IT ALL BEGAN WITH A TRIP TO SOUTH AFRICA
We knew that we had entered a new season in our lives when we retired but little did we know that we were about to embark on an entirely new career. During a trip to South Africa in 1995 we saw indescribable poverty and living conditions that were not fit for animals much less humans. Ralph and I learned of a school in rural Zimbabwe that was to be condemned because the buildings were unsafe for the 600 children that attended there.
The possibility of going to Zimbabwe and seeing for ourselves was a frequent topic of conversation during the next six months or so. Finally in August 1996 we began to make serious plans. Friends sponsored fund raisers to provide money for us to work with once we arrived in Zimbabwe. We paid our own travel and living expenses and have continued to do so. All monies donated go to fund the many needy projects.
When we left on that first trip, we had never been to Zimbabwe and knew no one in that country. We knew the name of the school and that it was located in the rural area approximately 100 miles northeast of Harare, the capital. We had no idea how we would travel to the school once we arrived in the country.
During that first trip, the money raised through fund raisers, allowed us to drill a well for safe drinking water, build four toilets for the staff and to re-roof a classroom building that had been damaged in a storm. We lived at the school in a vacant classroom. Our pop-up tent provided protection from the rain that entered through a very leaky roof. We spent our time doing construction work and assessing the needs of the entire area. The needs were overwhelming and the conditions the people lived in were heartbreaking. It was difficult to know where to begin and how to prioritize.
Over the past eleven years and with the support of various organizations and friends here and around the world, it has been possible to renovate and build many school buildings, libraries, administration buildings and countless teacher houses. Wells have been drilled and a bridge built across a crocodile infested river so that children could safely cross in order to come to school
When we became aware of the growing orphan population in the area during our stay in l999, plans began to be formed for dealing with these children who had been left on their own to face the world. It wasn’t until 2001 that the first Orphan Care Center was constructed. In the beginning we enrolled about 120 orphans. They were provided with two hot meals a day, school fees, school uniforms, school supplies and medical care. They also receive clothing, blankets and personal hygiene kits that are shipped from the U.S. Beginning in 2003 three centers began operating serving 1,062 orphans. A nurse aid was employed in 2006 to administer first-aid and care for sick children.
We recently have had to restrict repair of buildings or construction of new buildings because the rapidly growing orphan population has strained our budget. Money is always the limiting factor. The children are our first priority. They have captured our hearts. We are the only couple in the world that can claim thousands of grandchildren. Each year when we arrive the children greet us chanting Ralph, Ralph, Ralph.
While many retired couples have a second home in Arizona or elsewhere to spend their winters, we have a second home in Zimbabwe and we spend six to nine months a year there. It all began with a trip to South Africa that changed our lives.