"A MILE-STONE" for Educating Others

£.1000-00

With our July Donations to 

Rose of Sharon and Gua Africa Emma Academy,

we have now sent £.500-00 to each of these

worthy causes since we launched

Educating Others

Thank you to all who have so

generously supported us.

"TEARS of JOY" by Phithi

One interesting aspect of human beings is the ability to cry. Crying is something that we all do and in most instances it symbolises pain and sorrow. When people cry, it’s normally the heart responding to an event or something emotional that has happened. So many times, we do not want to see tears, we hate them; they break our hearts and remind us of the painful events that take place in life. We would rather see smiles and laughter than tears. In some instances, we try to suppress them. I remember growing up when sometimes crying was viewed as a sign of weaknesses, we were supposed to be strong and ‘hold the tears’ especial if you were a man. Cry babies were scorned and frowned upon, while stoicism and heroic acts were praised. I remember reading a book in 2003 called, A Man Cannot Cry by Gloria Keverne, a British national who was born in the then Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia), a remarkable book about a young British doctor who went to Zambia and established roots there. The story is so emotional and moving, and at the end, the doctor has to leave Zambia to go back home. The day he returns breaks his and everyone else’s heart with some characters crying a bucketful of tears, but the young doctor manages to hold his tears as a man! Unfortunately poor me, I failed to hold mine at the end of the book, there I was shedding tears, a man cannot cry indeed!

I know my introduction has been some ramblings and ‘diatribes’ as Dave would call it, but I am still talking about tears. The first time I watched a video by Emmanuel Jal’s talk during a Ted Conference, I cried. Emmanuel spoke a language that finds its way into our hearts; how he lost his family during war and the challenges of being a child soldier. This was painful, it made me cry. However, his resolve to build schools for former child soldiers was something that I admired (and made me cry) thus Educating Others’ decision to support him. Once again today, Educating Others is making me cry again, but the difference this time is that it’s tears of joy. We are getting there, managing to reach a lot of children out there and making a difference in their lives. It takes simple everyday citizens like us, faced with everyday challenges and needs to take that vital everyday step to make a difference out there. We are so grateful and proud of our sponsors and supporters (who are your everyday citizens) who have indeed shared with us their hard-earned resources to help us make a difference. We are looking forward to our fundraising event by the end of this month; we look forward to more tears of joy as we are confident of your support.

Editor's Letter ~ July 2010

 

 Hello again everyone,

 

Well, we are past Midsummer’s Day and the nights will be getting longer again. Where has this year gone to? In addition to our regular donors, to whom we offer our grateful thanks, we do from time to time receive gifts and donations from other well-wishers, Churches and groups. In June we received nearly £400 given and promised in this way, and this has shown that even in times of financial difficulty, we can give to those less fortunate than ourselves. I can tell you all that since we started Educating Others in late December 2009, we have already sent nearly £1000* to Africa.

 

We are now looking forward to our first social event which will be held in the Old Grammar School, behind Saint Mary’s Church in Rolleston. Phithi will be with us on this occasion and I am sure many of you will want to meet him. 

Many of you have been asking when our fellow trustee Kuda will be able to visit us. We are unable to give an answer to this vexed question, but we hope that when he applies again for a Visa to ‘holiday’ with us in the UK, he will be successful. I include this month in our Newsletter, Kuda’s ‘autobiography’, which shows how much the thirst for knowledge is embedded in the African soul. Kuda, and thousands like him on that continent, is a shining example of what can be achieved, and this is what Educating Others is all about -  helping to give young people a basic education to put them on the road to success.   We again include information received from our two beneficiaries, together with a few more extracts from the Rose of Sharon students’ Newsletter (Transformer).   I am still keeping the link to Chen Jie and my book on our travels in China at the bottom of this page, and as a reminder, £5-00 from every sale goes to Educating Others. I have soft copies available.   And finally, I have set up this blog for Educating Others which will contain some articles from previous issues of our Newsletter and other relevant items of interest.   The Trustees again thank you for your continued support,   David   (*  The £1000 mentioned, includes the donations we will be sending at the end of July)

Link to 'CHINA - A Travellers Diary'

 

THE PROOF ~ "The Thirst for Education"

