Back in Bulawayo … and loving it
/Hey there, I have finally recovered from jet-lag, I have found myself an internet connection and I thought it best to give an update. I landed in Bulawayo on Thursday afternoon and I have spent the last few days catching up with old friends, making new ones and being shocked with the amount of change that has occurred in the last 3 years. The major change has been the amount of items that are now in the shop (even though it maybe HUGELY expensive). I remember posting photo’s in ’08 when there was literally nothing on the shovels (Click here to see the blog post), here are a few pictures of before and after:
Go Forth and Multiply
Since leaving Zimbabwe back in 2009, Jodi and I have had 2 kiddies:
Dominic
and Sebastian
These two boys are an awesome blessing and it is amazing to see how both of our boys are growing so fast.
Finalized Chip In
Thank you once again for all the people who chipped in to help purchase the uniforms for the Willow Park workers. I was able travel over to South Africa last week and purchased the new uniforms and boots … but get this … because I was able to get these items on discount I was able to also purchase them some gardening gloves … this is a chip in that just keeps on giving.
You guys ROCK … Thank you!!!!
Finally
Hey guys … I finally have a good internet connection so I will attempt to upload some pictures of the toilet block repaint. I am also hoping to post a lot more pictures over the coming days as I will be in Johannesburg and I am hoping to find a nice little coffee shop with excellent coffee and fast broadband speed.
Just a Reminder
Hey All,
Just a reminder about how you can chip in to help out with a few things we are involved in at Willow Park. I know I posted three ways in which you can help just the other week, but so we don’t forget I have put them all on the side bar to your right.
Now is your Chance…
Over the last couple of weeks you have seen how people have chipped in to work at Willow Park and the difference it has made in many different ways. Now here is your chance to chip in …
I know everyone likes options these days, so instead of giving only one way to chip in here are three ways you can make a difference. Just click on the pictures below and you are on your way to chipping in at Willow Park.
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The Staff say “Thank You”
I don’t know if the person who donated these items reads this blog, but if you do the staff wanted to say “Thank you”. A lady has been over here from Australia helping out in YFC and has passed on these essential items to the staff at Willow Park on behalf of a donor in OZ. These items are very useful, but EXTREMELY expensive and the staff are blown away when people can help out like this.
Sandra Jones Home
The Chicks Arrived
I posted earlier this week that because of your help with a chip in earlier last year we were able to purchase another 110 day old layers for our egg project at Willow Park. Well here they are … they all arrived safely in Bulawayo by train and then were transported successfully to Willow Park (without any road blocks).
Just last week …
I have to admit that I was extremely disorganised last year and I was constantly running about 1 week behind. So to combat this I have prepared a weekly calendar broken into all the different areas I am involved in (one of these is updating the blog) so I hope I can be a bit more consistent and better managed this year. This plan looked like it was going to work just chippa until last Wednesday afternoon when I got a call from a Doulos Enigma partner (the Prefect Leadership course that has been started last year) asking if I could help run a prefect leadership course on the following two days. Even though it broke my new weekly schedule I was excited about running another course and got planning hastily. The two day course was a success and both the leaders and students had an awesome time exploring what leadership means. This time the course was a little different as the program was held in the board room of one of the larny (ritzy / posh) hotels in Bulawayo (instead of at a camp site). We did manage to get out during the two days to a local park to do some fun outdoor team building activities.
Did someone say Chickens????
Once again I would like to thank all the people who chipped in last year to help us create a chicken run for layers … this is a chippin that keeps on giving. We purchased 100 day olds last year and even though we had a large amount die due to bad feed and then have about half of our remaining stock stolen we have still managed to save enough money to buy our next round of day old layers. Better still, we have been able to supply Samkele as well as the Sandra Jones Baby’s Home with eggs (not a HUGE amount … but enough to keep them going).
On Friday we are expecting our next round of day old chicks to arrive in Bulawayo. If we have 100 of these chicks survive to lay that will mean that we can give provide at least 1 tray of eggs to both Samkele and the Sandra Jones Baby Home each week. I will post some pictures later this week when they arrive.
SNAPSHOT
Lisa
Lisa was born on the 30 March 2008 and is two weeks older than Ethan, but was about half his weight. She was born at a public hospital, one day her mother told a nurse on duty that she was going downstairs to buy some cotton wool and never returned. Her mother gave a false names and address to the hospital, so the police were never able to trace her. Lisa is a beautiful baby and her long eyelashes are the first thing everyone mentions.
Lisa is very close to sitting up by herself and is very good at moving around and getting to where she wants to go by rolling. She is having a few skin problems and she has light patchy skin on her face to counteract this they have stopped using baby soap on her and are using a soap alternative and aqueous cream. In October Lisa was 6.4kg.
SNAPSHOT
Ethan
Ethan was born on Wednesday 16 April 2008 and weighed 3.2kg. His mother is very young and is part of the YFC crisis pregnancy center. The girl’s family was very uncertain about whether or not she could keep her baby; they at first said no, then changed their minds and said that she could keep the baby and then just before he was born they decided that it would be best for her (being only 13) and best for the baby for her not to keep him. He was born with heaps of hair, chubby lips and he is a very beautiful boy.
Ethan needed an operation for a belly button hernia and has recovered quite well. Ethan is now 9 months old and is sitting very will on his own and is always very happy and ready for a BIG laugh.
SNAPSHOT
David
David was born on the 29 November 2007. He is from a homestead about 20km out of Esigoudini (about an hour drive from Bulawayo). His Mother was only 16 years of age and passed away (from HIV)about 2 weeks before he was brought into the Sandra Jones home, which was the 8 Feb 08. David was very malnourished and dehydrated; when he was brought in he weighed only 1.6kg. David was on Isomilk which is a soy based formula, as it has more nutrients than regular formula.
David has got 4 teeth, 2 top and 2 bottom and loves to show them off. He is making heaps of noises now and tries to talk to you (in gibberish of course). He is always happy and ready with a smile and loves to be tickled around the middle. He is still not sitting by himself yet, but is getting closer by the day. One side of his body seems to develop slower than the other, so sitting and not falling over is a bit of a challenge. He does not seem mentally delayed at all, just seems to be a physical problem. In October 2008 David weighed 9.4kg.
Snapshot
Calvin
Calvin was born on the 2 January 2008 in a squatters camp in a rural town called Cabatsha. His mother passed away (from HIV) about 2 weeks before he was brought into the Sandra Jones home, which was the 6 Feb 08. His father is over 60 years of age and could not look after him properly. Calvin was being fed on cow’s milk, which was not doing him any good. When he was brought in to the home he was about 1 month old and only weighed about 2.2kg.
Calvin in spoilt by the house mothers and loves to be held and cuddled. He is sitting very well now and when he smiles you can just start to see his teeth poked though … he is very cute with his little dimples. In October Calvin weighed 9.1kg.
Merry Christmas
Sorry for the late greeting …
Snapshot
Alice
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 1st 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.
SNAPSHOT
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.
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- Adrian – Feb 08
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- Adrian – May 08
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- Adrian – Aug 08
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- Adrian – Oct 08
On our trip down to Cape Town
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.
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- Green Expance of Vineyards
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- Local Township
Finally some pics
Sorry for the dely … but I have finally uploaded the pictures from the Mawabeni graduation. Enjoy!!!!
Holiday time … Hooray!!!!!
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- Jodi and I relaxing
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- Sunset
Talk about a GREAT weekend
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.
