Silembe, Zambia | HOFO Update

We receive a new update from our team in Zambia, and the great news of our 5th child, and 1st girl -Natasha. The current status of the project is that we are within 30 days of completing the 2nd home at the property and the kitchen-laundry area. In addition, we are beginning the foundation on the third home:

Two rooms are plastered and work is being done on the 3rd.

The gates to secure the building were delivered today. A few alterations will need to be performed, but they will work. Progress on the fireplace walls is slow.

The boys seem to always be having fun.

This is our newest, and 1st girl, Natasha. She hasn't smiled a lot, as she is warming up to her new home. Her name means thanks in Bemba.

We are digging a ditch to drain water out of the foundation, since the ground water level isn't dropping fast enough. The re-enforced concrete will be poured in a few more days.

Linda and I will be in leaving early in the morning for Kasama. If everything works properly, I'll have email and will stay in touch.

The drain for the sinks has water in it as it cures, but drains properly. More pipes will be added to take the water farther away.

God Bless, from Mike

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Please keep the project, the team, and the children in your prayers. Blessings, WOR

Silembe, Zambia | HOFO Update

We heard this AM from our team in Zambia:

Grace is sifting sand for the plaster, while the boys have fun. Jo Anne is picking up a couple more children today.

The plaster work is moving slowly on the 2nd home due to some men out for funerals, etc.. Should finish next week. After plastering, ceilings, hanging doors, window glasses and handles, lights, paint, and furniture. Should be ready for children by the 2nd or 3rd week in May, or sooner.


The wall and grill work is also progressing slowly, with Comrade off again today. The gates for the entrance and over the sinks will not be ready until Thursday.


Golden stretches some rope to line up the plastic drain line on the proper grade.


I delivered the metal pantry doors today.

The grade for the slab will soon be ready. They continue to deal with a little water. We are into good rocky soil, so the foundation will be strong. The bricklayers should go straight from the plaster on the 2nd home to working on the foundation of the 3rd house.

Bricks are being delivered for the 3rd house. Probably another couple of weeks before I can collect rocks.

God Bless, from Mike

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We are currently caring for 4 boys at the House of Faith Orphanage in Silembe, Zambia. There names are Sibajane, Olick, Blessing, and Lovemore. We began receiving children on 14 March 08, and have another 8 children in queue to join us. Please keep these homes, our team there, and the community in your prayers.

ISRAEL-OPT: Islamic charity in Hebron fears closure

humanitarian news and analysis
UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

HEBRON, 14 April 2008 (IRIN) - A Palestinian charity in the West Bank city of Hebron is concerned it will be shut by the Israeli military and forced to close its orphanages and schools, employees at the institution told IRIN.

The Israeli military has ordered the closure of buildings rented by the Islamic Charitable Society (ICS), saying it is working for Hamas.

Read More......

CPT: Hebron orphanages and schools for 7,000 children ordered closed

April 2nd, 2008 Posted in Press Releases, Reports, Hebron Region

For more information about CPT’s work in Palestine click here

Last night (April 1st 2008) approximately 300 women, including teachers, mothers and students, protested the shut down of their school and orphanages by the Israeli government. This is one of several schools and orphanages serving 7,000 orphans and students in the Hebron area. Internationals, including Christian Peacemaker Teams (CPT), members of the International Solidarity Movement (ISM) and others committed to non-violence, slept in the school expecting armed Israeli soldiers to come and seal up the doors.

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To Russia with love

Pair will give toys, attention to orphans

BY KORIE WILKINS • FREE PRESS STAFF WRITER • April 16, 2008

According to statistics from the Russian Ministry of Education, there are about 700,000 orphans in Russia. About 90% were taken away from abusive, alcoholic or drug-addicted parents, according to Payne's Web site. Payne said most receive the equivalent of an eighth-grade education.

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Silembe, Zambia | HOFO Update

We heard from our team in Zambia over the weekend:

I hadn't sent pictures of the cushions. Olick is gaining weight.

The plaster is looking better in this house compared to the 1st.

I bought ceiling materials for this house. I think the inside doors and solar are the only things yet to be bought, plus paint and furniture.

The finished portion of the wall is too dark in this picture to see clearly. It's looking good.

