Visit Home of Hope

[ Previous Post ] In among the rocks at the top of one of the "Mchinji Mountains" above Home of Hope we sat (well, flopped!). It had taken us about two and a half hours to get from “base camp” (aka the Guest House, which is already 1200m above sea-level), to our chosen peak 520m above that. We were higher than Ben Nevis! And we were really only there at the top at all because of varying degrees of assistance from Chisomo and the team of young people he'd gathered - Mary, Norah, Christopher, Hezekiah, Peter, more - to sometimes tow, sometimes push us up! A bit tough, but totally worth the views and surroundings. I learned that unlike others I have only limited ability to carry firewood on my head.. Meanwhile below, Debbie spent time with the Mothers and children. We can easily tell where Debbie is on the 40 acre site: where the singing is! And...

[ Previous Post ] Ruth: "The boys were so keen to try on the football strips today! Huge thanks to Bedford Free School who donated kit for a whole team including some substitutes. I work in this school as an Exam Invigilator and I was delighted that the Head of PE was so willing to donate tops, shorts and socks to the children at the Home of Hope. The queue of boys for the kit was very long! With much laughter, some girls also changed into it. Children are children, wherever they live in the world, and football is universal!" Alysha: "Today was such a fulfilling day! I started off in the morning heading to Mchinji District hospital with the medical technician from Home of Hope. I was able to attend ward round and got a tour of the hospital. It was so wonderful to be able to hold one week old baby Jesse, who was in for her checkup!  The afternoon was also very eventful, assisting with the sponsorship admin of the children. I was delighted to be able to spon...

[ Previous Post ] Standard 2 (the Primary School class for children turning 7 years old) now possess four freshly-minted iron window grills. Carolyn, team artist in residence, has created a colour scheme for them (the red is undercoat), to run past the Primary Head Teacher and the painter tomorrow.  "That man is a builder, you say?" asked one of the construction team at 7.30am when Sue, Rafal and I went down to visit the site. "Yes!" "Does he have tools? A level, and trowels?" "Yes!" Rafal worked all morning with the team, and they are now firm friends. Tomorrow morning by 7am ten more windows are promised. We'd expected them at 2pm today, but the whole area has been affected by powercuts since morning. (Matrida and her friends baled us out for lunch, providing fire-cooked nsima with beans to replace our planned electric-boiled pasta.)The supplier of the wi...