Category Archives: Sponsorship Updates

Kath Parker, a World Vision Child Sponsor,  has just returned from meeting her sponsored child Ermelinda in Albania. Here she blogs about her wonderful experience and her perceptions of this incredible country.

Tirana, the capital

The manic dust of the traffic and noise of the constant horns is in sharp contrast to the extremely polite and generous friendly nature of the people. Take them out of a car, and the Albanian you meet on the street seems a genuinely friendly person. Even with the language barrier, through gestures, pointing and the occasional smattering of English and Italian, most people are enthusiastic to engage in conversation.

A typical apartment block in Tirana

Traveling away from Tirana the views changed from high-rise, coloured apartment blocks to square-shaped, 3-storey houses, often surrounded by a small field with one bony cow or tall haystack and the occasional shepherd with a small flock.

Eljona, a World Vision Albania staff member, explained how since the fall of communist state 20 years ago, the collective farms have been split up and many families now only own a very small piece of land; enough to grow a few vegetables, maybe some grapes, and one cow. Some of the more remote villages have not had any electricity for 60 years, and the occasional horse and cart can still be seen out here.

Eljona explained the correct way to greet other people was to ‘hug’ and on arrival at the project office I made a faux pas by hugging Gjert, the Area Development Project (ADP) manager, much to his surprise! The greetings clarified – hugs for women and children, shake hands for men – Gjert outlined the projects World Vision were working on here and the ones I would get to visit.

School visit

Meeting Ermelinda

After meeting the very friendly World Vision staff we paid a visit to Ermelinda’s school, which is relatively new at only 4 years old. Lessons had previously been taught in the local church.

The boys on the school council proudly explained the children are responsible for cleaning their own school: a great way to teach children about looking after their environment. I suggested this was also good for equality and when the boys are married with a home of their own, they will be able to help clean their house as many husbands in the UK do! This suggestion was greeted with great amusement, as it would be in any school I am sure.

The children were very interested in life in the UK and asked lots of questions about the London Olympics, where I lived and what I thought about their school and their country! They showed a really good grasp of English and an astute interest in politics.

Ermelinda and her classmates

They were surprised when I explained I didn’t live in London and I watched the Olympics on the TV because the tickets were really expensive! We also talked about aspects of our countries that are similar, such as farming of crops and raising animals such as sheep and cows, as well as corruption of politicians!

I asked the children how World Vision and the sponsorship project had helped their school. The children’s council was given some money and used it to buy curtains for the school and decorated it with flowers. They have created noticeboards on the walls for the pupils to display creative project work, and have arranged a visit to Kruja and its museum.

The children explained they meet regularly to organise activities to celebrate various festivals, and the lead for the organisation of these activities comes from the children themselves rather than the teachers. What a great way to learn planning and team-work skills!

Lunch with Ermelinda and her family

After our visit to the school, Eljona, Dennis and I went to a restaurant for lunch with Ermelinda, her parents and sisters and two of the teachers from the school. The children were very shy, but, through the excellent World Vision staff interpreting, we managed to have a little conversation over our meal. Terezina, Ermelinda’s mother, wanted to know all about my family, especially my parents and my niece, Solja, who I have sent lots of photos of. I was pleased to learn their eldest son, Augustini, is at university studying IT and Ermelinda has ambition to become a vet when she leaves school.                  

Receiving my wonderful gifts (I’m looking forward to wearing my bright pink slippers)

The Albanian tradition of bringing some fruit from your own garden when you meet a friend was enjoyed by all of us with Ermelinda’s family grapes – red and beautifully sweet.

We exchanged a few small gifts, and lots of hugs, and enjoyed a very special day. I received a splendid pottery eagle (the national symbol of Albania), beautiful hand-made knitted slippers and crocheted table mat.

I had tried to take what I hoped were practical gifts for Ermelinda’s family and a few special treats for her. For me, the photographs and memories are more important than gifts and the honour of being able to meet such a loving family and experience such a noble and proud people was the most moving part of my visit.

Take-home memories

The main impressions I have taken away with me of Albania, is the friendliness and generosity of the people. There is a lot of enthusiasm for working hard, especially among the school children, who are filled with energy and optimism to achieve their goals. The children I met were very respectful of their teachers, and adults generally, and conducted themselves in a mature, quietly confident manner.

