Greetings from Zimbabwe,
I just realized that the first journal I wrote when we arrived in Zimbabwe did not send. I
apologize for keeping you wondering if we arrived safely. All is well here. We arrived at the
mission on Saturday, August 27th. A group of local people had assembled awaiting our arrival.
They came to express their condolences and to welcome us back.
We were pleasantly surprised to find that there was electricity. At least we didn’t have to blow
up the air mattresses with lung power. However, our good fortune was not to last. We have
been without power since early Sunday morning. This is Thurs. and still no power. I had
gambled and purchased meat and other perishables hoping we would have power. I purchased
two bags of ice for the ice chest when we went to Harare on Tuesday. I was unable to find
block ice which lasts much longer than ice cubes. I had to pay $8.00 for two bags of cubes. I
hope that the electricity comes on soon, I don’t want to have to buy ice all of the time.
The children are still on term break. School will resume on Tuesday, September 6. Things will
become lively then. The community leaders are meeting as I type this letter. They are making
final preparations for the memorial service planned for Friday, September 9. Everyone is
referring to Ralph as their Father.
There was little we could do here without power and so on Tuesday, Jeff and I went to Harare
to see if we could get things rolling for the work that needs to get done. Making phone calls
had not been successful because of such poor reception out here. We returned back to the
school feeling the trip had been a complete success. Jeff had an opportunity to meet Trevor,
one of the contractors Ralph always dealt with. The huge miracle was that I was able to direct
Jeff to his place of business with no problem. We also met with DJ, who is the contact person
for the host Rotary Club here in Zimbabwe. We had a good meeting with him. He plans to
attend the memorial service on the 9th and to bring other Rotary Members that knew Ralph.
In addition we also met with a hydrologist that Ralph had used in the past for siting wells. After
a bit of driving around we finally located the office. They had a quote ready for us before we
left Harare and will be able to begin their work early next week. That was a big relief for Jeff;
he was really getting concerned that nothing was getting started.
Jeff really got immersed in driving in Harare. The traffic is worse than anytime I can remember.
Some people are able to buy big new cars while the vast majority can barely find enough to eat.
There are no markings for traffic lanes. It is really a free for all. When the traffic lights are not
working, it is a dare devil game to get through the intersections. We were unfortunate enough
to arrive in Harare about 5:00 on Friday afternoon. I think we were more than an hour and a
half getting through the city and to the Bed and Breakfast that we were booked at. The traffic
was bumper to bumper. There is nothing like getting caught in the middle of the intersection
when the light changes and no-where to go.
Wednesday, Jeff and I along with Albert spent a lot of time at the poultry site discussing future
expansion. We also visited a poultry project here in the local community that is already in
operation. Presently they have about 7,000 chickens.
Albert is planning to visit a large hatchery in Harare exploring the possibility of doing contract
poultry production. If he can get a contract, then we will be putting up a large building to
house 10,000 chicks at one time.
Friday, September 02, 2011
Jeff and I came to Harare early this morning. We are finding it necessary to make a lot of tough
decisions. In spite of that we feel we accomplished a great deal. We drove to the Industrial
Area to investigate about a Sadza Cooker. Going electric as Ralph had planned doesn’t seem
advisable because of the amount of time we are without power. Other options are bottle gas
which is very expensive and coal or wood for fuel for heat. We will be going over the options
with Albert and the staff before making a final decision.
We met with the hydrologist who sited wells for us ten years ago. He is prepared to come to
Nyamashato next Wednesday and begin work on siting two more wells. So things are beginning
to move along.
Jeff and I are staying in Harare tonight at the Bed and Breakfast that Ralph and I frequently
stayed at. Tomorrow Bryce will arrive at about 10:00 in the morning. He is anxious to go to the
school and get an idea of what we have been doing all of these years. So after picking him up at
the airport, we will head back to school.
In His Service,
Roberta
