December « 2008 « Zimbabwebound

Happy New Years

31 12 2008

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Merry Christmas

30 12 2008

Sorry for the late greeting …

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Alice came to the Sandra Jones home after temporarily being placed in “Mustard Seed”; an orphanage run through the Catholic Church. Alice’s mother was in the Crisis Pregnancy center (another outreach run by YFC) and because she was unable to look after her daughter she wanted YFC to look after her. Alice is quite tiny for her age but she is very alert and generally wins the baby walker competitions. One of Alice’s trademarks is her long eye lashes.

It was in October that we celebrated Alice’s 1^st birthday by having a party in a local park with all the other children and they all had a wonderful time. You can see more pictures in a previous blog by clicking here.

About 1 month ago Alice’s grandmother came to visit and this was the first time the grandmother had ever seen her granddaughter as she had previously wanted nothing to do with her. This is encouraging and we are hoping that she continues to visit.

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SNAPSHOT

16 12 2008

Adrian

Adrian was bought into the Sandra Jones home mid February. He was found by himself in a queue at the Princess Margaret Hospital after his father said he needed to go to the toilet and left Adrian in the line and never came back. He was left with no ID, so the Doctors estimate he is somewhere between 2 1/2 to 3 years old. Adrian was tested for suspected TB and HIV, the TB test came back positive. He has been on daily TB medication for 6 months and he has now finished his course for the treatment.

Adrian is prone to give many cheeky grins and is growing in weight and in confidence. He loves visitors and playing with the other children and has a VERY kind heart.

: Adrian – Feb 08

: Adrian – May 08

: Adrian – Aug 08

: Adrian – Oct 08

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On our trip down to Cape Town

12 12 2008

It was a jammed packed trip to drive close to 1400klm in 2 days … but we did it. It was FANTASTIC to finally stop at our destination (Llundudno) and know that we didn’t have to get up early the next morning to start to drive again.

One thing that really stood out to me on the drive down was when we hit a lovely wine valley (about 1 hour from Cape Town). As we drove into this valley we were stunned and in awe at its absolute beauty; on this huge expanse of land, grape vines were in abundance and scattered amongst the greenery were stunning homes and estates that open their doors to day visitors or if you have a little extra cash could indulge the night away in one of their decedent lodges. Peace, tranquillity and beauty.

This was soon shattered as we approached the centre of the valley and into the community where all the workers live. Small corrugated tin shacks littered the sides of the roads with rocks being used to keep the shacks roof on. All these one roomed hovels were all crammed tightly in together with very little space between one shack and the next. No greenery … just the bare dirt where the families did their washing, cooking and the children played. What a stark contrast to the green decadence of the wine estates.

What can be made of this? Is this the harsh reality of the world we live in? Where one person can afford to indulge whilst their neighbour fights to survive? Or is this the way these two communities choose to live … co-existing and not wanting to get involved in the others affairs?

: Green Expance of Vineyards

: Local Township

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Finally some pics

10 12 2008

Sorry for the dely … but I have finally uploaded the pictures from the Mawabeni graduation. Enjoy!!!!

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Holiday time … Hooray!!!!!

10 12 2008

Well my fellow bloggers … it is time that Jodi and I take a small break to recoup and regroup after a VERY interesting and somewhat difficult year. Quite a lot has happened since our return to Zim in Feb 08; some good and some not so good … to be honest, Jodi and I are exhausted (especially after all the stuff that has happened in the last few months) so we were glad when we got the opportunity to go down to Cape Town just to chill. Whilst we are away I will do a little bragging about our coastal retreat but also give you all an update on the Sandra Jone’s Home and the little ones that call it “their home”. Stay tuned …

: Jodi and I relaxing

: Sunset

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Thank you

9 12 2008

I am just wanting to write a quick thank you note to those who “chipped in” and helped us raise money to purchase some of the items stolen from our house. This means a HUGE amount to Jodi and I and we are EXTREMELY thankful.

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Talk about a GREAT weekend

3 12 2008

When you read the words “Doulos Enigma” what do you think???? No I haven’t smoked anything weird … no it is not Zimbabwean language … it is actually the new leadership program the YFC has set up in conjunction with Family Impact Zimbabwe.

This camp program is in its early days and we have HUGE neigh MASSIVE plans to introduce leadership development programs for all secondary school children from Form 1 to the Prefect leadership body.

We have actually started with the prefect leadership camp and our first one was on the weekend just gone. IT WAS AWESOME. We had a really good time working with the prefects (school leadership team) from Girls College and showing them important aspects of leadership. I think one of the high lights for me was to see how these 26 girls grew and bonded together as a whole team. They came on Friday morning in their own little groups of friends and by Saturday afternoon they all joined together as one big united team … I can’t wait for the next one.