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 learned about agriculture, received a generous donation, and learned to cheer each other on!
Read the details along with other stories from each of our locations below…
Please note: due to technical difficulties, we are unable to share stories from Kitwe, Luongo, Malawi, and Maramvya this week. We will be sharing their stories next week, instead.
Bulale (Tanzania): Constructing New Classrooms!
At VOH Bulale Centre we are very excited to be expanding our facilities! We are currently using all of our classrooms and by the end of this year will require new classrooms, so our program can keep growing.
We have started the foundation for a new classroom block which will have two classrooms. Construction is moving along well, and the foundation is pretty much complete. We are hoping to have the main structure up by April and then we will take a little break and plan to do all the finishing from October this year.
This way we will be ready for new students come January 2021!
Bwiza (Burundi): Spread Love Charity Visits!
VOH Bwiza recently received guests from Spread Love Charity Association. This association is made up of students from various universities in Burundi. They support people in need such as vulnerable children and those who are sick.
They came with gifts, including 25 kilos of beans, 25 kilos of maize flour, some porridge and sugar. in addition, they brought candy and cookies for the children
They spoke with the older children about school, relationships, and other life issues they may be facing. After speaking, they played games with the younger kids.
It was a special day for our children and we are so grateful for the visit from Spread Love!
Chongwe (Zambia): Agricultural Science Course
At our VOH Chongwe school, we offer Agriculture Science as one of our many subjects. The children can use what they learn in this class to help them earn a living later on in life. The course involves learning about crops, animals, equipment, animals and so on.
To learn about crops the children use our greenhouse and to learn about animals, we are thankful to one of our community members who has offered our school the use of his farm.
This week our grade 9 and 12 classes went to the farm for practicals that will help prepare them for their end of year government exams.
We know this knowledge will be helpful as our students become more independent in the future!
Mongu (Zambia): Track and Field Competitions!
This week at VOH Mongu was the beginning of our annual track and field competitions!
There are different levels of competition and this week we started with our inter-house competitions to see who will represent VOH school at the two inter-schools zone meets in the following week. If our students qualify, they will then go on to represent us in the inter-schools District,
Province, and Country-wide track and field competitions.
This time of year is so much fun for our staff and for our students as we see our kids growing in their athleticism, their encouragement for one another, and their team spirit.
They are so proud of our school and so excited to represent VOH well among their peers!
Mwanza (Tanzania): Greenhouse Care
At VOH Mwanza we are excited to try different things in our small greenhouse. Mama Rose, one of our housemothers, oversees the greenhouse and has recently planted tomatoes. They are doing very well and it looks like we will get a good harvest soon!
Some of the kids also help out and learn how to take care of the plants, ensuring they have what they need like water, light, and fertilizer to grow well.
It’s a great opportunity for the kids to participate and learn at the same time. We can’t wait to harvest so many juicy tomatoes!
Zimbabwe: Cheering Each Other On!
Success is an attitude; however, to have the power to keep going, it helps to have a team behind you, cheering you on. When you have people supporting you, it helps you keep going even when it gets tough.
This is what the children at VOH Zimbabwe are learning: that we need to support each other. They realize they need to cheer each other on so that they and their friends will succeed.
They are already catching on, as was evident at our recent Sports Day!
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