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 welcomed new teachers, wrote Christmas letters, and reached more students!
Don’t forget to scroll all the way to the bottom to see our photo of the week!
Bulale (Tanzania): Playing Teacher
Each morning at VOH Bulale our grade one class starts with a session to practice their reading skills. The students get to be the teacher for a little bit and they take turns going through some reading on the blackboard with their fellow students. This helps them practice reading out loud, pronunciation, and punctuation.
Since English is not their first language, it is important to take time at school to build each child’s confidence and understanding. Building a strong foundation in English and reading will help them as they continue their studies in future grades!
Bwiza (Burundi): Breakfast Feeding Program
At VOH Bwiza, we provide our children with breakfast each day before they go to school. Most of the children come from homes where there is little nutritious food available for them. Because a balanced diet plays a major role in the development and well-being of every child, every morning we provide them with a nutritious breakfast.
We have seen that cognitive development and the ability to focus and learn depends greatly on many different things, nutrition being one of them. We can see many changes in the lives of our children as they benefit from this nutritious care!
Chongwe (Zambia): Donation From ZNRFA
VOH Chongwe was blessed by a visit from members of NFRA (Zambia National Road Funds Agency). They came to see the work we are doing to help the community.
Their visit came with a blessing; they brought stationery products and cleaning supplies. They also took time to meet with our children where they encouraged the students to study hard and be serious at school.
Our children appreciated the visit and promised the NFRA team that they would work extra hard and will do their best to get good grades in the upcoming exams.
It is a joy to see that people in our area are recognizing the work we do to help orphaned and vulnerable children in our community!
Kitwe (Zambia): Christmas Letters!
It’s Christmas letter writing time at VOH Kitwe! the children enjoy writing to their sponsors at this time of the year to share how the year has been going, to thank them for their support, and to wish them a Merry Christmas!
Those that cannot yet write, make beautiful and colourful drawings. This is the perfect gift children can give their sponsors to express gratitude for their support and love.
Luongo (Zambia): Providing Education
At VOH Luongo, we would like to share the story of these two beautiful twin girls. They are 8 years old and stay with their parents in the Luongo community. Both of their parents are sadly unemployed and their living conditions are not good.
Previously, neither girl was able to attend school. Now, both girls are enrolled in our new VOH Luongo school!
Malawi: Meet Lukaya
Lukaya came to VOH Malawi when she was 3 years old and has been in our program for 3 years. She lives in the community of Kauma and can easily walk to Lilongwe Hope Academy, where she is now in grade one.
Lukaya lives with her mom and dad and has 2 brothers and 2 sisters. When Lukaya grows up she wants to be a teacher.
Her favourite part of attending Lilongwe Hope Academy is receiving porridge through our daily feeding program. Her favourite colour is yellow and her favourite animal is a goat.
When she is not at school, she loves helping her mom with daily household chores.
We are so thankful to all of our sponsors and supporters for helping us make a difference in young girls like Lukaya’s lives!
Maramvya (Burundi): Meet our New Teachers!
The new school year starts in September in Burundi and at VOH Maramvya, with the opening of our new classrooms, we also hired two new teachers, Etienne and Claude. We are thankful to be able to add to our staff to reinforce the positive impact that our school is having on our community.
Up until now, we had only two teachers for our pre-school students. Now, they will have more help as we continue to grow our staff.
We warmly welcome Etienne and Claude on the team!
Mongu (Zambia): Making Bracelets!
At VOH Malawi, we love seeing our children having fun, exploring, and getting creative.
Recently, Charlet’s mother Sharon came for a visit. During her visit, she joined up with Charlet, some of the house mothers, and Connie (our Save a Life Center therapist) to do motor skill-building activities with the kids. They all had fun singing and making rubber bracelets together.
We are grateful for the visit and the fun activities with the kids!
Mwanza (Tanzania): Donated Mosquito Nets
Recently at VOH Mwanza, we were happy to receive a special donation of treated mosquito nets. The donation came from the government through USAID (United Staes Agency for International Development). This is part of their Malaria Initiative program where they are trying to spread awareness and help with the prevention of malaria.
We received nearly 100 pieces and these went to our VOH kids who come from vulnerable families in the surrounding community. The children were happy to receive the nets and they were told of the importance of using them every night to help prevent getting sick with malaria.
We’re grateful for donations like these that help us to take great care of our kids!
Zimbabwe: Meet Tino
Tino was brought to us at VOH Zimbabwe through the Department of Social Services after his mother passed away giving birth to him. He was very young, malnourished, and sick. He came to us straight from the hospital because none of his relatives were willing to take him in.
We were able to take him into our VOH family and offer him a home, food, and much-needed medical attention. We vividly remember him being put on a special diet to boost his health.
Today, this little guy is healthy, smiling, and ready to start preschool in 2020!