The iron gates and metal doors were not ready on Saturday due to Zesco (the local power company) outages. I felt I needed to be on site to check the cooking grill work and at the same time deliver a load of materials. Comrade is the one working on the grill and he took off Friday, so he had only done a little by Saturday morning. I bought a load of cement and rebar. The brick layers should be able to go straight from the plaster to the foundation of the 3rd house. Not much more in terms of materials are needed to get the 3rd house to roof level.

Grandmothers, the unsung heroes of Africa

Kenneth -ROTOM, 13 April 2008, Sunday

WITH SUPPORT from the Stephen Lewis Foundation, Reach One Touch One Ministries (ROTOM) is implementing the ROTOM ’grandmothers support project’. The aim of the project is to provide psychosocial, medical, economic and spiritual support to poor grandmothers in the Bukinda sub county, in Kabale district, so that they are in better physical and emotional health to raise the grandchildren under their care.

Many grandmothers, who assume responsibility for orphans, are living in absolute poverty, and struggling daily- to provide for the numerous children under their care. After having endured the trauma and distress of watching their children and grandchildren struggle with HIV/AIDS, the stress and isolation is compounded by the lack of resources available to them.

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Children the victims in post-election Zimbabwe

AM - Monday, 14 April , 2008 08:19:00
Reporter: Peter Cave

TONY EASTLEY: Attempts by southern African leaders to build a unity government to replace the Mugabe regime in Zimbabwe fell apart last night increasing fears that the country is heading into an even more dangerous post-election period.

The political problems are enormous but they could be overshadowed by a humanitarian crisis.

What was once one of the most productive agricultural economies in Africa is now a shambles and its people are going hungry. It's not the only country suffering food shortages and we'll have more on that story in a moment.

Our foreign affairs editor Peter Cave spoke to Sarah Jacobs from Save the Children Fund in Harare about the pitiful plight of Zimbabwe's children.

SARAH JACOBS: Conditions of those children in Zimbabwe has really reached rock bottom. Obviously the whole country is in complete economic meltdown and its children are the most vulnerable who are really baring the brunt of that.

And Save the Children have been working in Zimbabwe for nearly 25 years and we're now seeing one in 10 children dying before they reach the age of five. A very high figure.

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Helping orphans in India, one child at a time

4/10/2008 4:00 PM
By: Paul Brown

By the year 2015, there will be nearly 20 million orphans in India -- roughly the current population of Texas.

That's according to the nonprofit The Miracle Foundation. Its founder changed her life's direction to do something about it.

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Ministry to help orphans in Rwanda

By staff reports The Christian Chronicle

KIGALI, RWANDA - Charles Kabeza was one mile from the border when the death squads found him.

The year was 1994, and Kabeza, then 15, was fleeing the genocide ravaging his home country. His father died when Kabeza was 5, and he lost his mother just months before the killings began. Left on their own, Kabeza and his six siblings were attacked as they attempted to reach Rwanda’s border with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Kabeza hid his two younger siblings as the death squads, on a mission to ethnically cleanse their nation, killed his two older brothers and two older sisters.

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Teen battling rare cancer hopes to build home for African AIDS orphans

Monday, April 07, 2008

By Terri Jo Ryan

Tribune-Herald staff writer

Kristin Elizabeth Elliott, 18, who hopes to enter Baylor University this fall, goes to church each week in a movie theater. Her own melodramatic life story could make the screenplay someday for an inspirational film to be shown there.

Kristin, a senior at Faith West Academy in Katy, Texas, has been battling a rare form of cancer for more than two years, a disease with only a 50 percent survival rate after five years.

Yet when she was asked last July by the Make-A-Wish Foundation what she hoped for, she requested not a celebrity visit for herself nor a fantasy vacation for her family but to share her wish with others.

She thought back on an earlier trip with Family Legacy Missions International to Zambia, a journey with her sister, Mandy Michelle Elliott, a 20-year-old Baylor junior. There, they spent days at Camp Life outside the city of Lusaka, working among the children orphaned by AIDS.

According to AVERT, an international AIDS charity, Zambia in southern Africa has one of the world’s most devastating HIV and AIDS epidemics. One in every six adults in Zambia is living with HIV, and life expectancy at birth has fallen to less than 40 years.