I hope as Albania continues to develop economically as part of Europe, they are able to retain this strong culture of respect for others, their community spirit and close families. I also hope the individual children I met are able to pursue their ambitions with support from the State as well as organisations like World Vision.

If you have any questions for me about my trip you can post them here or on World Vision’s Facebook page. Click here to see photo album with more pictures of this amazing country.

Any views or opinions contained in this blog are those of the individual author and do not necessarily represent those of World Vision

Lisa Blunt, a World Vision Child sponsor, blogs about her recent trip to Malawi and all of the sights, sounds, smells and feelings that came with it.

Have you thought about visiting your sponsored child?  Fast-forward through the questioning of whether it is a waste of money or an investment for their future, through the CRB checks, injections and airports, through the meetings with WV officials talking about the theory, the projects and the aims and do it.  This month my hope to meet one of my church’s sponsored children, came true.

At last, we (I and two wonderful helpers from World Vision, Happy and Bornwell) are there, in remote Malawi, at the end of 6 hours driving, on rough and dusty tracks. I am excited and just trying to take it all in.  Then I recognise Sithembire – the girl my church has sponsored for 8+ years. We have seen her in photos grow from chubby cheeked youngster to a young woman. But here she is, slight and shy, holding out a bowl of brilliant bougainvillea – and we hug.

I had not known what to expect, but the welcome was extraordinary .  Even before we reach Sithembire’s village, we are flanked by excited children and welcomed with a ingoma dance from the men of her Ngoni tribe – all wrapped in animal skins with skin covered shields and spears.  Proudly they then walk in front of our jeep, leading us to the village and to Sithembire.  It is another world, her world.

The whole village is seated under the shade, benches are filled with local dignitaries and the master of ceremonies has his programme and from somewhere, chairs have been imported for us to use.  There is more spirited traditional dancing and formal introductions- including one expected from me. Finally Sithembire and I are allowed to go into her home to share the dishes of food,  donated by various households,  with her sisters, brothers, mother and aunts.

We read about basic life in a hut made of mud without water and electricity, but to see it, to smell it, to feel it was so meaningful.  In many small and not so small ways her life and those of her family and her village are being changed but not revolutionised.  She has better health with worming and bilharzia treatments, has improved sanitation and safe water from the bore hole, she sleeps under a mosquito net and,  at 18 years, is still enjoying school.

The reality of Sithembire’s life was not the only aspect that came alive with the visit.  Happy took me to the Pregnancy Wing of the Health Centre where the open waiting space was full of ladies at their first pre-natal class, to the HIV/Aids nurse who was working to identify those needing medication to prevent full blown Aids and to the headteacher of the area’s secondary school.

World Vision has worked with other partners to build a hostel for girls so they can attend the school safely and not walk 25 kilometres to school – or drop out of education.  At a meeting gathered to discuss Child Protection issues, some of World Vision’s partners or stakeholders talk about their advances and their concerns – the dairy cows are increasing and improving nutrition for many; the Magistrate is pleased that there are processes to deal with child abuse; three young people talked about their work on child labour and child work which is so important in their area because of the use – and poisoning – of children in the tobacco industry.

Working with partners to share the best use of resources, using people in the villages, like the lead mothers, to embed developments in the community and the way that World Vision offices reflect the African style of buildings were good to see (unlike the EU and UN that seems to spend a fortune on modern glass buildings, landscaping and the biggest 4x4s).

One of the most poignant moment was watching Sithembire work through her answer to the question ‘What do you most want?’  She started with ‘a mobile phone’ – that would be cool and modern.  But quickly she realised that she could not afford to run it and then said ‘a bicycle’ so she could ride the 6 kilometres to school and carry a brother or sister to the Health Centre when they are ill.  But finally, she opted for a roof for their home.  At the moment the sun is making a dappled pattern on the mud floor, but in two months the rains will be there.  Young people grow up quickly in Malawi.  Hopefully, a large tarpaulin will help for this year.

To go or not to go? If you can, do visit – you will be changed but also your sponsored child, their family and their village will respond with great joy and enthusiasm – and hope! And if you have any questions for me, about my trip or what life is like for children in Malawi please feel free to post them here or on World Vision’s Facebook page.

Any views or opinions contained in this blog are those of the individual author and do not necessarily represent those of World Vision

In his latest blog from South Africa, James Butler talks about some of the inspiring World Vision projects he’s visited and the amazing hope they are giving to the women involved.

