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 took part in child health week, received fresh water, and played lots of sports!
Don’t forget to scroll all the way to the bottom to see our photo of the week!
Save the Date: Evenings of Hope 2019
Save the date for an evening of hope near you!
- Friday, September 27 in Kelowna, BC
- Saturday, October 5 in Ladner, BC
- Friday, October 11 in Ottawa, Ont
- Saturday, October 19 in Newmarket, Ont
- Friday, October 25 in Vancouver, BC
- Saturday, October 26 in Langley, BC
- Friday, November 1 in Comox, BC
And more dates to come!
Bulale (Tanzania): Meet Swaumu
VOH Bulale would like you to meet Swaumu. Swaumu is a little girl who is part of our school and nutrition program at the centre. She is 5 years old and in our pre-school class.
Swaumu has two younger siblings and together they all live with her mother in the nearby community. Her mother was deserted by their father so she is their sole caregiver.
Swaumu’s favourite activities are singing and dancing and she loves coming to school. She is so excited to be learning English and loves playing with all her friends in class.
We know Swaumu’s future is bright!
Sponsor a child like Swaumu! Visit: vohafrica.com/child-sponsorship
Bwiza (Burundi): PE Class!
This week at VOH Bwiza our preschool children played sports with their teachers!
Physical education is one of their subjects at school and they always have fun exercising their bodies and learning new skills. The teachers also use sports as a way to help build relationships between themselves and their students. They play together, laugh together, and have fun together.
We know these children are talented in different types of games and sports and we thank all of their teachers for always coming up with fun and interesting activities to teach them.
Chongwe (Zambia): Child Health Week
VOH Chongwe took part once again in Zambia’s annual Child Health Week. During this important week, our clinic distributed Vitamin A supplements, deworming medication, and vaccinations. They also did check-ups and weighed all of the children.
In addition, all of our female students aged 10-15 received free HPV vaccines, provided by the Ministry of Health Zambia to help protect them against cervical cancer.
At VOH Chongwe we are committed to raising healthy children and we are grateful for the government’s assistance.
Kitwe (Zambia): Computer Exam
This week at VOH Kitwe our grade 9 computer class had their end of term exams. The government of Zambia’s computer curriculum is done in two parts: practical and theory.
This week they were tested on the practical portion of the curriculum. These are very important exams and teachers from other schools come to join our VOH teachers so they can monitor the exam.
Our students are excited because they know they have studied to the best of their ability and believe they will be receiving good marks on their exams!
Malawi: Afternoon Clubs!
This week at VOH Malawi we started our afternoon clubs for all of our students. Twice per week, our students will have the opportunity to attend clubs such as Bible, sports, and art.
At these clubs they’ll have fun hearing Bible stories, singing songs, making artwork, playing sports, and doing other fun things with their classmates.
This week’s Bible club featured the story “Daniel and the Lion’s Den” and included an interactive retelling of the story, a fun craft, a song with actions, and a memory verse.
We’re very thankful for the Park family who is here for six weeks to help us roll them out.
Maramvya (Burundi): Water!
At VOH Maramvya we are excited to finally have our own onsite water. We have been on a waiting list to get a water line and tap installed at the Village and it has finally happened!
Since we opened we have been collecting water from outside the Village from the public taps. We used more than 30 cans a day to get enough water for cooking, cleanliness, and irrigation of our fields.
We thank the government of Burundi through REGIDESO, a Burundian national company in charge of the distribution of water and electricity. They went out of their way to give us water as quickly as possible after learning that it was for the benefit of orphans and vulnerable children.
Mongu (Zambia): Gifts from Sponsors!
We have been so blessed to have many visitors come up to VOH Mongu from America, South Africa, and Canada over the last few weeks! With all of these visitors, we often get the privilege of having some of our child sponsors come to meet their sponsored children and bring along some sweet presents for the kids as well.
This past trip, we had a group from Hope Church in South Africa and they brought up loads of gifts for our kids! Along with many general donations of baby clothes for our Save A Life Centre, clothes for our school children, mosquito nets, school supplies, and lots more, they also brought up individual presents for their sponsored children.
Mukena, Precious, Mubyana, and Charles were just four of the many children that received gifts and they were so excited to get such nice presents and letters from their sponsors.
Thank you so much to all of our sponsors for making it possible to care for our kids!
If you would like to sponsor a VOH child, visit vohafrica.com/child-sponsorship
Mwanza (Tanzania): Soccer Tournament
During the school break at VOH Mwanza, we organized a soccer tournament for the children. Both children who live onsite and some from the community participated in the tournament, which took place over several days.
It’s important for kids to stay active and also have lots to keep them occupied when on holiday from school. Soccer is a favourite pastime for most children here and everyone enjoyed the event.
The winning team received a trophy and are now the reigning champions!
Zimbabwe: Sports Competition
Sports is a very important part of a child’s development. At VOH Zimbabwe this week our children participated in competitions within our cluster. The teams that were competing included a boys soccer team, girls netball team, and boys and girls volleyball teams.
It’s amazing what comes out when children are given an opportunity to express themselves through sport. The teams did extremely well and some of the children have been selected to be part of the district team!
The new curriculum in Zimbabwe is emphasizing the importance of sports and other non-academic activities so even children who may not be academically strong and discover the areas they are talented in and be encouraged.