“God placed it on my heart to leave something for these kids,” Kristin said.

So she requested that Make-A-Wish help her start Kristin’s Miracle House, a home for 20 of the more than 1 million children orphaned in the poverty-stricken African nation by this modern scourge. The home would be part of a village established to give educational opportunities and medical attention to the ostracized children.

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WOW, what Faith!

Plight of Hoi An orphans moves US doctor

(06-04-2008)

For US doctor Josh Solomon, a holiday to Viet Nam turned into a long-term mission to help local orphans. Ngoc Tuan and Mai Suong find out why.

Josh Solomon intended to come to Viet Nam in 2003 to tour the country, but five years later he is so involved in his work at an orphanage in central Hoi An that he doesn’t know when he will return home.

"After seeing the condition of these children, I decided to stay to help them," the 35-year-old doctor said.

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Rwanda: Restoring the Rhythm of Life for Orphans

Focus Media (Kigali)
6 April 2008
Posted to the web 7 April 2008

Timothy Kisambira & Sam Ruburica

The Jewish Joint Distribution Committee (JDC) is an American Jewish group which offers charity contributions to Shalom project, a project that helps genocide orphans on skills development.

The delegation of JDC visiting the construction works of the Agahozo Shalom Youth Village.

A delegation of JDC was in the country last week to launch the Agahozo youth village in Rwamagana District, the first project funded in Rwanda by the organization. At the same time, the organization wants to invest in the country.

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Madonna-style adoptions create more orphans

By Bonnie Malkin and agencies
Last Updated: 2:10am BST 09/04/2008

Psychologists have warned that "Madonna-style" inter-country adoptions are causing a rise in the number of children left in orphanages.

Researchers from the University of Liverpool found that EU countries with the highest rates of children living in institutions also had high proportions of international adoptions.

This did not reduce the number the number of children in institutional care but attributed to an increase.

Madonna adopted a young boy from Malawi in 2006. Yesterday it emerged that she was also going to adopt a girl from India.

The study found that people in countries such as France and Spain are choosing to adopt healthy, white children from abroad rather than children from their own country.

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This appears to be a very myopic point of view. If some adopts, and elects to do a inter-country adoption, it may negatively affect the number of Orphans domestically, but the total number of Orphans doesn't increase.

WOR | Silembe Update 06 April 2008

We heard from our Orphanage Director Jo Anne Byrum earlier this week, and I will attempt to communicate her message here:




Well I am back for m the children's home again. I do enjoying going out there and staying with the children. I hope you don't get tired of me writing.







Well I took the children to the nearest health care clinic to be seen. It seems that the one (near by) is only 23 kilometres away. Just down the road. Funny thing is its only 28 k back to the house in Kalomo. Anyway, the three oldest boys went. I especially have had a burden to get Lovemore to the clinic because of this fungus on his body. They didn't see Blessing because he is well.


Sibajane is on Amoxicillin for his cough.


Now Lovemore -as you recall from my last communication is sick. So please keep in prayer to our Father for healing. He has a fungus that is all over his body growing on his skin, he has scaring on his right eye, and I don't know how much of his vision is impaired. He weighs only 52 lbs and is tall. I don't know his height but he is tall when compared to the other children here. So the clinical officer is concerned that he may be immune comprised. He tested him for HIV and the first test showed positive. He did a second test that showed negative. So now he has referred him to Zimba where they hopefully will do further testing and make sure that the antifungal medication is the proper one for the fungus he has. He should also be able to visit the eye clinic there in Zimba. Zimba is a Wesleyan Hospital just south of us. It will take 30 mins. to get there from Kalomo and 2 hours from the House of Faith. So I will keep you all updated as to the outcome of Lovemore.


It is most important that we pray for complete healing for this child. Your Father is able to do everything and people here have been healed of HIV before by our Father. I personally have had 6 children test negative after being positive; so I have great Faith!

