Children eat bread and drink tea with their teacher as part of the 6:00AM breakfast program at Hartzell Primary School.
(See story below)

After a number of problem delays, Hartzell Primary School began feeding breakfast to at least 400 of their pre-school and younger primary kids on Monday, October 10. For many of these children, the bread, peanut butter, jam, and tea with milk, plus the porridge they get at 10 o’clcock break will be virtually the only food they will receive all day. This food will enable those families to stetch their meager food and cash resources to cover others in the family. Another advantage of these programs is that girls and other children won’t be discriminated against in the feeding, as happens in some families.

Deborah Schaub, who originated the idea of breakfast, has agreed to fund most of the expense. While the cost of this program is not yet totally established, it will be quite substantial and help would be appreciated. Please contact us via the comment button or at morris@taber.net. If there is sufficient support, the feeding can be expanded to include some of the three months between school terms.

Ishe Anseu [God is With Us!]
Morris and Ann

Term Three of the 2005 school year is underway at Hartzell Primary and High Schools. The seventh graders will soon be taking the many-hours-long written exams (in English) that will determine their future access to education. The Primary School Scholarship Committee is choosing six of the brightest needy [three girls and three boys] from that class. Many of them are orphans.

We are now seeking sponsors so that those six children may start high school in January. The cost of such sponsorships has been running $200-300 per year. We won’t know the exact figure until we have more information. If you are interested, please contact us.

Meanwhile 11 of the 31 sponsored high school students will be taking their final exams in November.

The drought and poverty continue in the country and the feeding program continues for the entire primary school at the mid morning break. Our responsibility has increased as the agency formerly providing most of the ingredients has run out of funds. A volunteer visiting from Georgia was moved to urge the addition of a breakfast program as well. We believe that we now have such a program in place for 400 of the younger children.

Inflation continues by leaps and bounds. As a result,it is very difficult for people there to know what even their next day’s expenses will be. The currency is also continually being devalued, which means that it has been impossible to accurately predict what the costs of our programs will be. Basically, we can only calculate them after a balance has been struck between what was spent and how much US currency it took to pay those bills.

More news details will be posted as we get them.

HOW YOU CAN HELP THE NEWLY HOMELESS IN ZIMBABWE!

DEAR FRIENDS,
Although the 700,000 Zimbabweans were made homeless nearly two months ago, their plight is continues to get worse as the winter and famine take their toll. Help is urgently needed and on a continuing basis

UMCOR [and a number of other relief agencies] are working in Zimbabwe through Christian Care, a long established and very effective agency already on the ground. My great regret is that we only discovered this channel for help today after speaking with the Director of UMCOR. We have missed an entire month of helping while I waited to hear of how we might be of help specifically to people in the Mutare area. Any money you send to the Advance # listed below will be well used well where it is most needed.

Although the following is a United Methodist appeal, the money will go through an ecumenical consortium in Geneva and directly to work in Zimbabwe. Those of you who have supported our projects in the past with donations or craft purchases have made possible our immediately sending $1,000 to this effort. The bottom of this article gives the addresses and information for making donations. We will promptly forward any money sent us for this purpose.

May God’s Grace be with you,

Morris and Ann

The UMCOR Hotline
Note: This edition of the UMCOR Hotline is a special update on Zimbabwe. For more about UMCOR’s current responses, read the hotline for July 19. http://gbgm-umc.org/umcor-hotline/20050719.cfm

July 21, 2005

ZIMBABWE: URGENT NEEDS ALERT
Transit Camps Lack Basic Necessities; You Can Help
UMCOR has received fresh information on needs in Zimbabwe arising from Operation Restore Order, the urban clean-up campaign that began May 19. The situation is so urgent, and the need so great, we are posting this special edition of UMCOR Hotline.

The people displaced by the government’s effort to clear illegally built vending sites and homes are now living in very poor conditions in transit camps. They face inadequate shelter, clothing, food, water, sanitation and healthcare. Children are unable to attend school and are missing year-end exams. Illness is rampant, especially among the children and elderly. This year’s harsh winter weather is adding to the woes. People in one area have dug small holes in the ground where they sleep at night to fend off the bitter cold.