Many times in our Newsletter which is sent out monthly in pdf, and in this blog, we report the insatiable desire of young people in Africa to better themselves through education. As far as EDUCATING OTHERS is concerned, we have to look no further than two of our own Trustees - Phithi and Kuda. These two young men are a shining example of the determination to succeed in their chosen fields. The story of their journey through their school and university lives is an example to all students world-wide. We are printing two self portraits of this journey. The first is Phithi's and is taken from our Newsletter of January 2010, and this is followed by Kuda's account. No further comment is required - the accounts speak for themselves and are an inspiration to all who read them

Phithizela Ngcobo

I was born to a simple family in the rural area of Zimbabwe in the southern part of the country known as Matabeleland. My father worked in the city while we lived in the village with my mother. My late mother, (let her dear soul rest in peace), was a simple rural woman who never got a chance to go to school, but surprisingly seemed to understand the importance of education more than most people around her. She always emphasised that with education, I could be anything I wished to be, but in particular she would encourage us to learn so that we could be able to stand on our feet in the future. Even after my father's passing away in 1997 while I was still an 'A' Level student, my mother was prepared to sell even her last teaspoon and pin to make sure that I completed my studies and went to University. Fortunately at that time, university education was still free in Zimbabwe so I knew that passing 'A' Levels would be the last hedge to jump.  

After completing my first degree and working in Zimbabwe as a Book Editor, I had the best opportunity in life when Oxford Brookes University offered me a Scholarship to study for a Masters Degree in Publishing. Looking back now, I realise what a privilege this was for me, but I also realise that there are so many intelligent children out there who are not clamouring for a Master degree, but a basic education that will enable them to stand on their own. So my resolve is to raise some funds to donate to charities that are trying to help children, who are the future. 

I have published books from the primary school to the higher education level. However, my  main area of interest is in Children's publishing, that is, publishing books aimed at young children and teenagers. My focus is on the issues that affect  children, the values that writers and editors pass on to them through books.  I  also  look  at  the  use  of  language,  its   suitability to children of a certain age group and how parents and guardians can play a role in making sure children access the books that are relevant and suitable for them. It is this area of interest that encouraged me to venture into charity work focusing on  children.  My future dream is to start a publishing house publishing books that focus on children and help them to become responsible adults who will mould our world for better.

I am also a co-founder of an Oxford-based book publisher, Oxford-Mosaic Publications,  founded in 2008,  which publishes books in social sciences and the humanities.

Phithi with his mother in 2002
 

I realised that I did not have much resources myself and my meagre donation may be a mockery to these charities, but I remembered the words of Mother Theresa, a great woman of all time. She said,

If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one.

 AND

We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.

I then realised that what matters is not how much you have, but the heart to give. I shared my idea with some friends and David, a father figure to me and his wonderful wife Brenda, (who incidentally shares the same name and birthday with my younger sister Brenda), agreed to partner me by matching whatever donation I make towards charity every month. I am ever so grateful to them for their support, friendship, love and their guidance will ever be a great part of the story of my life. Through them, I have realised how as human beings, we are a family that is scattered across the globe and that wherever we go, there is a part and members of our family, we only need to open our eyes and heart to meet them.  David, Brenda and myself are very much excited with this idea because we feel that we have the opportunity to make a difference to other people's lives out there and are confident that God will give us strength and ability to do the little that we can do to make a difference.

Kudakwashe Lionel Kupara

 Kuda

I am commonly known as Kuda, am a Biochemist, philosopher and writer currently pursuing doctoral studies in Biology at Texas A and M University, in College Station, Texas (USA). My current scientific interests are in Molecular Genetics specifically Epigenetics and genomic "homeostasis" or simply stated “how the cell makes decisions” 

In contrast to my background in Biological Sciences I am currently pursuing literary writing projects. My writings are on general perceptions of life, reality and ethics expressed in fiction writings and articles on global international affairs as well as politics.  I have strong philan-thropic convictions which emanate strongly in my writings.

I was born in Harare, Zimbabwe, to a large family, on the 11^th of September 1983 at a time when my mother was a primary school teacher and my father was a laboratory technician at a non-alcoholic beverage company. Although my parents passed on long before their days, they would have been proud to see how much the strong emphasis they placed on the value of education inspired me: I obtained a Bachelor of Science (Honours) degree at the University of Zimbabwe in 2005 and a Master of Science degree in Biotechnology in 2007 at the same university.

