Greetings from Zimbabwe,

We’ve had no rain since last Saturday, March 25th. This morning dawned bright and sunny with not a cloud in the sky. Normally, the rains taper off this time of year.

Monday morning before we left to take Susan to the airport, we made a short visit to the Secondary School to see the student assembly before class. We had an opportunity to meet all of the staff and paid a short visit to some of the classrooms. The picture on the right is of the school garden. The teacher explained that the students are studying the most efficient way of watering the garden. They have different small plots set up. In each plot they use a different method of watering and then compare yield and appearance of the plants. I assume the produce will go to the kitchens for feeding the orphans.

Maud came to see me yesterday. She wanted to thank me again for the quilt that I gave her recently. She is so happy.  One would never know how seriously ill she was nine months ago.

We discussed the possibility of her returning to school. She indicated that she would like to do that. We discussed her not having a birth certificate, which is necessary for her to have in order for the ZMP to pay her school fees. I will look into how we might go about getting that document. Both her parents are deceased and she is living with her grandparents who are both elderly. That seems to concern her a lot.

Trosky came to see me yesterday, also. You may remember my writing about him a couple of years ago. He had come here from Botswana, where his father had brutally beat him and nearly killed him. A donor provided for his school fees and a uniform and we registered him in the Secondary School.

He wanted to proudly show me that his uniform now represents a top student at the school. Outstanding students wear white shirts or blouses to identify them from the rest of the student body. He was all smiles yesterday and very talkative. He wants to become an Advocacy Lawyer. A couple of years ago he would hardly look at anyone and was extremely thin. Your donations are making a big difference in the lives of these children.

Friday, Don Hativagone, past president of the Rotary Club that Albert is a member of came to HCOC. He brought with him Clive Nyapokoto a professor at Harare Institute of Technology. Clive’s specialty is Organic Technology and he has his PHD. Clive is extremely knowledgeable about organic farming and processing. He says he began experimenting with organic farming in his dorm room at Boarding School. Now he travels all over the world lecturing on Organic Farming. He will return to HCOC next Thursday and Friday for the first of several workshops. He wants to train the workers on the process of building compost and use of worms. He will teach the workers how to catch the liquid from the compost and use it as fertilizer after it is diluted. I am looking forward to this. Finally, I feel we are moving forward.

Saturday, Godfrey came to the house to get me. He wanted me to come and see all of the orphans that had come to help begin the maize harvest. A little over 100 children had come to work. About one third of the children were Secondary School Students. The rest were Primary School Students. Twelve Orphan Care Givers had come as well to help supervise the children. The children began their work at about 9:00 am. It was nearly time for lunch and they were taking a break. I thanked them for all their hard work. I told them how much I appreciated their help. All of them were hot and tired. After lunch it would be time for them to go home.

As I close this letter, I ask that all of you pray for these children. Life here is very difficult, especially for the children who have no family. God does answer prayers. I have seen examples of this since I have been here.

In His Service,

Roberta