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 returned from the Christmas break, received exam results, and distributed mosquito nets!
Bulale (Tanzania): Starting the School Year
In Tanzania, the new school year begins in January and at VOH Bulale, our students are ready for the upcoming year!
Recently every child received a new school uniform for the new school year. Children in all schools in Tanzania wear uniforms and the children at VOH Bulale take great pride in wearing them.
They were very happy to get their new uniforms and are now ready to tackle the new school year in style!
Bwiza (Burundi): Christmas Celebration!
At VOH Bwiza, we had a wonderful Christmas weekend with all our children. We had time to sing together, remembering what God has done in our lives. Children and Staff performed different presentations: songs, poems, bible verses, and many other things.
To conclude the event, we shared a special meal with all the staff and children and everyone was happy.
We wish all our friends, sponsors, and partners a very happy new year in 2020!
Chongwe (Zambia): Grade 7 Exam Results
Our grades 7, 9, and 12 students at VOH Chongwe wrote their Government exams last year between November and December. The results have started coming out, starting with the grade 7s.
The children have made us proud by getting excellent results, beating those from a nearby private school that has led in the past years.
We recorded a 100% pass rate! This has made the guardians, parents, and VOH Chongwe staff extremely happy.
The grade 9 and 12 results will be out soon.
Kitwe (Zambia): Visit from Maranatha Church
During the Christmas season, VOH Kitwe was visited by the ladies from the Maranatha Church of the PAOG (Z). They came and interacted with our VOH children who attend school from the nearby communities.
The ladies were happy to hear the children and their siblings share how much they enjoy receiving the HEPS (high energy protein supplement) porridge each day. The ladies shared from the Bible and then everyone enjoyed a snack together.
Everlyn, our Director, thanked and commended the ladies for taking the time to come and show love and care to our children.
The children enjoyed the program and loved their special Christmas treat!
Luongo (Zambia): Distributing Mosquito Nets!
VOH Luongo children and staff were excited to receive mosquito nets this week.
Luongo records a high number of malaria cases because of its location and mosquito nets are important due to the prevalence of malaria cases during the warm and rainy season.
With so many cases of malaria reported in Zambia, we must see to it that our children are safe and healthy so they can attend school regularly.
This was an exciting and welcome move for the caregivers of the children to see that children are loved and cared for!
Malawi: Christmas Celebration
This week at VOH Malawi we wanted to share with you all the fun we had at our Lilongwe Hope Academy Christmas celebration. Each class took turns sharing songs, poetry, and dances. Our staff also sang a beautiful chorus of Silent Night.
Our theme was “Jesus Our True Hope” with Romans 15:13 as theme verse.
We want to say the same prayer for you and all those who invest in the ministry of VOH. “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Maramvya (Burundi): Protecting Against Malaria
At VOH Maramvya, we had the opportunity to distribute mosquito nets to our students and their caregivers as we also delivered their end of year exam results.
Malaria kills many children and adults in Burundi and throughout Africa. We are so thankful to receive this net donation from Cross Church Canada so we can share them with our children and the local community.
We are very happy that our children are protected against malaria!
Mwanza (Tanzania): Christmas Celebration!
Earlier in December VOH Mwanza held its annual Christmas celebration!
It was a wonderful time of celebrating the birth of Christ together. We had nearly 400 people attend the celebration, which was complete with music and dance presentations from both our staff and children.
We were also blessed to welcome Delson and Nadine, the Village Director and his wife from VOH Burundi. The couple were our guests of honour for the day.
Zimbabwe: Christmas Celebration Event!
It was a great end of year celebration at VOH Zimbabwe for our children. We hosted an end of year Christmas celebration. It was a fun and celebratory time for the children after a long year of hard work in school.
Our older children worked together with a local food company that came along to help with the preparation of the food for the day. The children enjoyed Christmas cake and special gifts.
We are grateful to God for a great year and also grateful that we could do this for the children with the help of the community and our graduates!