We leave Dieketseng’s village and head to another one nearby. Unlike an English village, with houses all packed together, often round a village centre, villages here are large sprawling affairs, stretching for miles, with each property having a patch of land, and there often being gaps between houses. I am sure it is only chaotic to the untrained eye, but I can imagine a British town planner having kittens if they saw this.

We head off the main tarred road onto a side street, then this tar road peters out into a gravel track, then the gravel track peters out into a dirt trail, and we are grateful we hired an SUV and not the VW Polo back in Johannesburg! As the road deteriorates, so does the standard of housing. We know from Ledile that this part of the ADP is in the most need, and it shows.

Ledile, Bellina and Maite, wonderful World Vision staff members, at the Piggery Project

On the very very edge of the village, beyond which lies bush not dissimilar to the vegetation we see in the wildlife parks, we see a very smart sign telling us we have arrived at the Phafogang Piggery Project, supported by World Vision
We are excited to see this project, because the community group we help run, Choko, is due to support more of these projects in 2012/13, so we are keen to see how they work and what difference they make. We are welcomed by the ladies who run this women’s co-operative. We are immediately reminded of some advice we were given at our hotel (the amazing Rissington Inn in Hazyview) – that the standard salutation for black South Africans, when speaking English, is to say “How are you?” as you shake hands. The standard reply is “I am fine, how are you?” To which the first person replies “I am fine” – and this happens irrespective of whether anyone is fine or not! As we hear this for about the tenth time today, we realise how true it is!

The piggery project is essentially about 15 pig sties built in two continuous rows, with an alley down the centre. I raised pigs on a smallholding as child, and this surpasses what we had in Norfolk in the early 80s. Nearest to us, the pen is filled by two large sows, making quite a noise because it is near feeding time. Further down are suckling sows and very cute piglets.In total there are about 100 pigs we are told.

Proudly showing off the certificate for entrepreneurship

The leader of the ladies shows us a certificate they have already won in a local competition for entrepreneurship. She is very proud, and deserves to be. Ledile explains to us how the project works. The ladies raise the pigs from one (very contented) male. After 8 months the pigs are large enough to be of interest to the local butcher, and the ladies can sell them.

World Vision has given these ladies support to build the pens, and purchase feed in that initial eight month cycle. Running a business myself back in England, I can see how there is a need for a lot of capital to start this project – building materials and the eight months of feed etc – before any income is created through meat sales. World Vision also help with the business and banking skills, and by getting the state vet and advisors to visit the project and help the ladies. Then Ledile explains that the pigs’ final journey to the abattoir happens in her pickup truck, and she is quick to establish that the ladies must clean the truck afterwards (and not on the outside!). With motor vehicles so scarce here, you can see the value of the ADP truck.
Now these ladies are established, and the income is starting to come in, they are making a profit and re-investing in new buildings to expand production. With professional advice from the Dept of Agriculture they are learning about disease control and improving productivity. With support from the ADP they are gaining business skills, and Ledile is doing her usual job of bringing in outside agencies where possible, and building the confidence and capacity of these ladies to run their own business.

The co-operative consists of ten women, plus 27 other staff who are paid on some sort of welfare-to-work scheme the government runs. So almost 40 people are deriving an income from the project. And with employment so scarce, this probably means over 100 people directly sustained day to day by this project alone. And, once they are over this initial start-up phase, the project is totally self-sustaining. It is a cliche I know, but this is a classic example of World Vision’s mantra of ‘a hand up, not a hand-out’.

We have quite a tour of the piggery: each sty has ‘Room 5′ or ‘Room6′ etc above it on the roof beam – the ladies clearly have a sense of humour. They also have a (justified) sense of pride. I think back to the Sugar Man the previous day, and the way one guy was treated by his employer, and I realise the value in these ladies creating their own employment. Not only does this keep the profits within the village, it generates self-respect, something that generations of apartheid systematically tried to remove from them.

Another facet of the World Vision approach springs to mind – the use of local staff to run the ADPs, and this becomes so valuable in a situation like this. Ledile is one of them, not some ‘big white chief’ sent in to tell the locals what to do. As a result, these women feel empowered by her help, rather than reinforcing the institutional belief that they need to ask a white person what to do. Amazing.

If you’ve got any questions for me about what South Africa is like or would like to know more about my trip please feel free to post them below. You could also take a look at yesterday’s blog if you wanted to read more.

