Journal 7
June 1, 2018
This morning, after the time of worship for the workers, I went for a walk around part of the grounds. I checked out the garden. I have had both lettuce and carrots from the garden to eat. They have both been especially good.
I happened to notice some women working in an area near the water tanks. So I went to investigate. There were four women, who are orphan care givers, shelling the maize that has been drying. They did it by rubbing the ears back and forth on a broken brick or piece of rock. It is time consuming but it works. A shelling machine would be very helpful.
I have to share this beautiful sunset that I witnessed last evening. I know that we have spectacular sunsets in Colorado. But I wanted you to know that there are lovely sunsets elsewhere as well.
This morning it is sunny but very chilly. The wind is blowing very hard and I am noticing the cold. It seems early to me for it to be this cold. Normally the really cold weather is in July. I have been standing in the sun to get warm. I say that I am becoming African because that is what they do.
Albert and Beauty left on Sunday to fly to SA. ELMA, one of the grant providers, is conducting a seminar for some of their grant recipients in 10 countries within Africa. The focus of the seminar is nutrition. HCOC was chosen to be one of the participants. Albert is to make a presentation today, Tuesday, on the overall program here at HCOC. He will emphasize how the community is involved in the program. Beauty will demonstrate the porridge that is made for the orphans here and will explain how Moringa is incorporated. She will point out the nutritional benefits of incorporating Moringa. Local farmers are raising the different grains used in making the porridge. HCOC pays for the grains and so the local farmers are deriving an income and HCOC has a local supply of grains at less cost than traveling to the city to buy porridge mix.
Beauty will fly home tomorrow and Godfrey will fly to Johannesburg and join Albert. Thursday and Friday they will attend workshops on financial management. I believe they will both return home on Saturday morning.
Completion of the Moringa Building should begin in earnest on Monday. I sat with Godfrey yesterday going over the list of things needed. Supplies have been ordered and payment has been transferred from HCOC bank account to the suppliers’ banks. Today Chris is in Harare making arrangements for the transport of the supplies here to HCOC. He is also checking to make certain that suppliers have received payment into their accounts. The plan is that supplies will be picked up by one truck on Monday and delivered here. It will be time consuming to go from one location to another picking up the various supplies. However, that is the way it has to be done. They no longer use checks to make purchases as in the past. The plan is that everything will come on one truck and therefore have only one transport charge. Hopefully the plan works. I knew in April that having the building complete by the end of May would never happen.
Work is continuing on the compost bins at the Moringa site. This worker is preparing for the roof that will protect the worm bins from the hard rains that will come during the rainy season. The liquid, from the worm compost, will drain into a cement trench and will be funneled to a cement pit. The workers can then dip from the pit and dilute 1 to 30 with water. This fertilizer will then be put on the Moringa field and gardens. Much of the compost is made up of chicken manure from the poultry project, garden waste and trimmings of all kinds. The compost thermometer that I brought several years ago is really getting used.
Work at the site of the new clinic is progressing well. It is not happening as quickly as I would like but that is always the case. The ground is hard and the workers are doing their best. Progress is slow. They have to take breaks. It hurts my shoulders and back to see them using the pick ax.
The workers have just about completed the ring wall but still have to do the foundation for the internal walls. I suspect that it may take another week after the end of this week. I would like to think that it would happen sooner but I doubt that it will. When the foundation is dug, then the inspectors have to come and inspect before work can move forward. Getting inspectors here takes a lot of time and effort.
This morning I spent several hours at Nyamashato Primary School. It was my first visit to the school this year. I noticed the garden and went to inspect. One of the teachers was in the garden with her class. She was showing them what mulch was and how it was used. I believe her class was a second grade class. The students were very well behaved.
Since I was already in the garden, I visited other parts of the garden as well. This was the best use of the garden I have ever observed. The fencing of the garden was one of the first projects we did in the early years of our travels here.
While I was visiting Nyamashato Primary this morning, a Headmaster, from a school at a distance, came in a van with his Deputy and SDC members to visit this school that they had heard about.
I am running out of space and I am determined to limit the journals to just two pages. As I close for this week, I am requesting that you keep this mission in your prayers. The needs here are much greater than the resources available. Please pray that we will be wise Stewards of the resources entrusted to us. So many children benefit from the programs here as well as members of the community.
In His Service,
Roberta