Progress in 2013

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!

Ending 2012 with a 'small' bang! 

We had a fantastic time on the 3^rd December last year distributing cereal to 163 of the most vulnerable children in the area surrounding our plot in Mabvuku.  The cereal had been donated by Innscorr and we were able to ensure that each child received something to enjoy over the Christmas period (a few of them not actually sure what cornflakes ARE but quite excited by their packet.  How fantastic it would have been if we could have given them some milk to go with it.  Maybe next time!).  

This little one was not sure of me in the slightest!  It is very interesting to note the difference between the children at The Just Children Foundation who are used to donors arriving to spend time with them and give them gifts to these children who have never seen a white person before, who live off the smell of an oil rag and who don't know what it is to receive something special like a biscuit let alone an education 

Martha ran a fantastic distribution line and we provided them with biscuits and juice and were pleased to see lots of smiling faces.  I love spending time in the field and my greatest joy is to see the smiles that we are treated with from the children.  However, many of the younger toddlers and babies have not seen a ‘murungu’ (white person) before and the smiles soon turned to screams and tears when I got too close. The other beneficiaries and caregivers thought this was absolutely hysterical but I hope that one day these little people will no longer be afraid of me but will trust me and hopefully together we can work to give them a brighter future – here’s to doing so in 2013 and to being able to celebrate the opening of our school very, very soon! 

Bringing in the new year – I see 2013 in yellow, bright and hopeful

The Christmas holidays have brought good news and bad news for The Foundations Project.  The very sad news is that our dear Martha who works so hard for The Foundations Project and gives so much or her heart and time to our work for no remuneration whatsoever lost her husband just before Christmas.  Nathan was a beautiful, gentle and intelligent man who supported us in everything that we did.  He loved Martha and his children with all his heart and I know he will be watching them in the days and years to come and be very proud of all that they are and do. 

Nathan advising me on how we should run the project - invaluable

In amongst this sadness, the hope that we have for The Foundations Project shines bright.  We had a very good meeting last year with a gentleman from the States who will hopefully be coming onboard to assist us with the building of our school at a price that we can actually afford!  After receiving various quotes that just seemed ridiculously expensive, we started to fear whether our expectations of how much we would have to spend had been too courageous!  But we think we may be onto something and hope to start building within the next month.  I know we say this often but this time I have faith that we are on to a good wicket and we are now ready to run!  With the donation of materials that we hope to receive from various donors who have already pledged their assistance, we should be able to at least build the two classroom blocks. Further to this, with the approval of our very first grant, we will be able to finalise the construction of the skills development centre for the caregivers and the community as well as the feeding programme.

Martha has found 91 orphaned and vulnerable children within a 5km radius of our plot between the ages of 2 and 6 that should be in school - we would love to help them all! 

Any building materials that are donated will decrease the construction costs, thus allowing for building of further classrooms, ablution blocks and the lighting the plumbing of the school and the centre.  If you, or someone you know, thinks they might be interested in assisting us with the donation of or discount on any required materials, please do not hesitate to contact me on 0776 404 349 or charlotte@foundationsproject.org.  We are grateful for absolutely anything that you may be able to assist us with!

In the meantime, we keep working towards our goals and are incredibly touched by those who step up to help in the attraction of funds for our project.  Nicola York will be climbing to Everest Base Camp in March/April to raise money for our first school. All the costs of the trip will be incurred by Nicola and every dollar donated will go to The Foundations Project.  If you want to find out more information on how to donate to Nicola's amazing challenge,click on following link:/mydonate.bt.com/fundraisers/everestformabvuku.  And if any of you feel like doing something similar, let me know and we can help you set up your very own 'Challenge for the Children'.  

Nicola has climbed Kilimanjaro and Mount Kenya but this time she is 'climbing for a cause'!!!

At the base of the mountain - cold and rather intimidating but she is up to the challenge

We look forward to being in touch again very soon with photos of construction taking place on our plot and taking anyone who wishes to visit the site out there to see the work firsthand.  

TIA (This is Africa) and everything takes a lot longer than expected!

A few weeks ago, we were so excited by the fact that our plans for the Mabvuku school and community centre had been approved and we were ready to start building.  We cleared the land, someone came in and found the best water points and, after interviewing various builders from the area, we thought we were ready to start.

Our piece of land before it was cleared.  It is now free of grass and debris and the ground is ready to be broken

The team pouring over the plans to decide where everything was to go.  Thanks to Kerry Van Leenhoff's genius, we now have beautiful, professional plans for what promises to be a fantastic venue for the care that the children of Mabvuku need

But nothing is quite so easy and the quotes that we have been given for the work that is needed have brought us to a standstill!  We are working on getting better quotes that might allow us to move forward at least a little bit rather than leave us bankrupt and thus, we have not yet broken ground as we had hoped.

However, we are not despondent.  There is much to be done in the meanwhile and we keep our eyes on the goal and try to do everything we can to get there one way or another.  We had a fantastic morning on Saturday morning where a group of 30 ladies came to enjoy a pilates session at the Hayhill Weavery.  They enjoyed a spectacular view while they did their exercises and we had delicious tea and cake afterwards.  Everyone had such a great time that we are thinking about organising such an event once a month, with our very kind instructors offering up their time on a Saturday morning for free.

Judy Amira teaching the ladies pilates under the trees of Hayhill 

The view that our supporters got to enjoy while they did their exercises

We were honoured to be able to speak at the Nomads Golf Club cocktail party a few weeks ago the was held prior to their Charity Golf Day.  The club has bought The Foundations Project a four plate gas stove and 2 gas cannisters that will be used for the feeding programme and will allow us to feed the 80 children at our school as well as approximately a further 170 from the community.  Thank you so much to the Nomads Golf Club for your support.

