2013 has been a year of a few setbacks but
also some great progress for our work at The Foundations Project. We started off the year with a piece of land
and a plan to have children learning and have ended the year with 25 children
having attended preschool for 9 months with twelve of those going off to Grade
1 in 2014.
Music for Hope was the fundraiser of the
year and Theresa Craig, Muzi Dube and Tammy Dykes helped us tirelessly to pull
off a superb, world class event (Live Aid here we come!) We had amazing artists donating their time
and musical talent and put on an afternoon of entertainment including the
Chisipite and Hellenic School orchestras
and ending with the main event, The Rusike Brothers, getting everyone off their
feet and dancing late into the night.
 |
| The Chisipite Orchestra play at our Music for Hope concert |
 |
| Our teachers enjoy the music and dance until it is dark |
Unfortunately the event was rather
overshadowed by the rain and the rugby so we did not make much money but all
who came learnt more about The Foundations Project and our wonderful volunteer
teachers got to have a day of fun away from the day-to-day life of Caledonia.
We held a St Patricks Day function at Elcombes Restaurant in Graniteside where we had fantastic donations of food and a live band that played late into the night. We were joined by guests from the Irish Embassy as well as other supporters who ate and drank in celebration of St Patrick and of our work.
 |
| Our wonderful volunteer, Alice, worked tirelessly to pull off a great St Paddys celebration |
However, where the fundraising was slow, we
were moving quickly in our work in the community. 25 children paid $5 to register at the
Caledonia ECD centre and our teachers underwent training provided by a local
organization. They learnt a great deal
and were able to take what they had gained back to the children and start to
provide them with the intellectual, physical and emotional stimulation that
they have been lacking. We feed these children a meal a day and hope
that in the future, we will be able to provide this service to those children in
the community who do not receive even one meal a day and who are in dire need
of such a programme.
 |
| Children enjoy a treat of chips donated by Miracle Missions but eat ePap on a daily basis, a porridge that provides them with all the nutrition they need to grow big and strong |
 |
| Blessing enjoying her lunch |
In July, we bought a shade cloth to protect
the children from the heat of the day.
And in October, we bought our first container classroom, a renovated
container that was very kindly delivered free of charge by Brendon
Malloch-Brown from CONTAINAWISE who has been incredibly supportive of our work
thus far. We could now transport all the
toys, books and puzzles that we have had donated to our classroom. The children’s eyes were out on stalks when
they suddenly had the chance to play with the toys that had been donated. They laughed and played and shared together
that day and have done so ever since.
 |
| Proud teachers and students under their first classroom |
 |
| And the arrival of their real classroom!!! |
 |
| There was a great deal of excitement and joy over new toys and games to play with |
We held our Christmas party at the
Caledonia centre last week where those who were leaving us next year received a
certificate and every child received a pair of shoes donated by a generous
supporter. We invited some of the other
children from the community to take part in the festivities and it was
incredible to witness the difference between the children who have been going
to our school and those who came to see what was going on. They are so much more socially and physically
developed and they are confident and proud of who they are. The hope is that we can ensure that many more
children end up this way in the years to come.
 |
| Children leaving our school next year received certificates for their attendance at our school |
 |
| Our children in their new uniforms wait to have their hands washed before they enjoy the Christmas treats they were to enjoy |
 |
| The parents and teachers organised a clown to entertain the children - he made their day! |
 |
| 55 children at our school and in the community have received a pair of shoes thanks to those who have donated $10 towards our shoe project - thank you!!! |
What we have to look forward to in 2014 is a small farm project that we hope to take on and assist with renovations and teacher
training in the year ahead. The ECD
centre on the farm currently caters for 33 children but they are all taught by
one teacher, no matter what age they are and they learn in a run down classroom
with no resources to speak of. Our hope
is that we can provide renovations and resources and open up the school to many
more children in the area. We also hope
to feed the students at the school as well as those in the community who are
not so fortunate as to receive any form of nutrition during their day.
 |
| So much can be done to renovate this school and make it into a wonderful place for the farm children to go to school |
We thank you all so much for your interest,
prayers and ongoing support of our work and look forward to updating you as we
move into a new year with new possibilities – the sky is the limit!
