VOH Bwiza (Burundi) Update: Preparing for Primary School
At VOH Bwiza, we run a preschool for children from our neighbouring community. With the current school year just completing and the new school year about to start in September, the teachers gave their students a small gift to celebrate all of their hard work during their time at Bwiza Preschool! We are confident they will do well next year in primary school, thanks to the excellent preparation they received from our outstanding teachers. Although they will be attending public school now, they will continue to come to the Centre each day to receive a daily meal, a devotional, and any tutoring they may require. We want to say a big thank you to our teachers for all of the hard work that they put into these precious children!
VOH Chongwe (Zambia) Update: Food Production!
At VOH Chongwe, food production has been a strong focus over the years, with help from our two greenhouses and the small traditional gardens at each of our children’s homes. The sustainable food skills our children have been learning are proving to be even more critical since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Knowing how to provide food for themselves even during times of crisis will be a big help to the children and their families. Our greenhouses have also enabled us to grow our-of-season crops. For long-lasting food security, we will cultivate every available bit of open land. We also have our chicken coop project, where we train our youth how to raise chickens. This project will provide food for our children’s homes and raise funds for other programs by selling the chickens. We are so happy to see the continued success of our staff and children’s labour!
VOH Kitwe (Zambia) Update: Building a New High School!
At VOH Kitwe, we are building a new high school! Once the building is complete, we will use the current high school classrooms for our elementary school. In preparation for this new project, we met with the team doing the work and oriented them on our Child Safeguarding Policy. We are pleased to report that everyone gladly attended and was attentive to what our Child Safeguarding Officer shared. The construction team was oriented on how they should conduct themselves as they do their work on the VOH Kitwe premises, emphasizing the safety and well-being of the children. The interaction was fruitful as the team was free to ask and contribute during the process. At the end of the training, each team member signed a declaration confirming they had been trained and orientated and would abide by the Child Safeguarding Policy and Code of Conduct.
VOH Luongo (Zambia) Update: Cleaning the School Grounds!
This week, following the announcement made by the Ministry of General Education to open schools, the children’s parents came to VOH Luongo Centre. They volunteered their time to clean the school grounds. They usually come to help in whatever way they can to show appreciation for all that VOH Luongo is doing for their children and families. The children are always happy to see their parents/guardians come to the Centre! Our staff finds it encouraging to know the community is happy and willing to work hand-in-hand with them to provide care for VOH Luongo kids!
VOH Malawi Update: End of Term Reports
At VOH Malawi, schools are currently closed for a break following the end of the second term. Students sat for exams this past week, and our teachers have already finished marking their work and will give their parents and guardians their reports. Most of our kids have performed well, and we thank our teachers for the excellent work they put in every day. We are providing extra help for any students who had challenges with the exams. The students have welcomed the support and told us they were happy to use some of their break time to catch up. It is so encouraging to see our students’ commitment, and it’s humbling to see our teachers’ willingness to sacrifice a few hours of their holiday to help their students.
VOH Maramvya (Burundi) Update: Helping Out at Home
At VOH Maramvya, we are on a short break before the new school year begins in September. During the break, we make a point of visiting our children at their homes in the community to see how they are doing and remind them of what we have taught them in school. When they are here at VOH, we teach students that it’s important to always help their parents and guardians around their home, like washing the dishes, doing laundry, cleaning, and fetching water. During the visits, we discovered that some of the children are also learning how to cook in addition to their usual chores! We are so proud of them!
VOH Mongu (Zambia) Update: Parent Check-Ins
Each week at VOH Mongu, the mothers enrolled in our Save a Life Centre meet to discuss the development and health of their children. Tanya is the head of our team, and she leads with such a big and caring heart. It’s beautiful to see how committed the children’s parents are towards their children’s developmental health and growth. It’s such a blessing to see their faces fill with joy as they express their gratitude for all that is being done for them and their children.
VOH Zimbabwe Update: Youth Paving Project
With schools still closed in Zimbabwe and more time available to do other things, five of our older youth who live at our VOH Zimbabwe Centre volunteered to help install paving stones in front of our Hope Community Church. In addition to Sunday church services, we use the building for school assemblies and other school-related gatherings. Under the supervision of our youth pastor, the boys have been doing the work very well. The way these boys have worked on the project is inspiring and shows real dedication to VOH. The job is coming along well, and the boys are so happy we accepted their offer to help!