Journal 9
November 16, 2015
Greetings from Zimbabwe,
I 
visited the Secondary School last week for the purpose of interviewing Mr. Guri, the Headmaster and Morris Makuwe, the Science Teacher. On the left is a clip from the video that I recorded. I am happy to report that I saw many positive things happening at the school during my visit. Windows had all been repaired including locks. Burglar bars were in place. The classroom had been completely repainted and new classroom furniture was in place. What a change in appearance. The classroom doors were in the process of being replaced including security doors. I am praying that this project is selected by Castle View High School. The school has been working to deserve potential funding.
Late in the day, yesterday, Albert brought these two gentlemen to meet me. They are both Pastor friends of Albert’s. The gentleman on the ri
ght used to work for Christian Care in Harare. He was instrumental in introducing Doreen from USADF to this mission here at HCOC. It was a pleasure to meet these gentlemen and we had a brief visit before it began to rain. The rain was very welcomed but not as significant as is needed. This year has been predicted to be a year of drought and it is starting out that way. Moringa and everything else is suffering.
Yesterday, Albert took me to visit an ILO (International Labor Organization) project. Ward 1 was selected because of the work here of HCOC and the Moringa that is being grown here. ILO selected 60 of the poorest families in the Ward. They organized them into two groups and land was selected based on where they lived. On the left I am walking with the Council Woman for this area. Behind you can see a two room building for the guard with a solar panel on the top. Solar pumps water from the near-by river to a storage tank on a stand at a high point of the land. They use gravity fed water to irrigate the potatoes and butternut squash.
On the right is a picture of some of the women working. The field was covered with women everywhere. Usually children are afraid of white people when they first see them but this little fellow came up to me right away and wanted to shake my hand. There is potential here to expand their project and grow Moringa. My concern is using river water to irrigate with. The water will have to be tested before any serious planting takes place. The land would also have to be fenced to keep out the cattle and goats. ILO organizes the women into groups and provides the money for the infrastructure and the initial seed, etc. When the crop is harvested, 20% of the money is saved for next year’s inputs. The remainder of the money is divided equally between the women in the co-op. I will be interested in how this turns out.
This is another ILO project in Ward 1. The soil here is far superior to the first project. They are also pumping water from the river by solar power to a tank standing at a high point. There is an abundant land available but would need to be cleared. As in the other case, the river water would have to be tested. One advantage is this is a larger river and there is a constant flow of water. I am not aware of cattle around this area either. It is a very poor area.
Two surveyors arrived early this morning. They are surveying the entire property. The primary focus is the placement of the Moringa Processing Building and the drainage. I want them to consider the amount of turn space a big semi-truck will require and loading ramps.
Later the Architect arrived with his assistant. We had a meeting with Albert and the staff to review the drawings and to make changes that we saw. I am not comfortable doing this; Ralph was the architect and the engineer, I am not. Innocent’s house is nearly complete. Since this picture was taken last week, the house has been plastered inside and out and the floor has been poured. All that remains is the window panes and the doors to be hung. I am confident that will take place this week.
My concern is that Innocent is finished with Secondary School and is not prepared to do anything. HCOC cannot continue to support him and others like him. I have recommended that he come here and work in the poultry when extra help is needed and his pay would be food supplies and/or materials to start his own poultry project. This will be my last communication from Zimbabwe. I will be heading to Colorado Monday night. I am leaving with many things still not complete. I am concerned about the orphans who have no one and have finished school. They have to do something to support themselves. Sending them to a trade school is an option but it would cost more money. Ralph’s dream at one stage was to develop a trade school here on site. It just won’t happen anytime soon because of funding.
As I bring this to a close, please pray for these young people who need to learn to support themselves. They are very vulnerable at this point. At the moment, in this area, no orphan has been arrested for theft, or other petty crimes. The authorities have credited HCOC programs for child headed households as being a contributing factor. In His Service, Roberta