Help 100 Underprivileged Kids in Zimbabwe

Thank you so much for all the support you have given to disadvantaged rural kids in Zimbabwe over the years. We are proud of what we have accomplished together so far to empower these kids to reach their full potential. We have accomplished a lot along the way—thanks to you for all your help! Here are some mid-year highlights:

1. Education Program

Education is one of the keys to unlocking doors of opportunity for rural kids to lift them up out of poverty. Sadly due to extreme poverty education is inaccesible to many kids in the rural areas of Zimbabwe. Through your donations you make it possible for the Tekeshe Foundation to provide school uniforms, school fees and school supplies to disadvantaged rural kids. I am pleased to announce that this year we are providing school fees to 20 primary school students and 11 high school students. The total amount is $2,100.00 for 3 terms. Here is what two of the teachers from Rimbi High school had to say:

         In His Own Words From One Of The Teachers At Rimbi High School:
"TEKESHE FOUNDATION YOU ARE A STAR.YOUR HAND HAS GONE A LONG WAY IN ALLEVIATING DROPOUTS IN RIMBI COMMUNITY. WE WOULD REALLY LIKE TO SAY GOD ALONE WILL REWARD YOU EARNESTLY."

        In His Own Words From One Of The Teachers At Rimbi High School:
"Whenever your resources allow we kindly ask you to increase the number of assisted children since our enrollment is
skyrocketing. We have over 1500 pupils which means a considerable number of vulnerable children. Thank you!"

2. Pre-School Program
According to research, children who complete pre-school programs are more advanced in literacy, creativity, initiative, and social skills and they are more likely to succeed in school and to end up as productive members of society. Sadly the majority of children in the rural areas of Chipinge in Zimbabwe have no access to early childhood development and learning programs. Through our Pre-School Program we provide a playtime program which promotes early childhood development and learning through play. Through your donations we are able to enroll 30 children in our pre-school.The children's favorite time is when they get to play with toys and ride bikes. The majority of these kids had never seen a toy until they came to our pre-school. The toys and bikes were donated by New England Pentecostal Ministries and friends of the Foundation in the US. Every year we partner with churches in New England to send a 40 foot container of medicines, food and clothing, school supplies and toys to Zimbabwe.

3. Youth Program
The focus of our Youth Program is to empower young people to grow up to be successful, well-balanced and self-sufficient citizens. It emphasizes the importance of young people's personal development and their contributions to their communities. Our Youth program also offers a Scouting Program. Through your donations the Tekeshe Foundation provides the scouts with uniforms and the funds to go on camping trips and to host camping events. We are pleased to announce that we have extended the Scout program to Matezwa and Manzvire villages. The Youth program is having a positive impact in the lives of young people in these rural areas. It provides them a place to build lasting friendships and develop the skills they need to rise up as leaders in their communities.

 4. Youth Empowerment Center Project 

The purpose of this project is to construct a building that will serve as a Youth and Community Centre where services that cater to young people will be provided. We envision this facility as a place that will be an inviting and vibrant community space where the entire community, particularly young people, can meet, connect, interact, receive training, counseling and enjoy a range of social and recreational activities. The center will also house our pre-school. To date we have acquired the land and the building plan is complete.

      Why There Is A Need For A Youth Empowerment Center
The youth in Chipinge are faced with two major challenges. The first challenge is lack of skill training. After high school more than 75% of rural students are not able to pursue higher education due to poor grades or due to poverty and yet they are ill prepared to enter the workforce. Unlike their urban counterparts who receive skill training, such services are non-existent in the rural areas. Having a center where rural kids can receive vocational training would put them on a level playing field with their urban counterparts so that they will be in a better position to compete for jobs. The second challenge is lack of a recreation center where the youth can go to enjoy life in the rural areas. The rural youth spend their time wondering aimlessly in the townships congregating at the local bars so that they can watch television and listen to music. Having a Youth Center would provide them a safe haven.

May your hearts be filled with joy as you take a look at these pictures and see the major role you are playing in shaping the lives of these young people who are the leaders of tomorrow.

Thanks again for what we have accomplished together!

Best Wishes,

Thelma

Thank you for your continued support of our Youth Cares program. This program is at the heart of our organization and is our strategy for empowering young people to grow up to be successful well-balanced citizens. It is based upon the principle that young people need more than just academics, they also need to be taught life's lessons which are not taught at a desk in the classroom. It emphasizes the importance of young people's personal development and their contributions to their communities.

