This Week: Directors Visit VOH Malawi

This week at VOH Africa, we made art, paved a new play area, and received shoes from a local donor!

VOH Bulale (Tanzania) Update: Learning about Prayer

During this term, the children at VOH Bulale have been learning about prayer, and most recently, they were taught about “Popcorn Prayer.”

Popcorn Prayer is when everyone gets a chance to say a short prayer out loud, in no particular order. This activity makes praying out loud something that everyone can be comfortable with.

The children also learn about the different names of God, like Yahweh, Jehovah Jireh, and Elohim. They learn that these names have different meanings that describe the various attributes of God.

Our children enjoy these special times together!

VOH Bwiza (Burundi) Update: Maintaining our Blackboards

At VOH Bwiza, we have ongoing maintenance schedules that ensure our children study in safe, well-equipped classrooms.

This week we have woodworkers repairing the blackboards that our preschool children use.

Knowing that one of the essential parts of every VOH classroom is the blackboards, we are working on maintaining and, where necessary, replacing the blackboards in all of our classrooms.

Our children enjoy being called to the front to write on the blackboard as part of their lessons. We want to ensure the boards are always in good condition for them!

VOH Chongwe (Zambia) Update: Creative Art Activities

Here at VOH Chongwe, we realize that creative arts help children grow and develop cognitively, emotionally, and socially. Children also practice imagination and experimentation as they invent new ways to create art.

Art activities focus on the process over the product, meaning what the children do while creating art (feeling paint between their fingers, holding a pencil, or experiencing the stickiness of glue), and the pride they feel in their work is more important than the final outcome.

These experiences help foster experimentation, growth, and confidence. We are so grateful to see how happy our children are to take part in these activities!

VOH Kitwe (Zambia) Update: Annual Picture Day!

Each year at VOH Kitwe, our children have their annual pictures taken. This week, we took photos of every child before they went on school break.

These pictures will be uploaded into our database to keep it up-to-date. We also send a copy to all the children’s sponsors.

The children loved having their pictures taken and had lots of fun with the photographer!

VOH Luongo (Zambia) Update: New Shoes from Local Donor

This week at VOH Luongo, the Grade 2 boys and girls each received a pair of new school shoes and socks.

The shoes were donated by Mr. Silungwe, who has been touched by the work VOH is doing in Luongo. He was first introduced to VOH Luongo by Mrs. Siame, one of our local board members.

Mr. Silungwe also brought a new soccer ball for their school team! The children were filled with so much joy as they received these gifts.

A while back, he also donated shoes and socks for our Grade 1 students and textbooks for the school.

We are so grateful for the love Mr. Silungwe has for VOH. He calls himself a friend of the VOH Luongo children, and we are so grateful for his friendship and support!

VOH Malawi Update: Visit from VOH Africa Directors

We are so pleased to have had VOH Africa Executive Director Sergio and Director of Development Nancy visit VOH Malawi this week!

COVID-19 made it impossible for them to visit our centre, and until this year, most meetings have been held online.

Our kids, staff and leadership team were so happy to see them in person and to be encouraged by the wisdom and experience they shared.

Each of our school classes had a visit from Uncle Sergio. He also shared the word of God with the staff and encouraged everyone to work hard and love one another as we do ministry together.

Aunty Nancy met with different members of our staff who are responsible for administrative tasks like managing our child sponsorship program.

Their time in Malawi was priceless, and we thank God for giving us this opportunity with them!

VOH Maramvya (Burundi) Update: VOH Africa Administrator Visits

This Week at VOH Maramvya, we welcomed Jeanette, the administrator for VOH Africa.

This is the first time Jeanette has visited VOH Maramvya, and we are delighted to have her here with us!

When she arrived, the Kindergarten children welcomed her with a song and some poems to wish her a warm welcome.

Jeanette came to help us with the administrative responsibilities we have at our centre. It was a blessing to have her here with us!

VOH Mongu (Zambia) Update: Fun at School

Loaded with fun and excitement is the best way to describe our preschool kids here at VOH Mongu!

We love how our kids enjoy spending time together in their classrooms. Our kids are all about having fun and creating great memories with one another while they are learning.

Making school fun can give children a lifelong love of learning, and it’s incredible to see how they create a special bond through fun and learning during class time!

VOH Mwanza (Tanzania) Update: Growing Up Healthy

At VOH Mwanza, before classes begin, our school children receive a cup of nutritious porridge filled with essential ingredients to support their growth.

For most of them, their families cannot provide a consistent, balanced diet, and they appreciate us taking care of this critical component of their child’s health.

Our feeding program is closely monitored by the Health and Nutrition Department here at our centre, and they are doing a great job of ensuring every VOH child receives the nutritional support they need.

We want our children to grow up happy and healthy. Our feeding program is just one of the ways we provide holistic care and let them know they are loved!

VOH Zimbabwe Update: New Play Area!

This week at VOH Zimbabwe, we paved the area around one of our satellite points, located in the Star Community, not far from our primary VOH centre.

Available and useable land to conduct our programs at Star is quite limited because there has been a lot of digging in the area by people who use the dirt to make building bricks.

One of the ways we created more useable space for the children’s programs was by refilling the holes and ditches created by the brick builders and then paving them with bricks. The paving gave us more space for the programs and a play area for the kids!

We put some sand on top of the bricks and, to ensure safety, installed a fence around the area.

We continue to do whatever we can to ensure our children can learn and play in a safe area, even at our satellite locations!