Journal 13
July 17, 2018
Greetings from Zimbabwe,
The weather here is becoming an issue. It is really cold the past couple of days. The weather man is forecasting cold weather for the rest of this week. We had a week of cold weather earlier and then the temperatures moderated. Now it has turned cold again. I have to keep doing things to keep warm. Sewing is not an activity for weather like this. One doesn’t move around enough. The only time I am really warm is when I am in bed; so I often go to bed at an early hour just to get warm.
Godfrey Kandia is struggling to keep baby chicks warm enough. Today they are to pick up a thousand day old chicks. Albert is scheduled to pick up a number of heat lamps. I hope it will be sufficient to keep the chicks warm enough. Not having adequate heat can account for the larger than normal loss of the chickens. I have tried to explain this probably accounts for the lower than normal profit margin. The workers have covered the large openings with two layers of heavy plastic; one layer is on the outside of the large openings and the second layer is on the inside as you can see in this photo. This helps to protect the babies from the wind.
A couple of weeks ago I wrote about a local competition where interested community members displayed samples of produce from their gardens at Inyagui School. HCOC did well and went on to the show last week held in Murewa. They were the only group that showed Moringa seeds and powder as well as leaves. This was a competition with all the wards in the Murewa area. HCOC took third place. The prizes for this were numerous. They won a new wheel barrow, a backpack sprayer, maize seed, fertilizer and a number of other items. As a result of their placement, they will go on to a show in Marondera on August 17. This will be a competition with groups from all over the Mashona Land East Province. The workers are really excited about this opportunity to showcase HCOC.
Pictured on the right is one of the composting bins that was under construction when I first arrived. The building is nearing completion. $500.00 will complete the roofing for the structure. The structure is made up of 12 bins as pictured in the top picture. This bin was filled yesterday when Clive visited HCOC. He introduced the first worms to the bin. The liquid produced by the action of the worms will be directed to a trough that will run to a catch basin. This liquid will be diluted with water and poured on the various crops. It is a strong natural fertilizer. The goal is to go 100% organic production and so the reason for such a large structure. Clive indicated that the worms will break down the material in about one month. It will take one person full time keeping the bins filled with refuse for the worms.
Clive spent time at the Moringa site as well as at the composting site. He is recommending putting in a fish pond to handle the excess water from the water harvesting tank. Some of the water will be pumped to the Moringa fields but during the rainy season the fields may not need that much water. In that case, the water can be pumped to the fish pond. We are told that Tilapia will do very well. I feel that the fish would be a cheap source of protein for the feeding center. With the water table so near the surface in this area, we will not need to line the pond with any kind of rubber liner.
Yesterday, I stopped by the clinic to pick up Beauty. We had plans to visit Inyagui. The clinic was a hive of activity. There were people waiting in line. Both Beauty and Florence were busy with different patients. Beauty was busy caring for a woman who had been brought in by local ambulance pictured. She was very ill with what appeared to be flu.
Florence was caring for children who had, what I considered serious cases of ring worm. The new clinic can’t get finished fast enough. More space is top priority, especially private treatment areas.
The picture on the left shows the sink/worktable that was brought from the fabricators this week. There is a table extension that still has to be brought in. The total length is about 5+m. or about 16 feet. Behind the sinks is two sets of lockers for the restroom where the women will be showering and changing into uniforms. These items at the moment are just sitting in the middle of the processing room. Painting has to be done before anything is set into place. Hopefully much of that will happen in the coming week. I am really pushing because I want to begin training the women on August 6. I can’t change me return again.
Update on the orphan I wrote about last week. Some counseling has happened and it seems to be helping a bit. I feel so sorry for these children who are left alone through no fault of their own. Relatives can fill in but often it turns into an abusive situation. These children often have no one to turn to. We desperately need a full time counselor. I am asking again for your prayers for this girl and others like her. To pray is sometimes all that can be done and it is very necessary.
In His Service,
Roberta