Help 100 Underprivileged Kids in Zimbabwe

Dear Friends,

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for your continued support of our Education program. Your donations make it possible for the Tekeshe Foundation to continue to provide access to education to underpriviledged rural youth in Chipinge district in Zimbabwe. The goal of this project is to break the cycle of poverty among underpriviledged rural youth by opening doors of opportunity for them through education.

The project is a big success. The beneficiaries of this project range from kindergatern children to university level students. To date over 100 students have received school fees, school uniforms and school supplies.  Two students have completed their teacher-training course and one of them is now working as a primary school teacher. Another student obtained her Bachelor’s Degree in Social Science and she is working for a company in Chipinge.

Bringing Joy To Kids At Christmas Time

In addition to providing school fees, school uniforms and school supplies we also bring joy to these kids at Christmas time. We give them toys, candy and cookies. As you can see from the kids' faces in the pictures Christmas 2013 was happy time indeed for them.  They had a wonderful time!. Most of these kids have never had a toy, they dont even get any presents during Chritmas time. This year we gave toys, candy and cookies to over 120 children.

The Project is Having an Impact On Girls As Well
Sadly many girls in these rural areas are still being denied access to education. Due to the financial difficulties that poor families are faced with they are making a choice based on economics as to which child to send to school. The preference 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 wealth for their families, and would rather marry off the girls to raise funds for educating the boys.  According to research, educating girls is the most effective way of breaking the cycle of poverty in these rurals areas.  When girls get an education, not only do their families benefit, but communities and societies benefit as well. The following are some of the positive outcomes that are linked with educating girls:

             * The likelihood of educating the next generation increases
             * Decrease in infant mortality rates 
             * Improved family health 
             * Reduction in the spread of HIV/AIDS  
             * Improved general economic development

This past December during my annual visit to Zimbabwe, one of the beneficiaries of this project stopped by to give us the great news that she had completed her teacher training course. Here is what she had to say:

In her Own Words by Maidei   : Special Thanks to The Donors
I would like to thank the Tekeshe Foundation and the donors for helping me get an education. I am pleased to announce that I have now completed my Teacher Training Course at Mutare Teacher's College.  I could not have done this without your help. Growing up life was very difficult as my father has more than one wife. My mother and I struggled a lot. My father was not able to provide for my educational needs. My desire was to get an education because I knew this would give me a better future. I was so happy when the Tekeshe foundation started helping me with uniforms, school fees and school supplies. Without your help together with the Tekeshe Foundation I dont know what I would have done. Thank you very much. May God bless you.

--Maidei

As you are can see you are playing a major role in giving a bright future to the youth in Chipinge.

Best wishes for 2014.

Thanks again for your support!

Sincerely,

Thelma

Dear Friends,

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to you for your continued support of our pre-school program. Your donations make it possible for the Tekeshe Foundation to continue to provide a free playtime program which promotes early childhood development and learning through play. The program is making a difference in the lives of these children. 

A typical day at the pre-school includes structured playtime, story time, games, singing and playing with all kinds of toys including educational toys. The ultimate goal of the program is to prepare the children to successfully enter grade one and to become successful and lifelong learners.

According to research, when starting school, children who complete pre-school programs are more advanced in literacy, creativity, initiative, and social skills. They get along better with their classmates and they are more eager to learn. Through your support you are playing a big role in shaping the lives of these children. They are more likely to succeed in school and to end up as productive members of society as a result of receiving the best start in life.

As you can see in these pictures the children are doing well. Their favorite time is when they get to play with the toys. The majority of these kids had never seen a toy until they started coming to our pre-school. These toys were donated by 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. 

Though the pre-school program is doing very well we still have many needs. The following are our goals for 2014 - 2015

•  Increase the number of children enrolled in our school to 90
•  Hire two additional teachers.
•  Provide a building which will be able to accommodate 90 kids.
•  Provide tables and chairs, currently the kids sit on the floor.
•  Add an outdoor play area with swings 

Thanks again for helping these little ones have the best start in life!

Best Regards,

Thelma

Hello Friends,

While Education is at the heart of The Tekeshe Foundation our Youth Program is committed to the social development of young people. Young people need to be taught to have good moral values, they should be taught to be honest, kind, to respect their elders and to work hard.  Yet due to the deaths of many adults young people in these rural areas have no parental guidance and there is no one to teach them good moral values.

As part of our Youth Program we offer a Scouting Program. Currently the Scouting program is offered at Rimbi Township. We are pleased to announce that the Scouting Regional director has requested that we join forces to expand the program to rural schools in Chipinge. Through this partnership the Tekeshe Foundation will organize the Scouting workshops and camping events. In addition the Tekeshe Foundation will provide scouting uniforms and provide the funds for the scouts to attend the annual jamboree that is held in Bulawayo city in Zimbabwe. 

The scouting program means a lot to the youth in these rural areas. It also serves as a support program to the vast majority of these kids who are orphans. Your support has made it possible for the Tekeshe Foundation to sponsor the scouts to attend the annual jamboree.  The majority of the kids have never been to town - so you can just imagine what this trip means to them. It is a life changing experience where they get to meet kids from the other parts of the country. 

Thank you so much for making a difference in the lives of these children.

Best wishes,

Thelma

Links:

• Youth Program

Dear Friends,

It was a very merry Christmas for the children who attend our pre-school. They jumped up and down with joy when their teacher in the picture below wearing  a black skirt and a  white blouse informed them that we had toys for them.

The Pre-School program is doing very well. We have one full time teacher. Last year we had 30 children enrolled in our school. We pay the teacher $100.00 (US) per month. Last year we sent the teacher to two refresher courses. 

The following are our  goals for 2013

• Increase the number of children enrolled in our school to 90 
• We need to hire 2 more teachers. 
• We need a building which will be able to accommodate 90 kids.
• We need tables and chairs, currently the kids sit on the floor. 
• We need to add an outdoor play area with swings 
• We need toys

We would like to express our sincere gratitude to  the friends of the foundation for making this possible.  May your hearts be filled with joy as you reflect on the difference you made in the lives of these children.  May God bless you and your families.

Best wishes,

Thelma

Dear Friends,

On behalf of the kids in the rural areas that you are assisting to acquire an education, the Tekeshe Foundation would like to express sincere gratitude to you. This year, because of your support we were able to provide pre-school education to 30 children. We also managed to sponsor 7 high school students. In keeping with our focus of empowering girls we managed to sponsor the education of the girls highlighted in these pictures.

As I mentioned in my previous reports, empowering girls to acquire an education is at the heart of The Tekeshe Foundation. Life is not easy for girls in these rural areas. Gender disparity is still a big problem in these rural areas. The preference is to send boys to school and marrying off the girls as this brings money into the family. 

Educating girls is the most effective way of breaking the cycle of poverty in these rurals areas.  When girls get an education, not only do their families benefit, but communities and societies also benefit. The following are some of the positive outcomes that are linked with educating girls:  

• The likelihood of educating the next generation increases
• Decrease in infant mortality rates
• Improved family health
• Reduction in the spread of HIV/AIDS 
• Improved general economic development

This holiday season I hope your hearts will be filled with lots of joy as you reflect on the difference you have made to marginalised children in the rural areas of Chipinge.

Have a very merry Christmas and a prosperous 2013.

Thanks again for supporting our cause.

Best wishes

 Thelma