Food, Blankets, Support
Through a coordinated response by faith based agencies in Zimbabwe, 12 sites have been selected to receive humanitarian aid. General feeding programs, supplementary feeding for children, blankets, tents, sanitation and psycho-social support will be provided. The Zimbabwe Council of Churches will also engage in developing lobby groups at the local level as well as auditing of government action and promises.

Your Gifts Will Make a Big Difference
Here are some examples of what your contributions will purchase.
•
$6.00
Supplemental porridge for 90 days to a malnourished child
•
$16.50
Maize, vegetable oil, and beans for one person for 90 days
•
$35.00
A warm winter blanket
•
$454.00
A temporary toilet
•
$1,000.00
Community psychologist for one month

Your prayers and financial gifts will go far to alleviate the suffering of displaced people in Zimbabwe. Please give to UMCOR Advance #199456, Zimbabwe Emergency. You can donate by placing a contribution in the offering plate at a local United Methodist church; by sending a check to UMCOR, PO Box 9068, New York, NY 10087-9068; or by calling 1-800-554-8583, where credit card donations are accepted. UMCOR is exempt from tax under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of the United States and qualifies for the maximum charitable contribution deduction by donors.

A man carries cans of vegetable oil at a food distribution center in Mutare, Zimbabwe

The United States has given the U.N. World Food Program $52 million for southern Africa, the United Nations said Monday, but more is needed to help more than 10 million people facing possible shortages.

Click on the link “Gil’s Story” on the right under “Related Sites” to read Howard (Gil) Gilman’s recently completed account of his arrest and incarceration by Zimbabwean authorities. It is a moving and inspiring story of courage and faith.

These children are lucky. They live at Fairfield Children’s Home, Old Mutare Mission, Zimbabwe. Many other children in the area are homeless after their houses and huts were destroyed and burned by Zimbabwe police.

This is a poignant account of the horrors that have now reached the Old Mutare Mission area, where we have visited many times and the bulk of our work and support has been concentrated. This comes via those working with the children at Fairfield Children’s Home. How do we respond? Morris and Ann

From: “Judy Ahlschwede”
Date: July 19, 2005 12:26:44 AM EDT
To: morris@taber.net
Subject: ZIMBABWE with tears

[Ann & Morris, I wanted to share this with you- it is what I have sent out to many as a request for funds and to let people know what is happening. The content of my letter is not new to you -- the note attached from Janine is well written and speaks volumes.
Peace, Judy PS -- Gil seems to be doing much better -- he is taking Spanish lessons and seem to have found peace in what has happened - said he didn't think he could have kept quiet seeing what is now happening. Feels God has opened another door for him - his plan at present is to go to Nicaragua. ]

Dear Friends,
I have been sitting here trying to decide what to write — what to say that would share with you what is happening. Then this email came through – it is from the young pastor and a good friend (Janine Roberts) that oversees the FOSA Emergency Relief Project along with Mai Chimbo. The Guy Farm is the first farm to be burned in the Old Mutare Mission area with the governments “clean-up” campaign. This is where FOSA has focused much of its relief efforts. It is a village I have vistied and is filled with many heartwaming stories, sad stories and hardships for all — but still hope, at last count 95 orphans lived on this farm. Now 40 of the huts have been burned. Police presence makes sure those now left out in Zimbabwe’s winter cold (often down to upper 30′s) do not seek shelter in what is left of some charred remaining clay structures. Churches, NGO’s and many other groups are not allowed to offer assitance. There is one group that Janine is working that (FOST) that has been allowed to offer some very limited assistance. Any assistance given must first be approved by the top police (army) person in the area. The head of FOST is asking for permission to provide food, blankets, warm jerseys, and hats. It is now going on 4 days since the burnings — things are getting critical. The army is scheduled to be in the area burning until the end of August – I beleive thirteen farms (villages) in all will be affected.

The end of Janine’s message is talking of a children’s project being done with some of the children on the farms and at Fairfield Children’s’ Home. In the homes it is being done along with a supplement we provide that helps with the immune system – it is hoped those can be provided for the some of the children on the farms too.