I am sending many pictures of our time together. Our greatest adventure was a bat flew into the latrine and got stuck on the fly paper. So I had Golden, a man strong in the Faith. bring it to the school. I thought what a great opportunity for the children to see a real live bat. Many thought that they were birds that just flew at night. Of course they do have birds here that fly at night, but these bats are a little different. The teachers had never seen a bat before either, so I had to tell them about how they are blind and us a radar to fly and they eat bugs and mosquitoes. I got to be the teacher for a while. They wanted to know whether it was a mammal or a bird, or a rat with wings! It was a real treat.



The other pictures is how the evenings are spent around a fire, they enjoy roasted maize at harvest -that's the only time they have it because the rest of the maize will be dried and stored for eating through out the year. I also took out some marshmallows, chocolate, and some graham crackers my sister had sent to me. We made samores. They thought they were too sweet. I could not believe I was hearing that.

They put so much sugar in tea and the porridge, but they thought the samores were too sweet. So any way they did like roasting the marshmallows. School is closing for the break. It will reopen in May, so I plan to be out there a lot this month teaching the children as much as I can. So thank you for all your prayers and I will be talking to you soon. Your faithful Servant, Jo Anne <><

Please keep the home, the staff, and most of all the children in your prayers. Blessings, Scott

WOR | Silembe Update 06 Apr 2008

We received an update from our team in Zambia today in reference to our Silembe project; be blessed:

Got the curtain rods, and curtains up today.

The boys are happy.

All of the walls and ceilings have been painted.

I finally got the grill. This is not how it goes. I was going over the installation with Golden. Finally, this wall will start going up Monday.

All 6 houses should be able to cook at the same time with plenty of room. Hot water will be a bi-product.

I'm happy with the sinks. As soon as I get the stoppers for the drain plugs, which were not available previously, I'll finish testing. I expect them to work great.



The delay in getting rocks to pour the concrete and the delay in getting the grill left little work to be done while the slab cures. So Golden got them to dig the 3rd house foundation, just to stay busy. I kept the workers on the clock because we need them for the 2nd house and kitchen/laundry to finish quickly, which will begin Monday.

The boys have plenty of things to play with and explore. The water from our hand pump is clearing up. It's about half way to former clearness. Only a small amount of water is still coming out of the ground. The septic tank hole remains full.

The slab was poured Wednesday. The walls and plaster will be finished within 2 weeks. If you want ceilings done after the walls, let me know and I'll get the materials. The window frames (made locally, so not all the same) were measured again today. I'll order the glass (cut here in Kalomo) on Monday and make that 3rd bank withdrawal. More beds, mattresses, and solar equipment(for 2nd house) should be picked up Friday in Livingstone.

The kids enjoy playing and learning with Mama Jo. I think Mama Jo enjoys it more than the kids.

The house and Kitchen/Laundry should only have small jobs remaining. I could probably have the next house roofed before we depart for the States this June 14th, or I could slow the work down by cutting down on workers, or I cold stop the work after finishing what we are now doing, or I could stock material like cement, window & door frames, roofing, etc. for the next building. If much work should happen while I'm in the States I'll need to start stocking materials soon.

God Bless,
from Mike & Team

Family is best place for orphans, vulnerable children

The Daily Times
Malawi's Premier Daily

BY The Daily Times
13:13:55 - 01 April 2008

The extended family system that is practice in Malawi is sometimes vilified for the simple reason of rampant poverty in the country as members of this far reaching unit, including orphans, end up sharing the meagre resources that they have.

But this extended family system-where members who are relatives of the same clan or family group live interdependently-remains the best home for growing orphans and vulnerable children.

It is a known fact that various diseases including HIV/Aids pandemic, and other unfortunate circumstances, have created phenomenal numbers of orphans in the country. Our society is virtually struggling to grapple with this predicament.

This predicament has seen the mushrooming of various institutions called orphanages which want to absorb these orphans from the society.

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I am concerned that the author of the above article is generalizing in their commentary. While I have not been blessed to visit Malawi, I do believe that the conditions there are similar to what you might find in Zambia. I have been honored to visit Zambia numerous times, and am involved in building an Orphanage there called House of Faith Orphanage. Please consider the following.

I have had the opportunity to visit with these extended families –as mentioned in this paper, and in the very rural areas of Zambia. I happen to agree with the above article in that the best place for these children are in a home with their extended family, however, many times these extended families are not willing or just can't support these children.