Any views or opinions contained in this blog are those of the individual author and do not necessarily represent those of World Vision.

Following on from his previous blog James Butler, a World Vision Child Sponsor, decribes the bittersweet time he spent with his sponsored child’s family.

We left the school and drove round to Dieketseng’s house - the signs of progress were immediately evident.  A tarmac road now runs through her village, new since our last visit in 2009. What difference does this make, when so few people have cars?  Apparently, tarred roads mean the taxi-minibuses will now venture into the village, making travelling to work quicker and more feasible.  Whilst employment is still scarce, improved travel links makes getting one of the few jobs that bit easier.

With Dieketseng and her family

The new road means we arrive at Dieketseng’s house from a different direction.  We wouldn’t have recognised it anyway, because a whole new building has been built in their garden.  Bellina explains that this is an “RDP house” – a government project that helps families in need.  This new property has electricity, and they at last have long-drop toilets in the garden.  Boasting four rooms rather than the two in the old house, it gives Dieketseng’s family so much more space – and she at last has her own bedroom. This is a huge improvement in their day to day existence, which is pleasing to see.

We are greeted by Joseph and Angelique, Dieketseng’s parents, and it is like we are returning to our own family.  They both look very unwell, and are struggling to breathe, but we respect their privacy and do not ask directly about their health.  Although, Ledile teases Joseph about the impact of his roll-ups on his coughing, especially as he uses strips of old newspaper in place of a Rizla!

Dieketseng proudly introduces us to her niece, only a few weeks old, and she is adorable, though the presence of alien white faces seems to distress the new-born, so we retreat to a safe distance!

 Joseph says (through Ledile as interpreter) how he has missed us, and thought of us a lot over the last three years.  He explains how much they value our sponsorship, and the love we show for them and for Dieketseng.  We explain that we have a picture of her in our lounge and our office at home, and think of them all every day.

We present our gifts, and it is a strange feeling.  In England we would take a bottle of wine or some flowers when we visit, and it is slightly uncomfortable to present bags of mealie meal, salt and beans, ferried from the car in a wheelbarrow.  But they seem genuinely thankful, and with virtually no income coming into the household of five people, including a new-born infant, they are probably the most useful things we can bring.

We want Dieketseng to feel special though, so we have some small gifts for her.  Some clothes and some materials for school, which she greets with equal excitement. We tell her she can practice writing her English in the writing pad we have given her.  Seeing her open the present, we are reminded of the first time we met her, when she just held the gift-wrapped parcel, because she had never been given anything wrapped in her life and didn’t know what to do.  Humbling.

 Dieketseng disappears and returns with a gift for us.  How can you explain that the opportunity to meet them, and help their community in some way, is all the gift we could ever need?  Placed in just a carrier bag, it is still a joy to receive – and it is a wall ornament in the shape of Africa, with our names on.  simple but beautiful.  It transpires it was made by Dieketseng’s uncle.

The wonderful plaque from Dieketseng’s family

This is such a strange time.  We have looked forward to this moment for years, and the minutes just ebb away.  With the language barrier and even greater gulf in our daily living standards, what on earth does one talk about?  So, all of us fall back on what families do all over, we put pressure on the teenager by asking about their schooling, and what career plans they have.  Dieketseng has three more years at school, after which she wants to join the police force (last time she wanted to be a nurse!). 

Ledile explains to us that now Dieketseng must work hard to get the best grades.  Dieketseng looks at her feet, feeling the pressure, and I can just imagine my nieces and nephews in the same situation in England.  I wonder what Northern Sotho is for “Whatever”. We want to see lots of the successful projects around the ADP and Dieketseng must get back to school, but none of us seem to want this time to end.  Will we ever come back, will we see them again, how will their lives play out in the meantime? The briefness of this time with the family is precious and painful at the same time.

Before we go, Dieketseng dissappears into the house again (we are sat on plastic chairs in the shade of the wall in the garden – a relief because it is 35 degrees and the sun is scorching, and my bald head wasn’t designed for African skies).  She emerges with another of these Africa-shaped wall hangings, but this time it isn’t a gift for us.  This is their wall-hanging, that they have in their home.  As we realise what it is, lumps form in throats and tears form in our eyes.  It is headed “Our Family” and is a picture of us with all of Dieketseng’s family from our last visit.  They have so few possessions, and almost nothing ornamental in the whole house, yet here is a picture of us, as part of their family.  The emotion rips through my mind, and it is hard not to weep.  I feel so lucky to have experienced this love.

