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 18, 2006 Dear Readers, The weather is really changing now. Summer is coming and so are the warmer temperatures. Today it is well above 90 degrees and we are really suffering. The heat has come all at once. Nights are warmer and we are beginning to require fewer blankets. Trees are beginning to flower in spite of the fact there has been no rain since March. The Jacaranda trees in front of our house are in full bud. I enjoy this time of year but my allergies do not. We returned to school on Saturday, the 16th so that we could be present for the Orphan Care Givers workshop. By the time we arrived, I was so sick from allergies that I was unable to attend the meeting. The workshop was sponsored by PLAN International and this workshop focused on Grief and Bereavement Counseling. The group was so grateful for the help they received. I think now they are beginning to realize the importance of their job and they are asking for more workshops to assist them in knowing how to handle various situations. I was informed that they really opened up and asked many questions. I was also told that they shared many problems they face in carrying out their responsibilities. I feel this is a huge step forward and one that was long overdue. In fact one individual has come to us to say that they feel the entire community should have an opportunity to hear the information first hand. So the possibility for that is being investigated. In order to set them apart and make them easily identified in the community, we have purchased T-shirts for each Care Giver. On the front it says Heather Chimhoga Orphan Care Giver. On the back is printed “…It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Acts 20:35. Each school has a different color of T-shirt. Navy blue skirts are in the process of being made. The number of seriously sick orphans is increasing. When we arrived Saturday at about 11:00, we noticed that the Orphan Care Truck was gone. We inquired about it and learned that one of our orphans that had seen the Dr. on Friday, became much worse during the night. The child had been driven to Murewa and was admitted to the hospital with severe diarrhea and vomiting. The truck had just returned when another Guardian came asking for assistance. The orphan being looked after was having similar symptoms as the child admitted to the hospital and was getting progressive worse. The diarrhea had been constant for several days. So it was necessary for the Orphan Care Truck to make another trip to Murewa with a second ill child. We so need a vehicle that is more economical to operate instead of a 1 ˝ ton truck. Oswald, that I have written about previously, is not getting better. He was at the Dr. last Thursday and had to go back again yesterday. His body is no longer able to fight infection. He is barely able to walk. When the truck returned from Murewa today, Oswald was brought to us. I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the dressing the hospital had put on him. The dressing was held on with masking tape. I might add that it was coming off. We used roller bandage to secure it for the night. I will go today, Sept. 22 and clean the area that is draining and apply a new dressing. We are quickly running out of bandages of all kinds. It takes so much of our supplies each time we dress a wound such as Oswald has. The supplies that we brought with us are quickly running out. We still have lots of antibiotic ointment but sterile gauze and tape are running low. I have made roller bandages out of old sheets but I am running out of those now. Roller bandage is often better than tape. Roller bandage keeps out dirt and it stays in place better than tape. Tape often does not stick well. On a different note….Electricity may soon be a reality here. ZESA delivered 13 workers here on Monday evening. Mr. Bondeponde did some shuffling of teachers in order to accommodate so many men. The men will be here until the job is complete. They have been working hard since they arrived, stringing wire, anchoring poles and today they are preparing to install the transformer. The electrician is to come today to begin wiring the buildings. The building for the knitting and sewing co-ops is under construction and will be electrified as soon as it is far enough along in construction. Poles are being set at the Secondary School and wire is being strung. Hopefully they too will have electricity at least in the Administration Building which will house the computer lab. We are hoping to see this all complete before we leave to return to the U.S. Ralph has purchased an electric pump for the well. It should be installed soon. The trench is being dug for the cable that will control the float valve in the storage tanks. This will provide a constant supply of water instead of having to rely on the wind to pump the water. Water will be easily available for the watering of plants in the school garden. It should be possible to have a constant supply of fresh vegetables for the Feeding Center. The Catholic Relief Society has been very supportive of our program here. The beginning of the month they delivered yellow mealy meal, cooking oil and dried yellow peas. That alone is a very boring diet but added to the food supplies we have it makes our supplies go further. This is especially helpful when there are orphans coming daily to be registered. There are parents dying each week. A week ago we were approached for help with an infant, 7 months old, whose mother and father were both very ill. The mother passed away four days later. Mr. Bondeponde purchased a supply of formula. This week the center was approached by an Orphan Care Giver. She had a young woman in her village that was caring for a six month old baby whose mother had recently passed away. The woman caring for the baby is a sister of the woman who passed away. The father is in Shamva and is very ill. The woman had no clothes for the infant and our reserve supply is depleted. We are anxiously awaiting our shipment. The center supplied some formula and instructed her to come for more when her supply was getting low. The books that were purchased recently arrived at the school yesterday. Ralph has taken the allotment for Inyagui and Guzha to those schools this morning. While there are not nearly enough books for the children, it is better than nothing. Nothing is what they have had in the past. Five books to a class of 40 plus children are not enough in my estimation, but it is a beginning. The Secondary School also received an allotment of books. They also need more books. This entire project has been accomplished with one small step at a time. Sometimes we get very discouraged until we look back to the point where we began about 10 years ago. Friday, Sept. 22 I spent some time with the Secondary Staff at their meeting after school. I gave them a similar pep talk that I had given to the Secondary School Orphans the previous week. I pointed out the things that had been done and were being done to improve conditions for them and encouraged them to do all that they could to encourage the orphans to achieve. I often wonder what incentive we could offer the staff members whose students show marked improvement in test scores. Otherwise I feel money spent on school fees is being wasted. Ralph was to have gone with me to the staff meeting but the Chief Engineer for ZESA showed up. It was necessary for Ralph to go over some issues with him. So I had to meet the staff by myself. Mr. Bondeponde wasn’t even available. He had gone again to Murewa to the hospital with another sick orphan. For the benefit of the readers, Murewa is 35 km over very rough roads. It is a 45min. to a one hour drive. Saturday, the 23rd, the Dispensary Nurse Aid, came to report that Actavia was seriously ill. We were told that her chest hurt, she was coughing and blood was coming from her nose. So back to Murewa to the hospital. Her temperature was over 104 degrees and her face was swelling. She was admitted to the hospital with pneumonia and placed on oxygen. Today, Sunday, we checked on Actavia as we passed through Murewa on our way to Harare to attend church. Actavia’s temperature was back to normal and she was off oxygen. She said that she felt better but she still was bleeding some from the nose. Her older sister is staying at the hospital with her. As I bring this to a close, I ask that you pray for these sick children. We feel so helpless and they do not have the comfort of loving parents. We do what we can to care for their physical needs but it just isn’t the same as a Mother’s love. We know that for some, even our best is not going to be good enough. When Ralph and I returned from Oswald’s home yesterday, we were both totally drained. He is such a sick boy and we are limited on what we can do for him. 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 2006 Journal 06 |