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 school break ended and we prepared for back to school excitement!
Don’t forget to scroll all the way to the bottom to see our photo of the week!
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- Kelowna: Friday, September 27
- Winnipeg: Friday, October 4th
- Ladner: Saturday, October 5
- Ottawa: Friday, October 11
- Toronto: Saturday, October 19
- Vancouver: Friday, October 25
- Langley: Saturday, October 26
- Comox: Friday, November 1
Latest Blog “Where Are They Now: Joyce”
Bulale (Tanzania): Bible Club!
Recently at VOH Bulale, we held our monthly Bible Club and, for the first time, we opened it up to the community. In addition to the 71 children who attend our onsite school, we had another 55 children from the surrounding community join us. This gave us a total of 126 children!
It was a great morning filled with songs, Bible stories, and games. The children had a wonderful time together and enjoyed a tasty snack.
Next month we think there will be even more who attend as we expect these children will invite their friends.
We are grateful for the opportunity to reach out to the community and to share the love of Jesus with so many children!
Bwiza (Burundi): School Startup!
After more than a month of summer holidays, our VOH Bwiza children are going back to school.
The teachers and volunteers are busy preparing for the children so that everything is ready for school startup.
We are so thankful that we can provide notebooks, pens, bags, shoes, and other school supplies for our children. A big thank you to all of our donors and supporters for making this possible. The children are more than excited to come and be blessed with a full school package!
Chongwe (Zambia): Back to School!
It’s back to school again at VOH Chongwe! School has opened for the last and final quarter of the 2019 academic year. The students are excited to be back and to see their friends again.
During this final term, our grade 7, 9, and 12 students will all be writing Government exams. These exams start in only three weeks. We wish the students who will be writing them all the best.
This is the first year that our school has gone up to grade 12 and we look forward to celebrating our first high school graduates at the end of the year!
Kitwe (Zambia): Teachers’ Workshop
This week, VOH Kitwe organized a teachers’ workshop as part of our teachers’ continuous professional development. The workshop was facilitated by the Kitwe School District co-ordinator, Mr. Tembo.
The main objective was to discuss classroom management and the qualities of a good teacher.
The workshop was a success and once it was over, they all had lunch together and took a group photo!
Malawi: Staff Retreat
This week at VOH Malawi we had a staff retreat! The new school year will be starting soon, so in preparation for that, we wanted to appreciate and encourage the wonderful team we have here in Malawi.
We set aside an entire day to spend in a beautiful garden at the foot of Bunda Mountain. We enjoyed times of fellowship, delicious food, and encouraging biblical teachings.
Our theme was “Our Identity in Christ” as seen through the writings of Paul in Ephesians. The message was a powerful one and we were reminded of our value in God’s eyes and that we are considered his true sons and daughters–not only us but the children we serve as well.
Maramvya (Burundi): Welcoming New Students!
At VOH Maramvya, we are excited to enrol new children for the coming school year, which starts this week. We had many children apply for our preschool and this week, we had the opportunity to meet with these sweet kids and introduce them to each other.
The staff had a fun time with the newcomers and we look forward to what God has in store for these precious lives through the ministry of VOH!
Mongu (Zambia): Team from Pediatrics Plus
We loved hosting a team from a therapy clinic called Pediatrics Plus in America here at VOH Mongu this week!
The team brought over 5 occupational therapists, 3 speech therapists, and one registered nurse to help us at our clinic and therapy department.
They were a huge blessing as they brought over 5 full suitcases full of donations that included therapy equipment and resources, clothes for the kids at our Save A Life Centre, resources for the mothers in our homes, and many other helpful and fun items!
They helped us by fixing up our new therapy area and offered guidance on how to treat certain children that come for therapy. They also worked with our house mothers on new early childhood development activities. Last, but not least, they hosted a fun day that was open to the community.
This was such an amazing team and we were so blessed to have them with us in Mongu for the week. Thank you for coming, Pediatrics Plus!
Mwanza (Tanzania): Expanding our Discipleship Programs
At VOH Mwanza discipleship is a major program and recently we have been adding new aspects to the program to strengthen it.
We introduced morning prayers into our school schedule. Children pray in several ways: they commit the day to God, they pray for their studies, they pray for any children who are struggling in any way, and they pray for all of their teachers and the entire VOH community.
Every week the children gather for chapel and discipleship classes by age. They sing songs, learn stories from the Bible and have time to ask questions and discuss.
And, most recently, our teachers added a program called “Our Weekly Bread.” Teachers print out a memory verse from the Bible and put it in every class for all of the students and staff to read each day. At the end of the week, we see who can remember the verse.
Zimbabwe: Bright Smiles!
At VOH Zimbabwe a good friend of ours came to bless the children and their caregivers with toothbrushes and toothpaste so they can keep their beautiful smiles.
It was a happy time for everyone and we would like to express our gratitude to Dr. Marj Pettinger for her kind donation. Her gift will surely keep the children’s smiles clean and bright!