In addition to the inspiration I drew from my parents another major proponent of my academic ambition was the value upon which I place innovation and creativity in a world that is becoming increasingly challenging. I strongly believe that “We can only secure the future of our generation and generations to come if we learn from today and create new knowledge for tomorrow”, which is one of the reasons why I aim to remain involved in active research whilst teaching at the same time.

I have been participating in voluntary peer counselling training directed towards lessening the devastation of the scourge of HIV and AIDS in my home country, Zimbabwe. I have also been involved in environmental awareness campaigns that also focused on the socio-economic environment which involved liaison with orphanages in Zimbabwe. During the course of this voluntary work, I “experienced a most amazing awakening. I saw myself in every single one of those orphans. If my parents, before their days ended, set me on the path of education, then why should any child be denied this chance?” Because of this, I was naturally drawn to the cause of David, Brenda and Phithi of “Educating Others”. “One child educated is a generation rescued”. 

 

Gua Africa, Emma Academy ~ Southern Sudan

Check back on this section,

it will be up-dated on a regular basis,
scroll down to last report.

12 July - Toilet blocks now complete with photos
Total Funds raised to date for Phase 1 of Emma Academy
20 July - Update with photos
28 July -Nearly there! Latest Total.

http://gua-africa.org/

http://www.facebook.com/daveinuk?ref=profile#!/guaafrica?ref=ts 

 

 Emmanuel Jal
Founder of GUA Africa, part of which is
The Emma Academy

Emmanuel Jal was born in Southern Sudan, and spent the early years of his childhood in the midst of its longrunning civil war. At the age of 7, after the death of his mother, he was recruited as a child soldier for the Rebel army (SPLA).

Amazingly, he survived front line action and eventually managed to escape with 300 other "lost boys", enduring a 3 month trek on foot without any supplies to reach safety. One of only a handful to survive the journey, Emmanuel was rescued by Emma McCune, a British Aid Worker, who smuggled him to freedom in Kenya and enrolled him in school for the first time.

Tragically, Emma died shortly afterwards in a car accident. Gradually, after so much sadness and trauma in his life Emmanuel began to find healing through the church and through music.

Some ten years later Emmanuel is now a world famous rap artist with a Number 1 record under his belt. He has performed at Live 8 in Cornwall, supported massive UK groups Faithless and Razorlight and his song Baai featured in the smash hit film Blood Diamond. "War Child", a documentary film telling Emmanuel's life story has recently premiered at the Berlin and Tribeca Film Festivals, and his album of the same name is also now on worldwide release.

On 27th June 2008 he performed at Hyde Park at the 90th birthday concert for Nelson Mandela.

Throughout all this, Emmanuel has worked tirelessly with the United Nations, Amnesty International and Oxfam to campaign against the employment of child soldiers and the illegal trade of arms.

His work with GUA Africa remains his overriding passion.

Our mission is to work with individuals, families and communities to help them overcome the effects of war and poverty. Each of our projects focus on providing an education to children and young adults who would otherwise be denied such opportunity. Currently our work is in Kenya and Sudan, however in the future we would like to expand into other areas of Sub-Saharan Africa - working with other experienced partner organisations where ever opportunities arise.

In April 2008 we were granted full UK charity status and later the same year we received our NGO registration in South Sudan.

GUA Africa has been granted 15 acres of land in Leer, West Upper Nile, by the government of South Sudan. Our goal is to build a high quality education centre for the whole community, which is to be called the Emma Academy, as a legacy to Emma McCune who lies in rest in Leer.

The twenty year long Sudanese civil war has meant that schooling in South Sudan today mostly consists of teaching under trees. Many former child soldiers have not found their way back into education, and traditionally only 1 in 5 girls are supported to finish High School.

Back in November 2008 GUA officials agreed with the local Leer community that the Emma Academy project should be split into two phases. The first phase will see the renovation of the existing Leer primary school, which is in desperate need of repair with only two out of four classrooms currently being fit for use. The budget for Phase 1 has been set at $250,000, which includes the construction of 5 extra classrooms.

