This week we celebrated a successful rainy season harvest, received new clothes, and played sports!
VOH Bwiza (Burundi) Update: Discipleship
Discipleship is important to us at VOH Bwiza, which is why we have regular discipleship classes for all of our children. From a very young age, starting in preschool, the children can participate and learn together as we teach them from the Bible. This week our Chaplain, Sandra Niwe, shared with the children from preschool the story of Zacchaeus (a tax collector who climbed a tree in order to see Jesus). She used new materials that we received from Child Evangelism Fellowship (CEF). The Chaplain encouraged the children to learn from Zacchaeus, whose life was changed when he encountered Jesus and welcomed Him into his home. To conclude the lesson, she led them in prayer. It’s exciting to see how our kids love to get involved in our discipleship class, and we can see the positive changes in their lives as they learn together.
VOH Chongwe (Zambia) Update: Child Health Week
It is Child Health week again! Our Ministry of Health in Zambia has the mandate to ensure that every Zambian child is kept in good health so they can grow up to be healthy, contributing citizens. The Ministry picks a week in the first quarter of each year for Child Health Week to achieve its goal. During this week, all children ages five and under are weighed, vaccinated, dewormed, and receive Vitamin-A supplements. The Ministry involves our VOH Chongwe clinic in the delivery of these services. Mosquito nets are also given out to mothers who have babies to help protect them from the rising number of malaria cases in Zambia, which continues to be the cause of many deaths in Africa. A treated mosquito net is the best defence against this devastating disease, and VOH Chongwe strives to do its part by facilitating and supporting these best health practices in partnership with the Ministry of Health Zambia.
VOH Kitwe (Zambia) Update: Rainy Season Harvest!
Rainy season is coming to an end here in Zambia, and many of the crops and vegetables are ready to be harvested from the fields. This week at VOH Kitwe, the gardens have done very well, and the housemothers and kids have started harvesting. In one of the homes, the mother and children were busy gathering the beans and pumpkins that they had grown. After harvesting them from the garden, the children shell the beans and sort them according to their colour and how dry they are. The pumpkins are kept in a cool, dry place, and green leafy vegetables and beans are dried in the sun for preservation. These are nutritious foods, and they supplement the grocery budget for our children’s homes. The kids love being included in the gardening. They learn a lot, from land preparation and planting to weeding, watering and caring for their gardens right up to harvest time. They have lots of fun and are always very proud of what their garden has produced!
VOH Luongo (Zambia) Update: New Clothes!
Children always get excited when they receive something special they were not expecting! This week, at VOH Luongo, the girls were all given several pieces of clothing. Among the things they received were shirts, dresses, and skirts. the clothes came as part of a donation from friends at CLA in Langley, BC. In the community where these children come from, parents can rarely buy clothes for their children, so we do our best to help. The girls were so happy with their new clothes. A big thank you to the donors who made this possible!
VOH Malawi Update: Celebrating our Staff
At VOH Malawi, we are so excited about our team-building program. We started focusing on team building by celebrating each staff member’s birthday. Every last discipleship gathering of the month is a day to recognize and honour those with birthdays that month. The staff members love this new tradition! We hope it will boost their energy as they continue giving their very best to the children we care for. This month, four staff members from various departments had birthdays, and we enjoyed celebrating with them.
VOH Mongu (Zambia) Update: Community Sports
This week at VOH Mongu, it was incredible to witness how our students are preparing for the upcoming sports events with other schools around the community. Both boys and girls gathered to train for volleyball, soccer, netball, and cultural dancing. It’s wonderful to witness the children becoming more confident as they expand their talents and engage with others from their community!
VOH Mwanza (Tanzania) Update: Helping Each Other Read
Our kids here at VOH Mwanza love to read. This past week, they sat in pairs and read books together to help and encourage one another. They are very enthusiastic about reading English books and look for any opportunity to improve their English language skills. Our toddlers are not ready for reading yet, but they love to sit on the mats and play different games together, and they also love making things with their hands. We teach them how important and fun it is to do things together, and they are eager to help each other and learn together! We can tell that the kids love being at school because we have an excellent attendance rate and very few absentees, unlike many schools in the area.
VOH Zimbabwe Update: Welcome, Janet
VOH Zimbabwe wants to wish Janet a warm welcome! Janet is our new nurse from the Ministry of Health. She has been serving the government for over 15 years and is very experienced. Janet is replacing one of our nurses who recently moved on, and we are thankful that we didn’t have to operate for very long before finding a replacement. We are experiencing high nurses turnover in Zimbabwe, but we are glad that Janet has decided to join us and are encouraged to see how dedicated she already is to the VOH Zimbabwe kids and staff. We would like you to join us in welcoming her and wishing her all the very best at VOH!