Let me give you an example of a boy we'll call Jones. We were invited to visit him by his extended family, to consider that he may be received into our House of Faith Orphanage in Silembe, Zambia. The young boy was being cared for by a young girl, I would guess she was 19, and he hadn't been attending school. This young girl was also caring for three younger children of her own. Jones had been the responsibility of his uncle for the last several years -with both of his parents passing. Jones has an older brother of 12 years of age, but his family never suggested that he live at the orphanage. Do you know why the older boy was never mentioned to us? The family didn't want to lose the service of the family shepherd boy. Not that we could have accepted him (we never made an assessment), but isn’t it interesting that family decided that it was in their best interest to keep the older brother. This 12 year boy will have limited options, little if any education, and his future will consist of working with livestock in his local community for the rest of his days. Now if he chooses to do this, that's his business, however, is this future really his choice?

So, let's say that this family's issue was only financial, how would any accountability take place -a distribution of additional resources to this family? Conversely, can't an Orphanage be much like a traditional home, with local people having the responsibility for caring for these children?

I have read that over 60% of Zambian homes are involved in caring for an Orphan. With this many homes, dispersed over a large area, how could resources be effectively distributed and accounted for? In addition, why can this Orphanage care take place in the local communities, which will allow for some oversight?

I don't think the answers are black and white, and the options available will be dependent on the local environment in which these underprivileged children live.

I do believe that our goal should be to allow these children to live versus just exist -by whatever means is effective. Unfortunately, I have also visited what I thought to be -less than proficient Orphanages.

See http://www.worldorphanrelief.org/ for more information in the House of Faith Orphanage.

Fund-raisers cash to help orphans

the evening Telegraph

Published Date: 03 April 2008
Source: Peterborough ET
Location: Peterborough

ORPHANED children in Kenya will benefit from the latest fund-raising efforts by the Peterborough Ortons Rotary Club.

Around £600 has been raised in recent months for the Indi-Project, run by Julie Perry from Peterborough, and the money will go towards building classrooms and facilities such as toilets, kitchens and staffrooms.

Social worker Mrs Perry has dedicated three years to building a nursery in the village of Timboni and helping orphaned children there.

John O’Halloran from the Rotary Club said: “I bumped into Julie’s husband and asked for some more information about the project and asked what people could do to help. I helped collect old mobile phones and the first amount we raised was £400.”

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Afghan girl, 10, leads ragtag group of orphans to Canadians for medical help

THE CANADAIN PRESS
1 DAY AGO

KANDAHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan — From down a dusty path reputed to be the second-most dangerous road in the world, a heart-wrenching sight emerged to greet Canadian soldiers Thursday - a group of orphaned children led by a girl of no more than 10 came in search of medical care.

The girl, an emerald-green scarf around her head, carried a toddler in her arms as they made their way tentatively toward a police sub-station manned by Canadian soldiers and Afghan police officers, in the heart of the treacherous Panjwaii district, birthplace of the Taliban.

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House of Faith Orphanage | Silembe Update

We heard late last week from our Orphanage Director, Jo Anne Byrum, and I was overwhelmed so many different emotions. We have two new boys at HOFO -bringing our total to four and we just opened just over two weeks ago now. The following is an edited version of her update:

March 28th 2008 - Hello everyone, I am back out from the bush. God has sent us two more boys!

Lovemore is 7 years old and in the 2nd grade. He can say his ABC's, but when I use flash cards he could not read them. The numbers he only could say if they were in order up to ten after that he was lost. So we have a big job ahead of us, but I am sure that we'll get there. God will increase their knowledge as we begin to use the resources that God has given to us.

Lovermore comes from a place close to the children's home. I asked the Uncle what was in his diet, and he replied "nshemia" -which is the staple food there, a sort of corn meal mix. I ask what else what kind of veggies, and he said pumpkin leaves. So I then got direct with my questions and asked whether he has been eating groundnuts, beans, kapenta, eggs, chicken, beef, or fish? The Uncle replied fish sometimes..... All these food are high in protein and include the necessary vitamins which he needs to grow and he is not eating any of them. No one in this house is eating much protein.......