Why The Youth Cares Program Is Important

According to research after-school programs do much more than keep children occupied when they are not in school; kids who participate in after-school programs perform much better academically than their peers and they exhibit notable improvement in work habits and behavior as well. Here are some of the ways that after school activities can help kids:

• Team work - Activities such as, soccer, scout clubs, dancing and music etc require kids to work collectively toward a common goal. As a result, kids develop the skills necessary to work as team. Most importantly, extracurricular activities enable kids to build relationships and socialize with peers who share their interests.
• Making a Contribution - Extracurricular activities allow kids to make a contribution to their communities, which is an important step in preparing them for life beyond the classroom.
• Goal Setting - Most extracurricular activities entail achieving a goal. While kids are having fun they are also getting opportunities to develop their goal setting skills.

In keeping with this approach we provide opportunities for the youth to get involved in community service in their villages. In mid-March after Cyclone Idai caused so much devastation in villages in Chipinge, the kids in our Youth Cares program visited families in Rimbi and Mbeure villages who were impacted to bring them hope and to assure them that help was on the way.  In the pictures you can see the kids in our youth program working in collaboration with the community leaders to distribute food and clothing items that were donated by the Manicaland Provincial Scout Commissioner. The pictures also show some of the kids from our youth program wearing their scout uniforms. We are very proud of them for lending a hand.  We thank our assistant Youth Program director, Mr Matende for the time and effort he is devoting to making the program a success.

The program is having a positive impact in the lives of rural kids. Here is what two of the scouts had to say:

In His Own Words By One Of The Scouts
We are grateful to be given the opportunity to do our duty to help members of our community who were affected by Cyclone Idai.  Scout law number 3 says, “A scout’s duty is to be useful and to help others.”

In Her Own Words By One Of The Scouts

We are saddened by the destruction caused by the Cyclone. Today we distributed food and clothing to the families affected by Cyclone Idai. Scout law number 4 says, “A scout is a friend to all and a brother to every other scout.”

Through your donations you are playing a major role in shaping the lives of the young people in these rural areas.

Thank you so much!

Best wishes,

Thelma

Thank you so much for your continued support of this project. Providing an education to disadvantaged rural kids is at the heart of our organization. Education is one of the keys for lifting people out of poverty. Empowering a kid to acquire an education not only unlocks doors of opportunity for that kid to get out of poverty, but also helps the family and the communtity as a whole. That is why so many poor families in the rural areas are desperately doing all they can to get money to send their children to school. They know that the fate of their children depends on it. Sadly, due to extreme poverty education is inaccesible to many kids in the rural areas.

The vision of this program is to provide access to education to underprivileged boys and girls to help unlock doors of opportunity for them and to give them a better head start for the future. In keeping with this vision we provide school fees, school uniforms, books and school supplies to underpriviledged kids. This program also places special emphasis on empowering girls to acquire an education. Life is not easy for girls in these rural areas. Gender disparity is still a real problem.The preference for poor families is to send boys to school and marrying off the girls as this brings money into the family. People in the rural areas perceive girls as a source of income for their families, and they would rather marry off the girls to raise funds for educating the boys.

As I mentioned in a previous progress report, rural schools in Zimbabwe are operating on shoe string budgets and they are struggling to provide quality education to the students. Through this program we donate educational toys and books to Rimbi Primary and Rimbi High schools.This is what we have accomplished together so far:

• This year we are providing school fees to 20 primary school students and 10 high school students. The total amount is $2,100.00 for 3 terms. Here is what one of the parents had to say

In Her Own Words By One Of The Mothers Whose Son Is A Beneficiary Of The Program
"Thank you very much for helping my son with his school fees. After my husband's untimely death I didnt know how I was going to raise the funds to send my kids to school. My son was worried that he wouldnt be able to complete his high school education. The Tekeshe Foundation offered to pay his school fees. I want to thank you again for the help your are providing my son through Tekeshe Foundation."

 Pre-School Program Progress

Your donations also make it possible for the Tekeshe Foundation to provide a free playtime program which promotes early childhood development and learning through play. This year we plan to start construction on a new building that will house our pre-school and our youth center.

We have accomplished a lot together! As you can see from the faces of the kids you are helping, your donations you are playing a major role in transforming the lives of rural kids.  These accomplishments would not have been possible without your support. Thanks again!