Please take time to read Janine’s note below — it speaks volumes. I cannot imagine the pain of those suffering for themselves, for their children, and for those they love. We are limited in what can be done from here — but we can provide funding to offer assitance to those on the ground who are truly doing God’s work. FOSA already has an established Emergency Relief Fund —- please talk to those around you, your churches, your church groups……. If you wish to send donations through FOSA make checks out to “FOSA” and send them to: Meridian Street UMC 5500 North Meridian Street Indianapolis, IN. 46208 Attn.: Pam Withy/FOSA. Make sure you note that the funds are for the Emergency Relief Efforts –we already have funds at work there right now. Please do not let these cries fall on deaf ears. I want to share here the verse Janine uses at the end — it worthy of being read twice — Thank for doing the something you can do – and thank you for your prayers for the people of Zimbabwe and for guidance and safety of those on the ground.

Psalm 10:17-18 Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed so people can no longer terrify them.

Prayers and Peace,
Judy Ahlschwede,
FOSA USA Chairperson

July 18, Janine writes:

Today as we rode back from town on a large public bus, I looked out the window at literally hundreds of cars stretching in lines from each gas station. Many had come days before in a vain attempt to find fuel where there is none. Public transportation has now reached a breaking point as the demand for its services greatly outweigh the supply of buses and cars available. The price for a ride last week was 5,000 Zim. Today it was 10,000 and the prices will double tonight making it nearly impossible for many to pay. We waited, along with dozens of others, until finally finding a ride back to the mission at dusk. My car has become an oversized lawn ornament for the time being. The fuel shortage affects many different areas, including the ability to find basic commodities such as milk, sugar, cooking oil and bread. The cars we do see on the road are often trucks filled with mattresses, a few pieces of furniture, and some household goods packed tightly headed for “kumusha.” Many people are being forced to return to their rural homes because their houses have been burned to the ground in a clean-up operation to clear the cities of any structure that does not have a permit. This lists includes shacks, permanent homes, businesses, and churches. It is estimated that 1.5 million out of a total population of 11 million are now homeless because of this process. When it rains, like it did today, there is no shelter. People sit on their beds outside watching as their belongings become soaked through. This clean-up hit a lot closer to home when on July 13, the homes of many of the children living at Guy Farm, who we have on our outreach list were burned to the ground in a matter of hours. Only a short time after Melissa came home and told me she had seen the army burning down the houses of our friends, I received this letter copied word-for-word here:

Dear Janine,
I was happy to write this letter to tell you about operation. On Tuesday the policeman come to our area and started burning the people’s house. My father said come here to plan because my family we’re sleeping out sides, but it has been windy and cold. Greetings to Melissa-
Yours faithfully, Winfer Simau (nine years old)

The Simau family, with five children in total, was among the first to receive support from project H.O.P.E. so they could start generating income on their own last year. We were so proud to visit them last week and see that they had been able to build a third hut for the children to sleep in with their extra earnings. They had also been able to pay their own school fees. Now the only thing left is a heap of ashes that they have slept next to for the last two nights.
After returning home from our bus trip, Melissa and I gather the few groceries we managed to collect in town and walk the too-familiar path to the mission hospital. We walk through the doors with confidence now, knowing exactly where each of our patients resides. Baba Dozva lies resting on his small cot with his wife faithfully at his side. He has admitted to us that he has tested HIV positive, his openness highly unusual. They are now the sole caregivers for three orphans as well as their own children. As we talk for a few minutes, he tells us that hospital prices will nearly double by Friday. Staring down at his tattered blankets with a glazed-over look, he thinks out loud giving one voice to the thoughts of
many on this day. “My God,” he says, “we’re all going to die aren’t we…”

Psalm 10:17-18
Lord, you know the hopes of the helpless. Surely you will listen to their cries and comfort them. You will bring justice to the orphans and the oppressed so
people can no longer terrify them. (NLT)

This is our promise from God. Keep praying and waiting…we will see Him at work. We are already beginning to see progress in some of the children who are HIV positive. Some of them have been placed on a special diet and many have experienced improved health because of these minor changes. It is so great to see them running around with renewed energy and big smiles.
Wenyu Munashe,
Janine

Go to the end of the path until you get to the gate. Go through the gate and head straight out towards the horizon. Keep going towards the horizon. Sit down and have a rest every now and again, but keep on going. Just keep on with it. Keep on going as far as you can. That’s how you get there….
Child at Old Mutare Mission
Market stalls similar to those that have been torn down and burnedJuly 19, 2005   No Comments

Gil Gilman and his Sakuba kids

by Ann on June 18, 2005

June 18, 2005   2 Comments

Howard Gilman is back in the US

by Morris on June 15, 2005

June 15, 2005   1 Comment