are also in need of nipples. This morning a woman came with a nine month old baby boy, who was abandon in Harare by the mother, a relative. Neither of the baby's parents can be found. The woman has been persuaded to take on the responsibility of caring for the child but needs assistance. She had no clothing for the baby and no suitable food. So some assistance was provided along with a small amount of clothing. We are anxiously awaiting the shipment to arrive. I feel certain there will be some clothing on that shipment that will fit the baby. This has been an absolutely horrendous day. I have lost count of the number of children who have been brought here for one reason or another. I had planned to help our new bookkeeper close the books for the month of November. However, I haven't even had 10 minutes to work with him. I have no idea what Ralph is up to. I haven't seen him all day. The children who have been brought here are serious cases. One year-old child is malnourished. The girl has a protein deficiency. She was about the size of a six month old. It was necessary to provide the child with some high protein foods. The Executive Committee will have to monitor the child closely. At times like this, I wish we were going to be here longer to keep tabs on this situation. Another child, approximately nine months old, that I saw today had a terrible skin condition. The mother said the child had been like this from birth. However, it looked to me to be a serious case of scabies. At least that is what we treated for. If that doesn't work, we will have to take the child to the Dr. I sent the mother to the Dispensary to bathe the child. This was the first one to use the shower Ralph had put in. We provided the mother with clean clothing and a clean blanket for the child to sleep on. She was given instructions on keeping the child clean. We will see what happens. December 5, I am just getting back to writing. My horrendous day ended with Ralph falling from a ladder and breaking his back. He climbed the ladder to tear down a bird's nest above our door. A step on the ladder broke and he landed on our veranda in a sitting position. So I had to take him to the hospital in Harare. It was very late at night before they finally put Ralph in a room, actually it was 3:00 in the morning on December 1. Ralph was released from the hospital on Monday, December 6. On Wednesday, the 8th he braved the trip back to Nyamashato. The only problem with him being here is that he sees too much that needs to be done. However, there are many willing hands around to help out with what needs to be done. Yesterday, was a particularly stressful day. We waited all day for the container to arrive. Finally it arrived about 3:30 with a crowd of people sending up a shout of cheer. They had been waiting since early morning for the container to arrive so that they could unload. Thank goodness there was only one container as boxes are stacked in the feeding center with only a pathway to the office. See picture section. Ralph was up on his feet too much and today he is paying for it. The rainy season is really here. It has rained everyday for a couple of weeks. Last night it rained most of the night and much of the time it rained very hard. The roads are washed and driving is difficult. Many places there is no way you can meet on coming traffic. If you do, you have to hope there is a place to get off. December 13, we are in Harare at the moment, trying to tie up loose ends before our departure. Mr. Bondeponde was to have come in town today to have new tires put on the truck. However, he phoned early this morning to say that it was raining so hard that he couldn't see the road and so he was postponing the trip. Hopefully he will get here tomorrow. We wonder if the road will even be passable after our experience yesterday when we came in town. The rain that Mr. Bondeponde spoke of this morning had passed through Harare about 4:00 a.m. The only other time that I have seen such rain was during a hurricane when we were living in Texas. We are finding it difficult to realize this is Christmas. The only decorations I have seen are in the Miekles Hotel. In a shopping mall today I heard Christmas music being played. Winter Wonderland doesn't quite fit the picture here when the temperatures are hovering in the 90's. This will be our last communication from Zimbabwe. We will leave Wednesday to go to SA. I will be driving. As I write this, we still don't have reservations for our return to the U.S. Hopefully, tomorrow the booking agent will have something worked out. This letter will have to serve as our Christmas letter. Christ came into the world to bring Peace. We have found Peace, Joy and Love here in Zimbabwe. Our Christmas wish for all of you is that you have a Happy, Blessed Holiday. We pray that you find Peace, Joy and Love wherever you may be. We ask for prayers for our safe return. 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 10 |