Feed 200 Zimbabwean Orphans Mind, Body & Soul

Thank you to all our supporters for making Zimkids a true success story.  Happy holidays to all.

Zimkids’ latest program is taking our young people 7 miles from our center and a world away, beyond the edge of the city into a small settlement of crude shacks, without water or electricity, into a world where children’s prospects are even dimmer than they are in Pumula, where we operate. 70 percent of the children in the community are orphans; most of the teenage girls already have two or more kids, usually by two or more fathers. So babies are raising babies.

 For our older kids, going to Methodist, as the community is called, is giving back, taking their days off to transfer the skills they’ve acquired at Zimkids, bringing joy and knowledge where there is so little. We tried something similar several years back with the families squatting at the dumpsite, but it was simply too far away – and our older kids did not yet have the initiative. That has changed now, and our seniors and alumni are doing an amazing job at Methodist – and we hope to find the money for a vehicle that will allow this to become a formal Zimkids program.

 Meanwhile, back at the Center, we’re gearing up for a whole new cohort of kids to enter our vocational training program and become leaders in our outreach effort at Methodist. They just sat their O-level examinations (following the traditional British system, Zimbabwe has two levels of high school, Ordinary and Advanced level, with the latter being primary for those oriented toward university education.) Results will not be out until February, but we expect that most of our young people will not pass since they received little education during primary school, a time when teachers were on strike for several years. Usually, our pass rate is well above the national average, but that’s not saying much since, nationally, only 1 in 5 children pass their exams.

 So we’re bringing in supplies for welding and sewing, construction and carpentry – and Samantha is looking forward to extra help in the preschool, where she’ll be training childcare workers.

 Our littlest Zimkids celebrated their graduation in late November, and they are more than ready for Grade 1. They not only know the alphabet and basic numbers, taken their first steps toward mastering computers, and have been awash in the books generous donors have been sending their way. While they’re been with us, they’ve been well-nourished, thanks to our feeding program and our abundant garden; well-dressed because of donations of shoes from the Buckner Foundation; and warm because of the Texas grandmothers, who keep making them amazing blankets.

 Once they’re in school, we won’t lose track of them, of course, since they’ll be back at “home” with us on weekends and over school holidays.

Links:

• For the latest news click here
• Our website

There are times when we feel that Zimkids has taken on a life of its own as the young people we’ve trained for so many years take on increasing responsibility and help us expand our wings. It’s an exhilarating reality since we’re committed not only to feeding the orphans of Pumula but to training them to lead.

 Several years ago, a grant from the U.S. embassy allowed us to install a greenhouse with drip irrigation. It took a while to develop a workable system since we never managed to hit water when we tried to drill a well. But now, our young people have honed their modern agricultural skills. Despite a total absence of rain since April, we are awash in tomatoes, spinach, kale and onions– so the orphans have an abundance of fresh produce.

 Our pre-school – run by “alumae” - is humming with energy and excitement. The children are mastering the alphabet, learning their first words in English, playing on our computers, eating nutritious meals – and even developing their skills in sharing by serving lunch to their classmates. Several weeks ago – in the midst of a serious cold snap – they were thrilled at the arrival of stacks of blankets made by a group of generous grandmothers from Texas led by Dee Duhe, shoes from the Buckner Foundation and underwear – a first for many of them – from several donors. They even received new reading material thanks to Adopt-a-Book!

 The older children are also moving along to new challenges. Now that our new sewing center is up and running, all the children are learning about needles and thread – and how to take care of and mend their often tattered clothing. The latest shipment we received included ELEVEN sewing machines, thanks to the miraculous Dee Duhe of Plano, Texas. So, not only are our young people now taking care of their own clothing, they’re mastering the basics of cutting and stitching as part of our vocational training program. Under the guidance of two girls who are long-time Zimkids, they are helping to make school uniforms that we will begin selling in November, when parents prepare for the new school year.

 Across the compound, other young people are building chairs as part of our carpentry vocational training program, even as their friends are welding shoe racks and figuring out the basics of design. We’ve already had our first orders for their creations – and are confident that more will follow!

 Some days, we look at the activity – planned and run by orphans who joined Zimkids seven or eight years ago – and marvel at their skills in organization and their ability to comfort so many young children who live in almost impossible situations at home. Life is incredibly difficult outside our walls: Water and electricity continue to be scarce, the economy has stalled, so unemployment is stagnating at about 90 percent; and the grandparents or other relatives who care for our orphans are staggering under the burden, all too often becoming indifferent if not abusive.

 But inside our gates, the Zimkids are smiling. If they are sick, or injured, or upset, they know that they’ll be cared for, whether by our counselor, our doctor, or one of their adopted older brothers and sisters. They never go hungry. And they are learning the skills, both personal and vocational, to build their own futures. What more could we want?

 There is one more thing: We’d love you and the American children you know to meet them via Skype. Now that our Internet is working most of the. We’re anxious to set up more conversations between Zimkids and American schools, kids’ clubs or church groups. Our Zimbabwean young people tend to be a bit shy, but we’ve been working to increase their comfortable level, both with the technology and with distant strangers. So if you know a group that might be interested in connecting contact us at dennis@zimkids.com. 

Links:

• For the latest Zimkids news
• Our website to see Zimkids overall programs