Give education to 80 survivors of rape in Zimbabwe

a)    Children & Education

At this present time we have six small babies at the Centre.  That’s not counting the babies at our baby’s home. Our latest baby was born last week.  Unfortunately she was born with jaundice so had to go back into hospital.  Melinda, her mother, was obviously very worried but now they are both home and recovering well. The other children at the Centre are all doing well. 

Our Girls have all just come back from a Camp which has been run by a group of regular volunteers from Australia who come out every year.  This camp is the “She is” Camp and this year it was the “She is BRAVE”.  They all absolutely loved the camp and it seems to have been a great success in every form.

b)   Vocational Training Program

Four of our girls who have already completed the Vocational Training Program are now doing an attachment with us.  This is a whole new experience for them and we hope we are going to see some interesting days ahead! We are trying to teach them to become more independent and to learn how to attain and keep a job once they leave us.  The skills we will be encouraging them to learn during this period is the importance of getting to work on time, working hard, and working the full eight hours a job requires. It’s not going to be an easy journey for them but we have confidence that they will succeed.

We at the Centre have come to realise that despite the sad circumstances surrounding their pregnancies, each one of them wants just the same thing for their children as every parent wants for their own…. that they will grow up to be happy, healthy and independent.

Potential New Projects

The vocational training program girls visited a local woman who grows flowers commercially. They received information on how to cultivate different plants, and what the market for flowers looks like in Bulawayo. Indications are that the market for commonly grown local flowers may be limited even during the off-season for outdoor growing, but that there may be opportunities in growing less commonly available varieties.

A course in leather tanning at the Ministry of Youth Sizinda training centre has been identified as a possible source of information for learning how to utilise the leather skins that are a by-product of our rabbit project. Currently, the skins are still stored for future use until we can develop new products to sell. We will also look to local industry contacts for more information on tanning.

Transport Update

Up to date, we are still in the same situation with our transport.  Our red truck we have been using for a few years now has been in the work shop several times over the past few months and is close to being on its way out.  However, with the money that was earnestly raised from ZET in November/December period last year, we are able to bring our total amount to $10,000 towards buying a 15 seater mini bus.  We have been advised that to get a good quality bus, we will need between $13,000 and $15,000.

Thank you for your support!