 Best wishes,

Thelma

Thank you so much for your continued support of this project. Providing an education to disadvantaged rural kids is at the heart of our organization. We strongly believe that education is one of the keys for alleviating poverty. When you empower a kid to acquire an education, you are not only unlocking doors of opportunity for that kid to get out of poverty, but you are also helping the family and the communtity as a whole.  Sadly, rural schools in Zimbabwe are operating on shoe string budgets and are struggling to provide quality education to the students. This is due to the fact that rural areas are underserved as development is disproportionately concentrated in urban areas.

1. Education Program Progress

Through our Education Program we provide school fees, school uniforms, books and school supplies to  disadvantaged students. We also donate educational toys and books to Rimbi Primary and Rimbi High. This is what we have accomplished together so far:

• Your donations made it possible for The Tekeshe Foundation to give pencils, pencil sharpeners and building blocks to the grade one class at Rimbi Primary. As you can see from these pictures the kids are ecstatic to use the blocks for learning.
• This year we are providing school fees to 20 primary school students. Total amount: $600.00 for 3 terms
• This year we are providing school fees to 10 high school students. Total amount:  $1,500 for 3 terms  
• We gave notebooks, backpacks, crayons, pens, pencils and erasers to over 75 kids

 2. Pre-School Program Progress

Your donations make it possible for the Tekeshe Foundation to provide a free playtime program which promotes early childhood development and learning through play. This is what we have accomplished together so far:

• Through your donations we are able to enroll 30 children in our pre-school.
• We are now providing porridge to the kids in order to comply with pre-school requirements. As you can see from the pictures the kids really enjoy the porridge!
• We have added another resource to help us prepare the porridge at a pay rate of $50 a month
• We received a donation of dolls for the pre-school. As you can see from the picture, the kids are having a great time playing with the dolls!

Goals for 2018
Start construction on a new building that will house our pre-school and our youth center

As you can see we have accomplished a lot. These accomplishments would not have been possible without your support. Through your donations you are playing a major role in transforming the lives of rural kids!

Best wishes,

Thelma

Thank you for your continued support of this project. It is at the heart of our organization and is our strategy for empowering disadvantaged rural youth. Here are some of the highlights of what we accomplished together in 2017. We couldnt have done it without your support!

 1. Bringing Joy To Kids At Christmas Time

In addition to providing school fees, school uniforms and school supplies we also bring joy to kids at Christmas time. We give them toys, candy and cookies. Due to poverty the majority of kids in the rural areas do not receive toys for Christmas. This year we gave toys, candy, balloons and school supplies to over 400 children in Rimbi village. As you can see from the kids' faces in the pictures Christmas 2017 was a happy time indeed for them. They had a wonderful time!.

 2. Pre-School Program Progress

Your donations make it possible for the Tekeshe Foundation to provide a free playtime program which promotes early childhood development and learning through play. Research has found out that children who complete pre-school programs are more advanced in literacy, creativity, initiative, and social skills and they are more likely to succeed in school and to end up as productive members of society. Through your donations we are able to enroll 30 children in our pre-school. These kids are very fortunate, there are so many kids in these rural areas who want to enroll in our pre-school, unfortunately we can only take 30 kids for now. As you can see in these pictures the pre-school is doing well. Here are testimonials from some of the parents :

In Her Own Words By One Of The Parents
"My son had a speech problem and he didnt mix well with other kids. I have noticed a big difference ever since he started attending the pre-school. His speech has improved and he mixes well with other kids. He also likes going to the pre-school because he gets to play with toys and gets to play on the swings. Thank you so much for helping my son!"

In Her Own Words By One Of The Grand Parents
"My grandchild didn’t want to go to school. The playground equipment helped a lot! The moment he saw the other kids playing on the swings he wanted to go to the pre-school. Thank you so much for providing this playground equipment. We had never seen anything like this in this village. "

 In Her Own Words By One Of The Parents
"The kids are learning a lot. They are taught English and they are also taught good manners.  They also enjoy playing with the toys and playing on the swings. There are so many kids in the village who want to attend the pre-school but for now they can only take 30 kids. I feel very fortunate that my daughter is enrolled at the pre-school. Thank you so much.”

 3. Education Program

Your donations make it possible for the Tekeshe Foundation to provide school  fees, uniforms and school supplies to disadvantaged rural kids. I am pleased to announced that we gave 75 backpacks, 1000 pencils, pens, notebooks and crayons to the kids

Goals for 2018

• Start construction on a new building that will house our pre-school and our youth center

As you can see we have accomplished a lot. These accomplishments would not have been possible without your support. Through your donations you are playing a major role in transforming the lives of rural kids!

Best wishes,

Thelma