September 23, 2015

Journal 2

Greetings from Zimbabwe,

Yesterday was the weekly trip to Harare. I purchased a new bottle gas two burner stove (hot plate). The one Ralph and I had purchased, at least 15 years ago, was leaking gas. I had to turn the gas off at the bottle each time after using the stove. I was afraid to continue using it; afraid that I might forget to turn off the bottle.

While Albert, Dorothy(Albert’s daughter), and Erik attended Rotary, I stayed at Elizabeth’s house and used my time researching brick molding machines from South Africa. So far I haven’t come up with anything that I like as much as the one made in Nairobi. Albert and I need to find time to research together and discuss our best option. I would like to have it here on site before I leave. This machine makes bricks under pressure and is manually operated. Subsoil is used along with a small amount of cement. The bricks do not have to be fired. This will reduce the cost of future buildings since the buildings do not have to be plastered with cement on the outside to protect the bricks from weather. The inside can be plastered or the bricks can just be painted another way of reducing costs.

Saturday Albert drove us to visit some orphan boys. It was explained to Erik and me that these boys had been living like animals until they were reported to HCOC. Both parents are dead. With $1,000 donation from one ZMP church, $1,000 from Albert’s Rotary Club and $600 from ELMA, HCOC has been able to construct a toilet/bathing structure (below), and a sleeping facility (picture on left). The construction has been done by the Environmental Health Technician from Madamombe Clinic at no cost to HCOC except for the materials.

Today is a very sad day. A seventh grade boy, who lives close to HCOC, passed away during the night last night. Beauty is devastated. She is worried about what she missed. She had examined him and treated him at the clinic earlier in the day. As his condition improved, she drove him to his home. During the night she was called to the home. He had serious abdominal pain and had serious vomiting. She is puzzled as to what could have been the problem. A seventh grade boy at Guzha Primary School passed away last week under similar circumstances. This morning there is a report that two or three other children in Ward 1 are also sick with similar symptoms. There is no vehicle here at the moment; each is on a job.       What to do?? Beauty is asking for a vehicle that she can go and visit these children. She says that there is also a need for an ambulance.

The staff at HCOC gathers in front of Albert’s office for 15 minutes of devotion each morning before 8:00. Staff members take turns leading the devotion. This particular morning Erik had been asked to lead the devotion.

Albert’s office is the room where the window is in the picture. Godfrey’s office is behind Albert’s office. As you can see, this is the garage. We need an administration building near the entrance to HCOC. However, this is the best solution until adequate funding is available.

 

Some wire mesh and a door will complete the poultry run on the left.     Erik had some money that had been given him by various sources. He chose to use some of the money to compete this project.

The chickens in the picture on the right are six weeks and are nearly all sold. In the lower left the chickens are four weeks and will be ready for market soon.     The lower right picture shows chickens a few days old. Much of the equipment for this expansion has been funded by a grant Albert obtained from USADF here in Harare. They are preparing to build another poultry run by the beginning of the New Year.

After a very busy morning at the home of an orphan living alone, we returned to HCOC for a farewell for Erik. The pastors that have been working with the schools had been invited to join with us. There are three pastors sharing the responsibility but only two were in attendance. We had some time to discuss their plans moving forward. They have decided that each pastor will fulfill the job by each one taking a month. They will compare notes at the end of each month so the lessons can pick up where the previous month left off.

Erik spoke briefly about his experiences here and left the people with words of encouragement.

This letter has become long. There is so much more that has taken place but I will draw this to a close. More news will follow. Everyday has been completely packed with activities. Two weeks have passed and I need to set a time schedule for work to be accomplished.

I ask for your prayers for the child-headed households, especially for their safety. These children are struggling just to survive and often education becomes unimportant. One of Ralph’s dreams was for a vocational school for children who had difficulties in school. This trip, more than any in the past, make this need more apparent. There is need for more housing on site for some of the most vulnerable children.

In His Service,
Roberta