Greetings from Zimbabwe
Recently I wrote about our gardener having to walk such a long way to come to work. She told me that she left home at 5:30 a.m. in order to arrive at work by 7:00. One of our readers sent a donation that enabled us to purchase a bike for Rosemary. Today, Sunday, we took the bike to her house. Such a surprise and such excitement! Rosemary was singing and dancing all around. I have never seen such a big smile on anyone’s face before. She ran to call her husband and then ran back to the bike and got on to take a ride. When we left, she said that she would be at work at 6:00 tomorrow. If she comes that early, we might just be getting up. This is the fun part of what we do. Other things we do are not so much fun.
Stencile is a little girl that is ill with AIDS. Both parents have passed away and she lives with an older sister. Stencile is a very sick little girl. She was recently put on medication to help her body fight the illness. Her body is reacting to the medicine. When I saw her on Thursday, she was broken out with a rash all over her body. From past experiences, I suspect that she was broken out internally as well. We feel so sorry for her because she had nothing to do with contracting this horrible disease.
Ralph ended up taking Stencile to the hospital in Murewa over these incredibly rough roads. He had just returned from another hospital run with two sick children early in the morning. While he was preparing to take the little girl, the driver for HCOC came to the clinic complaining of severe pain. As long as Ralph was going to the hospital, he took the driver as well. Two trips over these roads is too much to ask of anyone; but, we do what has to be done. The last time the roads here saw a road grader was in 2001.
Ralph made the hospital runs because Albert had gone to Bindura to talk to ZESA about getting the power connected at the new site. We are ready to install the pump in the well and need the power to operate the pump. Things moved so slowly in Bindura that Albert had to stay overnight. He was determined to get them moving on the power.
Wednesday evening, Ralph was notified that two wells were down and people had no water. So Thurs. morning he headed off to see what would be needed. One of wells he repaired with spare parts that were stored here at HCOC. The second well they pulled apart on Thurs afternoon. Ralph discovered that the pipe was buried in a lot of mud. The well needs to be blown out. It was dark when he returned for supper. Early Friday morning he headed back to finish the job. The crew that gathered removed a section or two of pipe and reassembled the pump. The well is back in operation and a large number of people are very happy.
Yesterday, Friday the 3rd, Todd rode to Murewa when Albert took Mr. Scott our driver in to see the Dr. Mr. Scott has been sick for over two weeks and has made numerous trips to the hospital. He has been given different prescriptions but is not getting better. The Dr. said that he needed an ultra-sound because the X-rays showed something but they needed further information. Albert drove him more than 50 km to Musami Hospital for the scan. They have the machine but their operator had quite. So Mr. Scott was taken back to the hospital and plans were made to take Mr. Scott to Marondera to the Provincial Hospital on Monday the 6th.
The weather has warmed and the days are pleasant. It is still getting a bit cool at night. The established Moringa trees are beginning to put on new growth. Our gardener has been busy cutting the trees back to within 12 to 18 inches above the ground. He is making cuttings from the parts of the trees that are cut down and planting those. The picture below shows some of the cuttings that have been planted. You can see one of the cuttings has put on some new growth and is doing well. It was the first cutting we made just as an experiment. I noticed just this week that some of the cuttings that were planted recently are beginning to sprout.
We are going to have a sizeable Moringa plantation here at the school. What it produces will be used in the feeding program. Moringa is very nutritious and when dried the nutrition is concentrated. It is sought after by people whose immune system has been jeopardized.
At the new site, the ground has been plowed for the new garden. The produce from this garden will be used to sell in town for income generation. Some restaurants have already been contacted about buying the produce. The new garden covers about one acre of land. Produce from the garden here at the school will continue to supply vegetables for the feeding program just as it has been doing.
Ralph discovered that the springs on the front of our old truck were in bad shape when the driver reported one leaf broken when he returned from Harare with a load of cement and a 10,000 lt. water storage tank. Upon inspection, Ralph discovered that he had been very lucky that he had not had a very serious accident. With the help of two men they got the truck jacked up and the axle supported by two big logs. Yes, you have already guessed, Ralph was on his back under the truck supervising the removal of the old springs. Ralph said that it was a Gerry-rigged repair. He found a company in Harare that made the correct springs for the truck in a matter of about three days. All is back together and the truck didn’t fall on anyone.
Visitors arrive from the U.S. this evening on the late flight. The next week and a half will be very busy.
Please pray for all the sick children that we are dealing with. My heart aches for their pain.
In His Service,
Ralph and Roberta
In His Service, Ralph and Roberta