But now we must leave, and anguished hugs are exchanged with everyone, except the newborn, who we have traumatised enough by our mere presence it seems.  We walk as slowly as possible to the car, dragging out the experience and milking every moment, but before we know it, we are dropping Dieketseng back at school, she is walking back to her classmates and we are fighting back the tears.  The sweetness of sharing time with her is, in that moment, overwhelmed by the bitter feeling of having to part.  Deep breaths, and a few tears, in the car and we are off to see some of the community projects the ADP is supporting. I’ll tell you more about some of these fantastic projects in tomorrow’s blog.

Any views or opinions contained in this blog are those of the individual author and do not necessarily represent those of World Vision.

 In his second blog instalment from South Africa James Butler writes about day two of his trip and visiting his sponsored child’s school.

Early Start

Getting up at 5:30 am on holiday doesn’t seem quite right, but we need an early start to get to the project for 9am.  It is quite a drive, and the road will be busy with schoolchildren, unpredictable pedestrians and even less predictable cattle.

We couldn’t sleep anyway.  A mix of excitement at seeing Dieketseng, her family and the work of the ADP, and trepidation because we know we will experience a challenge to our emotions today.  We’ve done this before, which helps because we know what to expect – but is also tough, because we know what to expect.  We just pray that today we see more hope than despair.

An emotional morning

Finally we arrive at the ADP, a modest collection of small buildings where we know from previous visits great work is done.  Ledile, the project manager, and Maite her colleague greet us warmly.  They welcome us back to their project like long lost friends, which in a way we are.

We start with the all-important briefing and paperwork, so we can be sure we are safe here, and they can be sure we will be responsible in our contact with children while we are here.  It is easy to dismiss this formality as too much and unnecessary (after all, do we look like a threat to children?), but then we remember a talk from World Vision UK staff, and how real a threat it is, and we are grateful this much effort is put into protecting the children.

Next we meet Bellina again, the community development worker who walks the villages in the ADP, making sure all the sponsored children are safe and well.  She has spoken with Dieketseng’s family just a few days ago, so we are eager to hear news.  Sadly, it is not good news.  Both of Dieketseng’s parents are unwell – we hope just a chest infection, nothing life threatening, but It does mean they haven’t been able to work, and that has grave implications for all of them.

Since our previous visit in 2009 Dieketseng has moved up to secondary school, so our first stop is different this time – we are going there to take her out of lessons briefly to go home to see her family.  As we draw up at the school gates, about half a dozen children are outside the gate.  They were late this morning, and must wait until break to be allowed in!

Cool Teenagers

Soon after entering the school grounds we are introduced to the Principal and, it seems, every member of the staff.   Handshakes and friendly smiles are exchanged.  Here handshakes are no cursory affair, and are more akin to a rapper’s greeting on the streets of Harlem.  First you shake hands, then you lock thumbs, then you shake hands again, all the while holding your right elbow with your left hand.  It makes for a lengthy interchange with a dozen or so teachers!

Break time starts and many of the 700 pupils mill about – we are quite a novelty and worth a look, it would appear.  And then, amongst a sea of faces, we spy Dieketseng. She is older, of course, but unmistakable, and her beaming smile shows she is pleased to see us!  Now we must take pictures with all the staff, and Dieketseng, and you can see she is enjoying being the centre of attention, as any 15year old might. 

With Dieketseng and her friends

She looks a little nervous when we ask her teacher if she is a good pupil, but he is only complimentary.  He does well to know, given that we are told she has 56 teenagers in her class.  We certainly don’t envy him!

We start to go, but Dieketseng has a request – can we take a photo with her best friend?!  Happy to help, we wait while she rushes off to find her one friend.  But obviously she wants more than one to join in the attention and be cool for the day – so she comes back with a gaggle of friends.  Amongst much giggling, we manage to get a photo of us and the group of girls – something we can send to her in our next letter.

In my next blog I’ll tell you all about the bittersweet time we spent with Dieketseng’s family. If you’d like to hear a bit more about my time here you could take a look at my first blog.

Also, if you’ve got any questions for me feel free to post them here and I’ll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks.

