VOH Bwiza (Burundi) Update: Women's Association Donates!
At VOH Bwiza, we are grateful to receive a donation from the Apdej-Turashoboye Association. This association consists of women committed to helping orphaned and vulnerable children.
Last year, they visited us and brought rice and beans for our children. This round, they passed by and brought some materials to help us in preventing the spread of coronavirus. The donation included washing soap, buckets, sanitizers, and masks.
We are so thankful for these ladies with such big hearts who thought of us during these difficult days! Their gifts will contribute to the healthcare of our children and staff at VOH Bwiza!
VOH Chongwe (Zambia) Update: Preparing for Exams
In Zambia, schools have been instructed to reopen, but only for grades 7, 9 and 12 (government examination grades). Here at VOH Chongwe, we are happy that all of our students have reported to school in good health.
As a center, we are ensuring all COVID-19 measures are strictly followed, including handwashing, wearing masks, health screening, sanitizing, and physical distancing. We are also distributing Vitamin C to support the children’s immune systems. We also regularly disinfect the classrooms and all the surroundings.
This week our grade 12 classes were busy preparing for their science practical examinations making use of the library, and science lab. Our grade 9 classes were working on their agriculture projects and ensuring their plants are growing healthy.
We wish them all the best in their preparations!
VOH Kitwe (Zambia) Update: Sharing Our Produce!
A couple of weeks ago, we shared about our food production at VOH Kitwe. This week we are excited to update that we have produced more than enough and can share our excess with our community!
Recently we invited some of the most vulnerable children in our school and their caregivers to be the first beneficiaries of the harvest. These additional items were added to our Hope Pack distribution. The plan is for every child from our school to receive something from this latest harvest.
It was a very special time to see how the caregivers expressed happiness when they received the Hope Packs and additional food items. The items distributed included Nshima powder (a local staple), a live chicken, cabbages, onions, and carrots. They also received packet sugar and a 750ml bottle of cooking oil.
VOH Luongo (Zambia) Update: Sharing Discipleship Materials
At VOH Luongo our Senior Teacher, Fatuma, shared some new discipleship materials that will help teach the children about God’s love in every situation. We plan to share this material once per week on one of the days when the children come for their feeding program.
These lessons tie in well with the need to assure the children of God’s love for them. The materials are designed in such a way that the children participate in the presenting of the lessons.
We believe that these lessons will result in spiritual growth and an increased understanding of who God is and how much He loves each of them!
VOH Malawi Update: Federal Elections
This week at VOH Malawi has been very interesting. We are so thankful for our peaceful community of Kauma where our centre is located. Malawi is having its second presidential election in one year. The election process of 2019 was fraught with controversy and in the end, the courts decided the people should return to the polls to vote again for the presidential candidate of their choice.
VOH staff were given as much time as they needed to exercise their right to vote on election day. Queues to cast one’s ballet were very long as interest was very high in this election and Malawians were keen to be heard.
Last year’s controversy was marked with months of civil unrest including rioting, looting, and clashes with police as voters were unhappy with the handling of the voting process. Thankfully the community where our VOH centre is located has remained peaceful throughout all of this.
We are so grateful for peace in Kauma and God’s protection for our VOH children. Please pray for Malawi that we might experience a free and fair election of our next president.
VOH Mongu (Zambia) Update: Ministry of Health Visits
We were so excited to host the Ministry of Health at our VOH Mongu clinic this week! The Ministry of Health has been holding health clinics at private clinics around Zambia and asked us to host one of them in Mongu.
We had many workers from the Ministry of Health come and do vaccinations, testing, and health checks for any children in the community under 5 that needed to come. They also gave out educational materials and talked the children’s caregivers through needed health measures for their kids, especially during COVID-19.
We know this visit helped so many children and we are glad to be able to work with the government agencies to provide this service for our community!
VOH Mwanza & Bulale (Tanzania) Update: Preparing for School Reopening
At both of our VOH Mwanza locations, we are preparing to re-open our schools after over 3 months of closure. The government of Tanzania has announced that all schools should open by the end of June.
It is a mix of emotions as children, parents, and staff all prepare to get back to school. Of course, children are happy and excited to be returning to school and some form of normalcy and parents and guardians are also relieved to have children back in class.
Our staff are working hard to ensure we are ready to reopen in the safest way possible to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Teachers have been rearranging classrooms to give larger sized classrooms to larger classes and spacing out desks to ensure that each child can keep a safe distance from others.
We are also making more soap so we can ensure we have soap for handwashing at all stations, and of course, we are ensuring we have sufficient handwashing stations throughout each of our centres so children and staff can be washing their hands frequently.
In addition to all the physical preparations, we are also planning to change some of the school timetables around to allow for education sessions on hygiene and COVID-19 precautions so that our children are always reminded about how to keep themselves and others safe and healthy. These sessions will be in cooperation with our healthcare department.
Even though school is going to look quite different and everyone will have some new things to get used to, we are excited to be able to open our centres and schools again!
VOH Zimbabwe Update: Donating Medical Supplies!
Mt Hampden Clinic is situated about 5km from our VOH Zimbabwe center. In the same area, we have a feeding point where we feed over 500 children on a normal day. Some of our children go to that clinic to receive basic medical attention if it’s needed.
During this time of COVID-19, we decided to reach out to the clinic with some supplies to help them fight the virus in the community and also enhance their response to the virus. We offered them gloves, hand washing liquid, sanitizers, masks, and anything else we could.
It’s always a good thing to share when you can!
Support our Work During COVID-19 by Giving Hope Packs!
Each package contains:
- 1 bottle of liquid hand soap
- 2kgs of nutritious porridge
- reusable face masks (with use and care instructions)
- children’s multi-vitamins
- a COVID-19 safety handout
Each HOPE Pack costs $20.
Support this initiative by donating a Hope Pack Today!