Due to some fantastic fundraising efforts we have recently been able to replace the collapsed roof and erect a strong perimeter fence around the whole site - essential to keep out roaming livestock. While we continue to fundraise for the new classrooms, work will now continue on refurbishing and repainting the school, plus the construction of the first ever toilet blocks. Each of these improvements will make a massive difference to the welfare of the pupils attending the school.

During the recent trip made by GUA officials in April 2009 more detailed plans were also completed for Phase 2 of the Emma Academy.  This will see the development of a top quality educational academy built on the 15 acres of land given to GUA. The academy will include a secondary school – the first in the area - as well as vocational training, sports, and teacher training facilities. We hope to introduce soil stabilisation technology to the area, which will enable us to make strong, durable building blocks using the local soil and sand. As well as being environmentally friendly, this will also generate income and development opportunities for the community in the years to come.

Survivors of War

GUA Africa currently supports seventeen young people in Nairobi and Uganda who have all survived against unimaginable odds. Some were forced to fight as child soldiers in Southern Sudan, two survived the genocide in Rwanda which claimed the rest of their family, and all have trekked hundreds if not thousands of miles under desperate conditions to seek safety in the UN refugee camp at Kakuma, NW Kenya. Most of them are orphaned, and have no homes they can return to or extended family to support them.

 

GUA has linked each of them with an individual sponsor who pays their school fees, and all of them are studying hard to catch up on the years of education they missed. Because they have missed so much, they are often attending school with children much younger, but they have such a thirst for education that this does not deter them. They know that if they can finish their schooling they stand the best chance of either making a new life for themselves in Kenya or returning to their homeland with the skills to help rebuild their former communities. Several hope to proceed to university, if the financial support is still there. Paying for their education is only part of the story however, and GUA Africa needs your support to pay for their housing, food, clothing and other basic living expenses.

There is no welfare system or free medical care in Kenya, so they are totally dependent on GUA Africa to support them in every way, and if we fail to do so adequately all our and their efforts will have been in vain. With your donations we are able to rent a house for them in a safe part of Nairobi, from where they are able to travel to school, college or university. Our aim is to guide them into young adulthood not just through education but by helping them acquire the life skills needed to forge new relationships and find means of supporting themselves.

Kariobangi

Ever imagined living in a 6ft x 8ft home made of old metal, cardboard and mud, without a bed, electricity, water or a toilet? You have to go out to get water, and the nearest toilet is shared among around 100 people. You have to pay for both. Those who cannot afford toilet costs wait until dark to use the open sewer or open space. A tin filled with kerosene and a piece of cloth for a wick acts as a lamp at night.

This is the glaring reality for approximately 600,000 people living in Kariobangi and Mathare Valley, which is one of the largest slum areas in Nairobi with over 80% of its' population living below the Kenyan poverty line. In addition, it is estimated that one in every three adults in this region is HIV positive and because of the deprivation their life expectancy once diagnosed is less than 5 years.

It is here that a local Christian organisation named Mathare Community Outreach has established Kariobangi School and Orphanage, which 400 local children now attend. Many are orphaned and most have lost at least one parent to HIV/AIDS. The school was also caught in the midst of the post-election violence in January 2008, which caused many families to flee the area and others to take refuge within the compound.

Despite this, Kariobangi School is a thriving happy place staffed by an enthusiastic, dedicated team of teachers and carers. GUA Africa is proud to have entered into a partnership with the school in a bid to provide individual sponsors for up to 50 of its' children.

With the help of NGOs like the World Food Organisation it is helping fight malnutrition and promote health education, and provides a basic but loving home for those with no-one else to care for them.

12 JULY -  TOILET BLOCKS ARE FINISHED

BREAKING NEWS: The 3 toilet blocks at the Leer Primary School are now finished!! These are the first ever at the school, a big thank you goes out to everyone involved in the fundraising for them.

 

Photographs posted on Facebook on 12 July 2010

20 JULY - Various up-dates

Hi David,

The blog is great! Please feel free to announce when you have an update on there via our facebook page. Here is this months on the Emma Academy project for you:- 

As of this week the Leer Primary School has their first ever functioning public toilets available for use thanks to Gua Africa. The construction has taken longer than expected due to the recent Sudanese national and local elections but we are pleased to say that the three toilet blocks are now fully complete. An official handing over ceremony has taken place where our building contractors AMA handed over the keys to our Gua Sudan official John Mayiel, and then he handed the keys over to the school caretakers and management. 