Now as I asked about Lovemore's health I found out that some times he swells, and he runs a fever. He has some type of skin disorder on his legs going up to his abdomen. I think he may have scabies, but am not sure. I will go to the chemist(pharmacy) and see if they have anything to treat him with. He looks underweight. I don't have a scale so I don't know for sure. He also has scaring on the right eye. I ask what the Doctor had said about these things and I was told that he has never seen the Doctor. I have no Under-Five card for him so I will try to see what vaccines I can get for him.

Now Blessing is the other young boy. He is 5 years old. His mother died in 2005 and he has been living with his grandmother. The Grandmother has 7 other children she is taking care of. He was brought to the house by his Uncle. Blessing's village is far away from the children's home. The Uncle who brought him is the headman's brother of the village we live in. The Uncle was unable to give much info about Blessing as far as his eating habits or health. I can see that he has had a diet that has been lacking. He is small and underweight also. His skin look well and no sores can be seen. He has warmed up quiet quickly with the books and flash cards. Blessing has been exposed to some teaching as he was able to see and say numbers to 10. He repeated everything I said. When reading 'Put Me In The Zoo', he would say everything I said. I think he will learn fast! He is showing no shyness.

So God has given us 4 boys and they are all wonderful guys. Olick the baby is doing very well and even likes me! He is now laughing and learning to have time on the mat with a few toys instead of being on the back all the time. He has attached himself to Elizabeth (our house mother). They have bonded very well. Sibajane enjoyed being able to tell and help the new boys with getting settled in.

So please pray for the children and their health. Also, pray for Elizabeth and her daughter Muntina. I will also ask for prayer for the parts for the truck to be found so I can have a truck to drive. It has been in the shop for a month now because they can not get a master cylinder for the breaks. Seems the truck is Australian made and they are having a hard time with finding that part.

Your Servant in Jesus the Messiah,, Jo Anne <><

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We are so grateful to have Jo Anne in Silembe fulfilling her call to serve Orphans and for allowing World Orphan Relief's work there to be in good hands.

Amen.

Local residents leave on mission of mercy

Posted By By Joyce Cassin
Posted 1 day ago

John Adamson of Cobourg is a man on a mission, and he and his wife Cindy are joining 14 others on a trip to South Africa to assist approximately 1,000 orphans.

"We are going to provide help for orphans at the Centre for Leadership (C4L) in White River, South Africa," Mr. Adamson said before departing on Sunday.

He said they heard of the centre through retired doctor Bob Stephens of Warkworth, whose son Chuck is the chief executive officer of C4L, and decided to help. The younger Mr. Stephens's wife Heather, is also a key resource person there.

They will be working at the Centre for Leadership's psycho-social support camp for orphans and vulnerable children.

They have been collecting clothing, school supplies, bedsheets, shoes and others items from local businesses and individuals, and each member of the group planned to take three suitcases filled with supplies and one for themselves.

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Back from Lushoto

Brandy Robinson
Tuesday April 01, 2008

For some the visit to Lushoto was an opportunity to see some familiar faces and for others it was a first hand look at the devastation poverty and AIDS has had on an African community.

Community Foundation representative Jeannette Vatter along with Hearts for Lushoto representative Barbara Matheson, accompanied the municipal delegation that included director of information services and economic development Nesen Naidoo, Coun. Kyle Archer and his wife Sheryll, and town office executive assistant Kristina Vallee, to Lushoto mid March. The delegation went to discuss municipal issues relevant to the ongoing partnership between the communities.

The partnership with Lushoto began as a municipal twinning project, funded by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities and Canada International Development Agency.The partnership began in 2004 and was designed to teach principles of transparent governance. Since that time delegations from both communities have made several visits to one another’s country.

Although Vatter and Matheson accompanied the delegation their agenda led them to discuss education; specifically AIDS education and adoption laws.

Vatter, who has been to Lushoto previously, has seen some tremendous milestones reached by the community. “There has been some noticeable differences; the community has hired an AIDS co-ordinator to provide education to schools, and the Lushoto orphanage is going ahead very strong,” says Vatter. AIDS and malaria had a devastating effect on the adult population leaving many children orphans. “It was like a whole generation was depleted because of the AIDS epidemic,” says Vatter.

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