July 4, 2012
Greetings from HCOC Mission,
This July 4th is a whole lot quieter than it probably is in the United States. However, in Colorado, it may be quiet due to the dryness and all the fires. Here the people know nothing about our 4th of July and what it means or how we celebrate. Anyway, Happy Birthday to all of you 4th of July Birthday people.
Bill learned to shell maize today. Albert has people working at shelling his maize crop. Albert’s workers have a long way to go but Bill decided he wasn’t going to be of much help.
Albert has been working at hauling black dirt and filling in around his house. He has purchased sod plugs and the lawn is beginning to grow. It is really looking nice. Yesterday, Elizabeth gave him some Poinsettia starts from her bushes. He has spots already prepared ready to plant the shrubs.
Deanna left on Monday to return to the U.S. Amanda will join all of us on Friday. Amanda visited here in 2010 with Ralph and I. She asked to join me this year for a short stay. Two weeks is about all that she can afford to be gone. The children keep asking about her but I haven’t told them that she is coming. They are going to be so surprised when they see her.
Today was the first opportunity I have had to visit the poultry project. I had not seen the sawdust shed. They indicated that they had a problem keeping the saw dust dry when it rains. They proposed some changes and made plans to begin work soon. Right now is the dry season and so a perfect time to get the changes made.
One batch of chickens is one week old. Another batch is five weeks old and they are ready for market. They are weighing about 2.2 kgs or about four pounds live weight.
On Thursday, Albert needed to deliver food to an orphan living several km from the school. Bill and I joined him. The child was not at home and so I didn’t have a chance to visit with the child, who is 12 years old. I did talk with the grandmother through Albert. The grandmother is blind and can barely walk. The grandmother said that her grand-daughter was out collecting firewood. This is a case of a child living with a grandparent but the grandparent is dependent on the child. This is an example why we need safe houses for children such as these. I am hoping to get work started on the first Safe House in a couple of weeks. I have asked Albert to contact a surveyor and have the property surveyed and safe houses pegged. The roads inside the property also need to be pegged.
William, 15 years, and his brother live alone. William’s brother was out collecting fire wood and so I didn’t get to meet him. William and his brother are surviving alone. We delivered a few food supplies to them and checked on what foods they had in stock.
The boys, with the help of a local man, are trying to improve their living conditions. As you can see in the picture, a new roof is in progress. Albert suggested that we help by supplying a window and a door, since they have neither. These boys are missing out on the relationship between father and sons. It is difficult for us to bridge that gap.
Winnie and Patrick are very proud of their Sadza Cooker. They indicated to me that it requires far less fire wood to cook with than when they were using an open fire. Today, I saw Winnie cooking outside over and open fire and inquired why she was doing that. She indicated that when they serve rice and beans she does not have time to cook the beans because of the time that it takes to cook rice. We discussed it for a time and we decided that perhaps she could cook the beans, after lunch the day before she is to serve them. Then the following day when she is going to serve them, she only has to reheat them. She decided the next time they serve rice and beans she will try that method. I will be watching to see if they do that and how it works. for them.
I will be in Harare tomorrow and will try to get this email off to all of you. I have heard that Colorado has had some rain. Perhaps that will help the fire fighters with the forest fires.
In His Service,
Roberta