As you can see from the photos the toilets are already blending into the back ground of the school, and according to John the children rushed up to him with joy and were celebrating with him when it was announced to them all that the toilets had been finished and were available for use.

Fundraising for the 5 classrooms has been progressing well in recent weeks, we now have only $18,106 / £11,900 left to raise. The end is starting to feel close now! In the past few weeks an important decision has been reached regarding the building of the classrooms, in response to changed circumstances on the ground in Leer. Another international NGO has offered to build additional classrooms in Government run schools, and as a result Leer Primary is to benefit from at least 3 additional classrooms. Meanwhile, the other primary school in Leer, named Mary John, has no permanent buildings at all and its' pupils are being taught under the trees (please see photos).  We already have a good relationship with Mary John as we constructed a bore hole for them during our last visit, so after lengthy consultations with the management of both schools, and the Local Education Director, we have decided that our five classroom block will now be located at Mary John.

We feel very confident that this is the right decision for the whole community, as it will maximise the effect the classrooms will have on the children of Leer. As we look in future to establishing the first independent Secondary school in Leer, it is important that we help develop each of the primary schools whose pupils will feed through to us. This decision is hot off the press; we will be updating all our press, website, facebook, over the next few days.  

If you or any of your members have any questions about this decision please feel free to ask and we will be happy to answer them for you. I have attached some photos of the Mary John school, which is right in the heart of Leer town, so your members can get a feel for the standard of the facilities there. 

Many thanks for your continued support,

--
Kate Gumm
Gua Africa

Emmanuel Jal giving a talk at Mary John

Assembly time

Carrying their chairs to class

 Blackboard rests up against a tree

 Crowded classes

 No walls between classes

20 JULY - Financial News!

GUA Africa BIG NEWS!! The fundraising total for Phase 1 of the Emma Academy Project is now at $201,894!! We have broken the $200k mark :-) Emmanuel Jal is close to eating properly again, thank you for all your support along the way.

  

Rose of Sharon ~ Zimbabwe

Check back on this section,

it will be up-dated on a regular basis

After the overview of Rose of Sharon's
Aims and Objects you will find information
of Educating Others involvement in contributing
to the work of this Welfare Organisation

We sponsor Emily Kennedy and  Richman Mhlanda
by paying their school fees 

 Mrs. Fatima Maruta
President and Founder
of
Rose of Sharon Welfare Organisation
Ruwa, Zimbabwe
 

 EDUCATION

Born in Buhera District of Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe, as first born in a family of ten, Mrs Maruta did her early learning at Silveira Mission and later at Mukaro Mission and Mashoko for her secondary education. After obtaining several accounting qualifications, she went on to attain a Bachelors Degree in Accountancy from the University of Zimbabwe and a Masters Degree in Business Administration from Bloomsburg University, Pennsylvania, USA. She is married to prominent journalist and broadcaster, Anani Maruta, her husband of 27 years.

CAREER HISTORY

Mrs Maruta held several accounting posts in public and private institutions before joining the University of Zimbabwe where she lectured for six years and also chaired the Department of Accountancy. She then joined the UNAIDS as Projects Accountant for HIV/AIDS Programmes. Her job was to mobilise resources, set up systems for disbursal of resources, monitor the use of resources and submit quarterly reports to UNAIDS. She has published six books. These can be accessed on the UNAIDS website. She obtained a clean Audit Report for two successive years. She then left the organisation 2005 to form the Rose of Sharon Welfare Organisation.

 The following overview taken from one of the organistations brochures, gives a full description of the Aims and Objects of the Rose of Sharon Welfare Organistation

OVERVIEW

The social and economic condition in Zimbabwe remains dire. The unrelenting and long-running political, social and economic crisis that has persisted over the past decade continues to impact negatively on the most vulnerable groups in society, not least the orphaned and abandoned children, whom we, as Rose of Sharon Welfare Organisation, have purposed to provide shelter, education and care.

There are no positive indicators yet of any well-meaning and serious action towards the resolution of the crisis, manifest in high levels of hyper-inflation — unprecedented in world economic history. This has resulted in rapid contraction of the economy, massive unemployment, widespread food shortages and hunger, the spread of HIV and AIDS and collapse of the health delivery system against widespread social dislocation and stress.

