How You Can Help

Children at Hartzell Primary School

I. Elementary Tuition Fees—There is an ongoing need for help in this category! We have paid the fees for 401 poor and orphan farm children to attend school for 3 years. Despite inflation, the cost was low and easily covered by available funds. However, the fees were increased by 433% for the January term! Instead of $1.85 per child per term, went to $10 per term! Generous increases in support enabled us to keep all 401 in school, and has allowed us turn our focus to the next crisis—the Feeding Program!

II. Tuition & Fees for day students at Hartzell High School. Chosen by the Primary School Scholarship Committee, thirty-five able, but needy seventh grade graduates have been able to attend high school as day students since this program began in 2000. Many are orphans, while almost none of the remaining parents have work. Up until now, sponsorships of $200 per year have covered the costs. We still need sponsors for one boy and one girl. However, inflation has greatly increased the costs of necessary uniforms and school supplies and the basic fees have doubled as of January 2005. While we now need $400 for each of the 30 that are in program, some of the sponsors cannot double their support. We would appreciate second sponsors at $200 each, for at least three others.

III. Feeding the Children at Old Mutare—During this time of intense hunger, the Primary School organized feeding 950 pupils, once a day during term time and three times a week otherwise. While we started the program and are underwriting the cost, until now an emergency agency has provided much of the needed supplies. That has now ended and we will have to bear the entire, greatly increased, cost. The feeding program will run until the famine is over or our money runs out. Children are coming to school because they are hungry instead of staying home for that reason! Donations are making a difference in their lives! We expect to have firm figures soon for the cost of buying all the supplies needed for the program. It will be expensive!

Children eating porridge furnished by the feeding program.

IV. Books for the Library—There are no limits to Children’s books in new or good condition. Hardcover books are in short supply and are especially needed as the core of a permanent library. Easy to read and picture books for beginners and biographies are priorities. Also, money to buy books printed in Africa, for operating supplies; such as ink, tape and paper, and for computer supplies.

V. Salary Support for Librarians, Danai Noisi and Josephine Mawoyo, is critical! It is currently costs $225 per month. Adequate staffing of the library is imperative to make it work. As there is no way it could be put in the school’s budget, we have personally guaranteed their salaries. We could use help.

VI. The Forty-Foot Container, which four of us had sent filled with books, clothing, & school supplies, reached Old Mutare on June 4, 2004. The container also delivered much needed medical supplies for the Centre’s hospital and 14 refurbished computers for the primary school computer lab purchased from reserve funds. Our half share of the shipping costs, $3,818, came from undesignated funds. Extremely worthwhile; but it has undercut our ability to fund the sharply increased 2005 costs of the other projects. We also are planning to send more medical and school supplies this year as well.

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UNDESIGNATED GIFTS OR SMALLER AMOUNTS FOR ANY OF THE ABOVE WILL ALSO BE VERY HELPFUL.

Checks made out to Ypsilanti FUMC and noted “VIM-Zimbabwe” will receive a tax receipt. Please then mail the check to us at 2856 Renfrew, Ann Arbor MI 48105, so we can make certain that it is properly noted and processed and that it goes to the specific project you wish. The money is then held in a special account, from which we voucher it. This method allows us to keep track of donations here and it also enables us to avoid expensive currency and exchange costs there.
We are completely self-supporting volunteers and pay all our own expenses and promotion costs. Therefore, ALL money raised through donations or craft sales goes entirely to help children in Zimbabwe to get education, food, and clothing.

God bless you for your interest and support!
Ann and Morris Taber
2856 Renfrew
Ann Arbor, MI 48105

ann@taber.net morris@taber.net (734) 662-9880

Should you prefer to mail your contributions directly, the address is:
Ypsilanti First United Methodist Church
Attn. Jan Wright, Ad. Asst.
209 Washtenaw
Ypsilanti, Mi 49198

But—be certain to note the check “VIM-Zimbabwe.”