Any views or opinions contained in this blog are those of the individual author and do not necessarily represent those of World Vision.

James Butler, a long-term World Vision supporter, is in South Africa right now. Take a look at the first instalment of his blog as he reflects on the joy and challenges of being back there.

 
We’ve travelled a lot before, so we were ready for the flurry of activity, sorting out injections, travel money and anti-malaria tablets.  But this time it is all wrapped up in the excitement of seeing Dieketseng.  How will she react to meeting us?  How will we react to seeing her and her family?  Our packing list was extended – what gifts could we take that would be appropriate for a fifteen year old from a totally different culture? 

And then there were the other gifts kindly donated by friends and acquaintances – some used football kit for children in the project, some pens and pencils for the schools, where we know resources are so limited.  And perhaps most bizarrely, an advent calendar from our primary school (yes, it is August) because they had come up in correspondence earlier this year with Dieketseng, so we had to take an example to explain.  Thank God we convinced BA to give us some extra baggage allowance!

Touching down in Africa

After a long flight, watching the whole continent pass below us on the in-flight map, finally we land at O R Tambo airport and we’re in South Africa.  Returning after a few years, we can see the improvements made in infrastructure – the airport buildings are massively improved and all the facilities rival Heathrow.  Luckily, this time the baggage handlers are not on strike and we are soon on our way towards Limpopo.

Once clear of the airport and the city outskirts, all those things one forgets about South Africa come flooding back.  Everywhere is brown – such a contrast to green and verdant Oxfordshire and an indication of how water is a scarce resource here.  Attitudes to personal safety are so very different – one rarely sees pedestrians, or animals, on the M4 at home, but here both are common place.  And, most heart-wrenching of all, are the townships – mile after mile of tin shacks, clearly lacking sanitation and providing a desperate environment to raise a family.  Such a contrast to our air-conditioned comfort in our rented SUV.

The Sugar Man

Buying gifts for a sponsored child is a moral minefield.  We have so much and, materially at least, they do not.  What would be a small sum for us would be a significant sum for them.  But we want to be sensitive, to not appear ostentatious or patronising.  Perhaps that’s our Britishness?  Unfailingly worried about being polite, about doing the ‘right thing’. 

All of that is a long-winded way of explaining why we ended up at the Sugar Man this afternoon.  We had bought some little gifts for Dieketseng, but had learnt from a previous visit that useful household items made good gifts for the family.  The Sugar Man is the trading store that sells the sorts of food rural black South Africans eat every day.  This was nothing like Tescos or Waitrose.  Essentially a warehouse unit, there were no frills and goods were just stacked on racking from floor to ceiling.  That air of chaos which permeates much of African commerce was certainly in abundance.  But the owner (Afrikaans and a symbol of the economic apartheid that seems to pervade longer than the abandoned political apartheid) was very helpful and was keen to ensure we created a box of provisions that would serve Dieketseng’s family for weeks to come.

And this was post-apartheid South Africa in a nutshell.  Theoretically equal, but systemically divided on colour lines.  The Afrikaaner shop owner was full of respect for us, probably the first white customers she had had this year.  Yet she barked orders at her black staff, physically punched one of them at one point and left us embarrassed and awkward that the poor staff had taken this abuse in order to serve us.  When you live in a liberal circle of friends in multicultural Britain, you just cannot understand how someone’s character changes instantly, purely on the basis of skin colour.  And I am sure she didn’t know she was doing it.

Now well-stocked with gifts we were ready to visit Dieketseng and her family. I’ll tell you all about our wonderful reunion in our next blog.

In the mean time if you’ve got any questions for us about South Africa or our trip please feel free to post them below and we will get back to you as soon as we can.

Any views or opinions contained in this blog are those of the individual author and do not necessarily represent those of World Vision.

 I don’t know if I’ll ever go back to Zimbabwe, but I’ve breathed in enough Zimbabwean dust this week that I feel Zimbabwe will never leave me!  These notes don’t really do justice to such a wonderful week, but I hope they give a flavour of what my sponsor visit was like.  It’s too hard to explain what it feels like to see hope in the eyes of a child, to hear success stories from people close to giving up and to know that my small amount of money each month has something to do with it.   

So, we are gearing up to leave Zimbabwe but have an opportunity to see some of the work that World Vision is doing besides child sponsorship.  This is exciting – I’ve already told you about meeting the beneficiaries of some goats which provide milk, meat and the ability to pay for school fees, and now I’d like to share some other remarkable ventures. 