Children are the most affected, more so the social cohort that we seek to protect, i.e. abandoned and orphaned children. Whereas we, as a faith-based organisation, carry the message of hope, the general despair and lethargy characterising the social condition in Zimbabwe is all too pervasive and indicative of paralysis. As earlier mentioned, positive change is not anticipated in the short run. Even then, repairing the damage will take considerable time.

The implications for us at Rose of Sharon are such that we have had to devise creative and inspired new ways and means to survive the social and economic rigours. An example, is how we have responded to the food shortages in Zimbabwe where we have had to supplement our requirements with imported food, mainly from South Africa, and paid for in scarce foreign currency.

Responses to some aspects of our operations, however, remain challenging and vexatious. We have faced loss of skilled and unskilled staff due to the exodus to neighbouring countries, mainly South Africa and Botswana, despite our serious attempts to pay competitive salaries and wages. The only way to retain staff is to denominate salaries in convertible foreign currency to provide a cushion to the hyper-inflationary environment.

ABOUT US

Rose of Sharon Welfare Organisation is a registered private voluntary organisation (PVO) that provides shelter, food, education and health care, social amenities and recreation to needy orphans. The children are taken from all walks of life. These are children who are abandoned and dumped in the streets or orphaned, with no extended family to provide care, and those from child-headed families. They are brought to Rose of Sharon by police, social welfare officers and community leaders, at ages ranging from a day old to 21. Currently, the organisation is providing care to 100 children. Sixteen care-givers look after them. Some of the children are HIV positive. All children of school-going age are attending primary, secondary school or college. Toddlers attend a homebased nursery, under the care of an Early Education Officer.
 

OUR MISSION

Is to mission is to facilitate the total transformation of children’s lives, both blind and sighted, who were living under severe, stressful and extremely difficult circumstances and to help them realise their full potential in life.
 

OUR VALUES

Ours approach is holistic. The lives of children are transformed through the provision of:

(i) Accommodation — Decent accommodation, in the form of a house — consisting of a kitchen, dining room, living room, bedrooms and two bathrooms is provided for in each family unit. The organisation has engaged the services of qualified staff comprising a manager, a nutritionist, two housekeepers/child minders and a safety officer, for each family unit.

(ii) Food and Nutrition — The diet for the children comprises organic foods, namely, sugar beans, dried fish, rice, vegetables, soyas and meat. Each day of  the week has a different menu provided to the children to ensure a balanced and yet affordable diet.

(iii) Clothing — Clothing is mostly from well-wishers who donate clothes to the children at the organisation from time to time.

(iv) Health Care — Is provided in the form of regular visits to doctors, treatment and care at local medical centres.

(v) Education — Education is mandatory for all the children at Rose of Sharon. An educationist is engaged in each family unit to help the children develop their academic, sporting and creative abilities.

(vi) Counselling — We believe that genuine transformation begins from within, hence our focus is on the renewal of the children’s negative mindsets caused by traumas suffered because of the loss of loved ones or abandonment by parents or guardians. Before coming to Rose of Sharon, most of the children will have suffered verbal and physical abuse, resulting in emotional distress, hopelessness and despair. The organisation aims to restore these children’s lives to God’s original purpose through the application of biblical principles which focus on the renewing of the mind. A grounding in biblical truths is, therefore, an essential element of the process of rehabilitation, growth and development. Once they have a sense of self-worth, esteem and good self-image, coupled with education, they can then contribute positively to society when they leave the Rose of Sharon family housing units.
 

WHAT WE DO

❖ Intensified support is being provided to children who are infected and affected with HIV/AIDS through access to treatment provided by local health clinics.

❖ Rose of Sharon has developed four family housing units for the support and care of children. We endeavour to develop the total person and also to increase levels of self-sufficiency through the establishment of viable horticulture, soap-making and garment-making projects. These projects are meant to support the lives of children and to help the organisation to augment financial resources. The family housing units are broken down as follows:
 

a) MOUNT ZION

Mount Zion is located at 13 Dallas Road, Marlborough in  Harare. This unit caters for 16 babies who are either abandoned in the streets, orphaned or in need of care. They are brought in at ages ranging from one-day old to just below five years old. This family unit comprises a home-based nursery school, where toddlers are in the care of an Early Education Officer and child minders, a living room, bedrooms, a kitchen and 11/2 bathrooms for children’s use and separate quarters for child minders.
 

