Welcome to our weekly news roundup! Here we share stories from each of our Villages about our Programs, celebrations, children, and staff. If you’d like to receive these updates via email, please subscribe to our newsletter.
This week we expanded our feeding program, opened new classrooms, and welcomed new faces!
Photo of the Week:
Bulale (Tanzania): Supporting Families in Need
Recently at VOH Bulale, we were made aware of five children from the surrounding community who were living in difficult situations. All five of these children come from very poor, over-burdened families. Most of these children come from large families who don’t make enough money to provide for all of the family’s needs. Sadly, this means providing basic needs like nutrition and education is out of reach for these precious children.
Thankfully VOH Bulale was able to help and we have enrolled all five in our program!
One of the new children is 3-year-old Salome who lives with her two sisters and two brothers, who are all cared for by a single mom. Their father abandoned the family, leaving the mother struggling to care for them.
It’s a privilege to help families like Salome’s and we are thankful that Salome and the other new children all have a bright future because they are now part of VOH Bulale and are receiving an education, medical care, and daily nutrition.
A big thank you to all those who support our work so we can make a difference in these children’s lives!
Chongwe (Zambia): Meet Elijah
VOH Chongwe would like you to meet Elijah. Elijah came to our Village 7 years ago, he is a single orphan. Elijah’s father died when he was just young and his life was very difficult. His mother was not able to meet his basic requirements and could not afford to send him to school.
Since joining the VOH Chongwe family, Elijah is doing extremely well socially and academically. He has developed a passion for mathematics and science and is hoping to be an Airline Pilot when he grows up!
We would like to thank our partners and sponsors for helping us change the future for children like Elijah!
Kitwe (Zambia): Welcoming the Parents Community School Committee
At VOH Kitwe we hosted the Parents Community School Committee (PCSC) meeting. The committee had an opportunity to be toured by our Village Director (Everlyn Chitente). They toured the grade 1 class, new ablution block (toilets), and saw our new minibus!
Everyone had a wonderful time and the committee was happy to meet and work with our Village administration.
Malawi: Supporting the Community of Kauma
Growing up in Kauma, Malawi has many challenges. Kauma Village has a population of approximately 40,000 people and over 40% are children under the age of 15. 1,000 of these children are orphans. Kauma also has a high unemployment rate; adults depend on small jobs like fetching water, selling wood, and washing clothes in order to earn a living.
VOH Malawi is located in the heart of Kauma Village providing basic care to many of the children in Kauma. Their smiling faces say it all!
Maramvya (Burundi): Expanding our Feeding Program
VOH Maramvya is very excited to start a lunch feeding program for our children! These children come from very poor families and the porridge they receive through our program is often the only meal they will eat in a day.
As of this month, we are so excited to be able to also start providing them with a second meal at lunchtime! The children are very happy and thankful for this new blessing.
We are so grateful to our donors and sponsors for making this all possible!
Mongu (Zambia): Examination Center Approval!
This week was an amazing week at the VOH Mongu school! After months of hard work by so many people, our school passed inspection and met the requirements for us to be fully registered as a Grade 12 examination center!
This is a tremendous achievement for us as the process can often take years and many schools do not get approved. It was such a blessing to celebrate this win with all of our teachers and staff! Thank you to everyone that supports our school and makes it possible for us to be the best of the best!
Mwanza (Tanzania): Mama Sale!
Recently at VOH Mwanza, we held what we call a “Mama Sale,” which is really a sale open to all staff at VOH Mwanza. From time to time we receive donations of clothes and shoes that are too large for our children and we gather them together and hold a special sale for staff, where we sell things at very low prices so every staff member can afford to purchase some items. The money raised goes towards our programs and helps us care for the VOH children.
Staff are always very excited for Mama Sale! We had so many things this time we were even able to give each community child’s parent/guardian 20 items of clothing free of charge!
Zimbabwe: Newly Renovated Classrooms
Last year at VOH Zimbabwe we embarked on a project to renovate some old buildings into new classrooms. The project was in partnership with our friends at Coquitlam Alliance Church in BC and Bayside Family Church in Parry Sound, Ontario.
It is wonderful to see the classes being put to use by children taking our “Fashion and Fabrics” and “Building” classes. These classes allow all our youth to develop skills that will help them become self-reliant!