Community Milling 

We went on to a project where a community have put together a group who organise milling of corn.  World Vision has provided a grinding mill and the community have hired a room and a grinder and they grind maize into flour.  The profits, which are made through charging for grinding other people’s maize, are being used to pay school fees for orphans and vulnerable children in the community.  The community leaders were so proud of what they have been able to achieve due to World Vision that they invited other beneficiaries to come and meet with us. 

We were greeted with Dancing and singing

We were expecting to meet with 6 or 7 people so imagine our surprise when we walked into a room of over 100 people.  They all sang for us and were pleased to stand up and say how they were being helped to look after the orphans of their communities.  Some had been provided with sewing machines and were selling clothes, some had been given goats and some farming supplies and seeds.  All of the people present were working to help others.  We had taken a short DVD to show them how people in the UK were raising money for them, and had a small laptop to show it on.  We had not expected so many people and so while Ian showed the DVD a number of times so that they could all crowd around and see it, Saul and I took the children outside and played with bubbles and balloons with them.  We were ambushed!!  It was a great fun time for us as children of all ages joined in and enjoyed us blowing balloons up and then letting them go while they chased after them!

 A Revitalised Health Clinic

6 ½ years ago we were able to visit a clinic that World Vision had helped build.  The nurses’ homes were built, the waiting area, the surgery and even some houses for expectant mothers to stay in while they waited for the birth of the babies.  Unfortunately it was not being used as there was a big problem with stagnant water and supplying clean water, and also problems with staffing.  I had really wanted to revisit this clinic but wasn’t sure it was possible. 

 Imagine my delight when we drove into the clinic to see washing on the line of the nurses’ station, solar panels to provide a small amount of electricity, expectant mothers staying in the homes and nurses with patients clearly being treated!  The lead nurse explained that they were finally able to open 5 years ago and it was just in time for a bad outbreak of cholera.  Without the clinic, many people would not have been able to reach the next local doctor and would have died.  Having this clinic was a real life saver.  They currently see approximately 50 cases of malaria a week and are able to treat the sufferers who would not necessarily have been able to travel the longer distance to a different clinic. The clinic still has many needs and is overworked due to the massive area it covers and the many illnesses presented, but they are happy and grateful for the opportunity to work in this needy area.

Growing  Young Gardeners

Children tending their garden

Our last World Vision project was one that will remain in our hearts a long time.  All 3 of us came away from it feeling inspired and enthused.  We met a man named Retson and his family.  Knowing that we were to visit, Retson had invited many of his neighbours (remember no-one lives next door, so they all had to travel some distance) so that everyone could learn something from his garden, and meet English people.  A few years ago, Retson had some land on a steep hill in Northern Zimbabwe.  He wanted to farm the land and so, against the advice of the local people, he began to make his hillside flat enough to farm.   This is still a work in progress and will continue to be so for some time. 

He now has an amazing garden full of fruit and vegetables including: avocado, peach, pomegranate, tomatoes, beans, peas, onions, bananas and many, many more things.  He explained how he set up a terraced irrigation system fed by a natural spring, how he plants so that he has natural pesticides rather than using chemicals and how he never burns anything as he uses all natural rubbish as mulch instead of fertiliser.  The other local farmers were having this translated for them into Shona so that they could use the same ideas in their own gardens to make them more profitable.  He is now helping about 20 orphans and vulnerable children (a vulnerable child may have only one parent or may be suffering from a physical disability) by paying their school fees from his profits. 

Simba, one of the keen young gardeners

However, he is not satisfied to give them just the basics of what they need: food, shelter and education.  He has a dream that every child should have something more in life.  In order to achieve this dream, he has set aside one area in the garden that the children are in charge of.  He has planted it with tomato plants and has estimated how many tomatoes should be harvested from that size area.  When these tomatoes are sold, he should be able to afford to send these children on their first ever holiday.  It may only be to the local town (approx. 60kms away) for one night, but as none of the children have ever been there before it will be wonderful for them. 