We are now in need of building materials for the project as we start to build the first classroom block and the ablutions and we would be extremely grateful if any readers wish to contribute in cash or kind to this part of the project.  We believe that we need close to $60 000 to build the entire centre in Mabvuku and we currently sit at $23 000.  We are not asking for a hand out of cash but would be most appreciative of anything that you might have to offer! 

Sunday 4 November is Orphan Sunday and we are appealing to the schools of Harare to ask their children to bring $1 to school on Friday 2 November in support of our work.  If you wish to ask your church or work or group of friends to do the same, we would be most grateful for any contributions and all of the money raised will go towards feeding, clothing and caring for the orphans that we have the privilege to spend time with and to get to know. 

We look forward to letting you know our progress as we begin the building process before the rains hit our hot, dry Zimbabwean soil.  

Land to be cleared…trenches to be dug….

But first, money to be raised!

The last few months at The Foundations Project have seen us madly rushing around organising the VERY successful Art for Hope event we held a few weeks ago.  We invited people to donate pieces of art from photography to drawing to pottery to paintings and had the most amazing response.  We were inundated with art and, in true Zimbabwe fashion, I had a full army of helpers setting up the donations around and about the very generous Kuiper’s beautiful property.  Over 150 people came to the event where they bought artwork, enjoyed a g ‘n t with friends and learnt a bit more about what we do.  The event raised $6 500 and this means we are now well on our way to our target of $50 000 to build and run our Mabvuku Family Centre for the year of 2013.

The St Johns Marimba band entertained us throughout the afternoon

Art work was displayed all over the property in various ways, all set up by our amazing volunteers

Will Sykes donated the main auction piece, the most beautiful piece which drew enough money to build an entire classroom

Marvin and his mate joined us a bit later and stayed on to play around the fire at the end of the day - a true Zimbabwean evening had by all

Following on from the Art for Hope event, we have been very kindly embraced by the polo community of Zimbabwe who invited us initially to run the gate for them at the National Polo Open held on Sunday 19 August at Thorne Park.  We attended the cocktail party for the event on the previous Wednesday and had a great day manning the gate and watching some polo while we raised a little more money to add to the coffers!  We will be joining the polo group again on Saturday 8 September when the International Polo Open will be played out at Bushmans Rock in Ruwa.  The Foundations Project will run the gate and will also be showing the movie ‘The Gods Must be Crazy’ in the evening after a great day of polo and ‘alcoholic milkshakes’ for the adults!


Last but not least, we have been informed that 9 people from the UK, Zimbabwe, Bosnia and New Zealand accomplished the near impossible... London to Paris on bicycles in under 24 hours!!  They did this in support of the ZImbabwe Rural Schools Development Programme as well as us at The Foundations Project and have raised close on 5000 POUNDS towards our work - thank you to those who pedalled all that way.  Your efforts are greatly appreciated and we look forward to welcoming you to visit our school one day!  To hear more about their incredible feat, visit http://www.zrsdp.org/ZRSDP_Classic/Welcome.html.

­And finally....on the ground

We had a fantastic community awareness day with the people of Mabvuku a few weeks ago, finding out what THEY want out of this project, what is important to them and how they can contribute to make it a successful project that is sustainable when the Foundations Project moves on to assist another community.

Grannies attended the community day with their small grandchildren in tow, alongside other caregivers and members of the community

There was lots of discussion, much of which I could not understand!  However, I had some very good translators and once we had had a few hours of talk and questions and a couple of arguments, everyone lined up to receive a polony sandwich.  We did not have enough so those who had got a whole sandwich at the start shared theirs with those who were late.  This gave me great hope that we may be able to work well with this community, even if it has been rather tricky up until now!

Our polony sandwiches were shared amongst the community, young and old and everyone made sure that their neighbour had something to eat!

Kerry Van Leenhoff and her team have been working very hard to put together the most brilliant plans for what was once an idea for a little preschool and is now a proper family centre.  They have been so helpful with their ideas and we are now just waiting on council approval of the plans.  However, in the meantime, Godfrey, the community development chairman of Mabvuku, has gathered together CVs of builders and teachers so we can commence construction and we can also get teachers trained in time for the opening of the first classrooms.

Our plot in central Mabvuku which is being cleared as we speak to begin digging the trenches

An ECD classroom at a school in Chitungwiza - our plan is to emulate something just as smart but with a touch of Shona culture round house on each building so that the children learn about their culture as they live in this urban area on the outskirts of our big city

Blankets and mattresses and play equipment neatly piled in a classroom that we have visited.  We are slowly collected these resources for our classrooms

The school in Mabvuku will consist of four classrooms, each holding 20 students and being managed by one trained teacher.  The skills development centre is made up of a big hall with a stage for workshops and productions and a kitchen from where we will run the feeding programme.  We have worked closely with the International Child Resource Institute to design a child-friendly and stimulating environment and think that we have a great product on our hands!

We will be advised on the final materials and amounts that we need to lay the foundations this week and then, once the land has been cleared, we will be set to dig the trenches and start laying the footing, the first step in the construction of a hope for a better future for the children of Mabvuku.

I look forward to keeping you updated and will do so in the next few weeks as we progress.

And on the 8th of September, we would love to invite those of you who live in Zimbabwe to the fun day being held at Bushmans Rock.  There will be an international polo tournament between Zim and England at 2pm and we will be showing 'The Gods Must be Crazy II' at 6:30pm.  There will be a cash bar, retro candy and treats stand and lots of other things going on.  Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for children and all proceeds go towards our work at The Foundations Project.  Thank you to Jono at Bushmans Rock for giving us this opportunity!