Project Report
| Oct 19, 2010
Four new containers of ATMIT on their way
By Tanya Weaver | Executive Director
Four new containers, each containing 800 50-pound bags of ATMIT (easily digestible oat porridge, full of minerals and vitamins) have left our hands and are on their way to Bulawayo, for the orphan families. The containers should be arriving in Zimbabwe in a month or so and the food will be distributed by our friends from Zimbabwe Orphans Through Extended Hands (ZOE) to the kids.
It makes me very happy to know that even in this tough economy, we have kept our work and have sent the food these kids so desperately need. But, I would be remiss to say that i hasn't been hard and that we haven't had to fight for every penny it cost to get those containers out. There is never a question in my mind that we need to fulfill our promises and that our plans should always move forward, no matter how much we have to beg, plead, and move mountains. Thank God, each child is receiving what we said we'd send and they are able to take their medicine because they have food in their bellies.
Thanks to each of you for giving generously. Thank you for telling others about our kids and about our work, too!
On behalf of the kids,
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Aug 2, 2010
Livestock and Food - great combination!
By Tanya Weaver | Executive Director
Well, going back to Zimbabwe was great! Not only did we get a chance to meet with the ZOE staff whom we support, but we got to meet with beneficiaries. These are the folks who receive the food you've made possible through your donations. They are an incredibly grateful group of folks who just are excited about life and the possibilities they have, now that they have hope.
While in Bulawayo, we met with a potential local donor of food (I hope it works out!) and we also purchased livestock (goats and chickens) for orphan families on behalf of the Canadian Foundation for Children with AIDS (sister organization). These families are eligible for help if they are a child headed household, a family with one parent who passed away and the other who is sick, or a family that is cared for by an elderly person -relative or not.
Between the food you give these kids and the livestock they receive, they are truly on the path to self-reliance. The food is used to give the animals a chance to reproduce and produce so the kids can have eggs and milk to balance out the porridge AFCA provides. Manure is used for gardens. How cool is that?
Thanks for all you do, friends.
Check out the video - i linked it so you can see what we did.
On behalf of the kids,
tanya
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Jun 9, 2010
Visiting Zimbabwe
By Tanya Weaver | Executive Director
I am thrilled to be returning to Zimbabwe this month. It has been a year since our last visit and we are anxious to visit the children who are benefitting form your generosity. Not only do they receive daily meals thanks to the containers of food that AFCA (and you!) sent in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe, but they also received animals in order to start growing small herds.
We found out that some of the kids just didn't know enough about husbandry to take animals home, so until they are properly trained, they will learn how to care for the animals in a communal setting. Each child gets to keep some manure produced by the animals to sell as fertilizer, and they also receive milk and eggs produced by the animals so they have something to eat and barter. All along, they eat the porridge they received, making sure they give their animals time to reproduce and produce.
This project is a huge success and we are so proud to be part of it. In fact, four more containers of nutritional support will be sent later this summer so the kids receive a full year of this gift.
I will return with photos and will be sharing them here for all of you to see. Keep your eyes peeled for our next update!
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