All of the other neighbours also have children to support through school and they face similar needs to Retson.  The farms are being trampled by cattle due to lack of fencing and those with water are unable to keep fish as small reptiles and large birds keep stealing them.  It is an easy solution for us, but so difficult for them to raise enough money to pay school fees and buy fencing – which one is most important?  For them, they feel the children are!  Retson explained how much of his learning and some of his set up equipment came from World Vision and how he thanked God for all the help he has received.  His son is helping out in the garden so that he can learn to continue this work for many years to come.  We were treated to a meal of local food at the end of this visit and enjoyed having to eat it with our fingers, which is the way they would normally eat!  Great fun this once, but I do enjoy my knife and fork and clean fingers!!

 I hope to be able to share more of my experience with people face to face over the coming months.  A few groups of people have already expressed an interest to hear more and Ian, Saul and I will be visiting them as soon as we can.  If there is more you’d like to know, please ask … and if you ever get the opportunity to visit your sponsored child … GO!

Please do ask if you have any questions about our time here in Zimbabwe. And if you’ve been inspired and would like to sponsor a child you can do it here. Thank you.

In her 4th blog World Vision Sponsor Samantha talks about visiting the school that her sponsored children attend…

Bright and early we set off on our way to the school that our sponsored children Prescilla and Precious go to.  We went via a different area to visit a child called Beauty who is sponsored by a church where some friends of ours attend.  This was another experience!  There was no road OR dirt track to her home and we went off road and just hung on to the car hoping to stay upright! 

Giving Beauty her gift

Beauty’s home was slightly smaller (only 3 huts) than Prescilla’s home, but we were made to feel very welcome.  The weather was quite cold and so we were taken inside where a fire was burning.  Again, the men were given seats and the women were on the floor while introductions were made.  We had been given gifts for Beauty from the church and it was now time to give them over. 

Unfortunately you may remember that one of our bags went missing during our journey to Zimbabwe … this bag had the gift for Beauty in and when we got our bag back, that gift was missing!  We had replaced it as best we could and we still had the letter and photographs to hand over.  These gifts went down very well with Beauty and her family.  We were so privileged to be spending time with this family and to hear how they have been assisted by World Vision.  The parents had quite good English and were keen to extend their thanks to Astcote Methodist Church. 

We left Beauty and headed on to Prescilla & Precious’s school.  As we drove in we saw approximately 120 children sitting outside waiting for us!  This was not what we were expecting as the school is closed for the winter holidays, but these children had come to see the Sponsors!  We were given school desks to sit at as the children performed for us.  They recited bible verses and poems and then Prescilla took part in a choir singing to us and then in traditional dancing. 

The school children at Prescilla and Presious’s school

We were able to hand over gifts for the school and then to share in some chicken in the head teachers office.  This in itself was great as last time we were here the office was out of use as the roof had been blown off and so we had done some fundraising to provide a roof – good to see it put to use! 

I was given some time to talk to the children which was intimidating as my Shona is non-existent and their English is developing at best!  So, with translation I was able to express some of my feelings for the work that the teachers were doing and also to encourage the children in their studies.  The children lined up in their outside assembly area to receive a pencil each from our gift to commemorate the event of a sponsor visiting their school.  I offered the teachers a job swap for a term or two as the opportunity to work in constant sunshine appeals, but I’m thankful they took it for a joke as I’m not sure I could cope with no toilets!!

After saying a final good-bye to Prescilla, Precious and their mother we drove away.  I don’t expect I’ll see the girls again, but I’m hopeful for their future as things have definitely improved for them over the past 6 years and look set to continue improving.  They may not have lots of material goods, but they want for nothing and have prospects due to an education and a healthy start in life.

We got to finish the day with this rather lovely sunset

Later in the day we went to see some children who have benefitted from a project run by World Vision which gives them some goats.  They take the goats, breed them and then sell the offspring or use them for meat.  The project raises money through this and the money pays for the vulnerable children (many of whom are orphans) to go to school.  Speaking to the these children and the guardians who care for them, it was so good to hear their stories and dreams for the future.  The children are all attending a local school and are taking care of the goats too.  They hope to make enough money to buy some cattle and breed them.  There is such a positive feeling here and it is infectious!

If you’ve got any questions for me or my family about our trip or what life is like for children here in Zimbabwe please post them below and we will get back to you as soon as we can. You could also take a look at my previous blog if you want to know more or take a look at our photo album on Facebook.

Samantha Turvey is an enthusiastic World Vision sponsor. She is travelling in Zimbabwe with her family, and blogging about her experience and how this amazing country has changed since her last visit 6 years ago.