b) SHILOH

Shiloh is located at 2273 Rogers Mangena Avenue, in Ruwa. This home caters for 20 pre-teens who are attending primary school (key stage 2). Their ages range from five to 11 years.

c) BETHEL

Is located at 6833 Zimre Park in Ruwa, Harare. This unit caters for 15 teens who are attending secondary school (key stage 3). Their ages ranges from 11 to 16 years of age. In addition to the above, the organisation looks after 40 children outside the homes whose mothers are poor widows infected with HIV/AIDS. We assist with the rentals, food schools fees and uniforms, etc. for these families.
 

OUR VISION

❖ To build a “ Moses Basket” which will give an opportunity to mothers to give up unwanted babies to discourage the evil practice of leaving children to die after dumping them in the streets or such places as dumps, etc. The organisation intends to also build 10 family housing units, a nursery and an administrative block. These units will be used to accommodate and care for children who are orphaned, abandoned or in any way deserve the organisation’s care and support.

❖ To build a technical school on additional land near the housing units. The goal is to offer life skills to the children. These skills will range from artisan skills, e.g. carpentry, garment-making, to an eresource centre which will be used as a springboard for children and community learning.

ROSE OF SHARON SENIOR SCHOOL

The Rose of Sharon Senior School is a multi-cultural school based at 6884 Madecheche Road in Zimre Park, Harare, Zimbabwe. The school caters for pupils aged between 12 and 18 years of age and strives to develop the potential of the pupils in as many ways as we can. Our holistic approach includes academic, sporting, musical, basic counselling and cultural education with pastoral care. Our other objective is to open a life skills centre that is going to offer skills to orphans which are crucial for their survival.

The school prides itself in developing pupils who are fully equipped to succeed in a competitive world. Our Form Four pupils sit 8 to 9 IGCSE levels with a choice of 10 subjects. The school offers A Levels in the Sixth form. The school is pro-active in piloting new subjects, introducing diplomas and participates in teacher refresher courses. The Rose of Sharon School provides a learning environment that motivates pupils to achieve their full academic and leadership potential, encouraging them to think creatively, critically and independently.

ROSE OF SHARON RURAL SCHOOLS OUTREACH

Rose of Sharon has come up with a brand new intervention entitled “Rural Schools Outreach” to orphaned and vulnerable children (OVCs). With this programme, we seek to assist OVCs learning under extremely difficult circumstances. This initiative came into being because of the number of calls we receive on a daily basis on OVCs who are looking for assistance, the increasing numbers of OVCs countrywide and the realisation that no one organisation has the capacity to respond single-handedly. We, therefore, decided to make a difference and impact positively on the lives of these unfortunate children through service provision which include:.
❖ Life skills;
❖ School fees;
❖ Food, clothing an d health services;
❖ Assisting in obtaining the much-needed birth certificates;
❖ Promoting a healthy family environment and protect children from abuse; and
❖ Sharing the “Good News”

THE FOLLOWING STUDENTS AT
ROSE OF SHARON SENIOR SCHOOL ARE BEING

SPONSORED BY EDUCATING OTHERS

We are paying the substantial part of their

school fees which are US$300 a term

Emily Kennedy

Emily was born at Chirinda Hospital in Chipinge. Her mother abandoned her when she was two years old. Her grandmother, who took care of her, was destitute and this forced the young Emily and her siblings to scrounge for food at a nearby Chirinda Boarding School. The then Chaplain of the school realised their plight and referred them to Rose of Sharon Welfare Organization, who then took her in, along with her two siblings, and has sponsored their education since 2006. She is academically gifted with a lot of strength in the Sciences and is currently doing her “O” Level secondary education at Rose of Sharon School. Her ambition is to become a nurse with the intention of pursuing her studies in England.

ACHIEVEMENTS

1) Secretary for Child Protection Society.
2) Represented Children’s Rights for the orphaned and vulnerable children at district level. 
3) She is also Editor of TRANSFORMER, the termly Newsletter for the school.

 Richman Mhlanda

Richman was born on 15 October 1991. Both his parents are late and there is no one to support him together with his siblings, Jefrey, Midwin and Godknows. They were all rescued and admitted into the orphanage.