Journal 11
Greetings from Zimbabwe,
I have just returned to the house from a four hour meeting with department heads. The issue was the funding that they have to work with. Hopefully the new vehicle will reduce the need for constant repairs, but the biggest issue is fuel. Our location, unfortunately, requires travel to accomplish anything. Just to go to Murewa to deliver chickens to the butchery requires a minimum of 3 lt. of fuel. The cost is $2.35 per lt. Or another way of saying it, the trip cost for fuel is $14.70 round trip. That of course leaves no fuel in the tank for anything else. The fuel cost of delivering food supplies to Guzha is about the same as a one way trip to Murewa. The staff is trying to combine trips to consolidate expenses but it doesn’t always work the way it is planned. Things are always popping up unexpectedly. I am hoping the Moringa can generate some real income but that still remains to be determined. Construction on the processing building is making good progress.
Saturday was the end of month prayer meeting. It is held the last Sat. of the month. People in Denver are praying at the same time. We pray for concerns of HCOC as well as concerns for those in Denver. This is a picture of some of the orphans Stewart invited to participate. A large group had gathered and it was fun to see all of them. Since it gets dark early here, they were taken home in the truck. They thoroughly enjoyed that experience. Many of them came from the Guzha area and that is our most distant school, about 15 km from HCOC.
The finished floor at the Moringa Processing Plant is going in. The workmen are putting in a very smooth finished floor with red oxide paint in the final floor. This happens to be the vacuum seal room. They poured the floor in the grinding room over the week-end. It is kept wet for several days so that it does not cure quickly. When they are ready to do the processing room, it will be an enormous task. It is a large room and the process is labor intensive. I am pleased with the way the finished floor is going to look. When the floors are complete, the smooth finish will be applied to the walls.
Early this morning workers were harvesting produce from the garden to take to Inyagui. There is a fair taking place there today. People from the area are asked to display some of their produce as a way to encourage the local people to produce as much of their own food as possible. The truck was loaded with various produce from the garden. Carrots were beautiful along with head lettuce, spinach, Swiss chard, Ruggeri, beans, cowpeas etc. There is broccoli planted in the garden and also peas but neither of those crops are mature at this time.
As I was walking this morning, I passed by the clinic construction site. I was surprised to see one foundation wall complete to the ground level. This is only Tuesday morning. I predict that by the end of the week, the foundation will be complete or very nearly so. Then it will be time for backfilling and leveling in preparation for pouring the sub-floor. I am excited to see things progressing so quickly. I might add that the men are working very hard. This is intense manual labor.
If things continue at the present pace, we will soon see walls going up above ground. Today, Wed. this is the second very long wall nearly complete to ground level. They were preparing to turn the corner when I took this picture, Wed. a.m. the 4thof July.
This morning Mr. Guri and Mr. Bondeponde paid a visit. Mr. Guri wanted to report on his meeting at the Provincial Education Office. During our conversation I learned that they had purchased 240 new text books for the Secondary School yesterday. They used the school fee money they had just received from ZMP. While it seems like it is a large purchase, the school has an enrollment of over 500 students. 240 text books does not go as far as one might like.
I want to introduce you to this orphan. He is in his third year at the Secondary School. He has lost his father and lives with his mother and granny. They have no source of income. He has an older brother that is ill from HIV and is not doing well. When Stewart visited this child recently he gave him some socks and under clothes that has been donated. Stewart said that he was so appreciative. He told Stewart that HCOC was like having a parent.
I want to thank all of you who help to support our mission.
As I bring this journal to a close, I ask for prayers for the many projects that are underway. Many things are happening, as you can tell from the journal. However, there is much more going on than I have space to write about. The Moringa building is progressing nicely but we have encountered a problem with the septic tank and drain field. We have found water too close to the surface. I am afraid that in the rainy season, we may have issues with back-up. Albert is calling in some advisors and hopefully we can come up with a solution. Please keep all of these projects in your prayers. The final outcome should benefit the orphans, our primary focus.
In His Service, Roberta