Zimbabwe

Hello again Well its day 16 in Zimbabwe for us, with just the first 48hours in the capital Harare and since then we've been in the town of Chinhoyi 120km to the northwest. I've been trying to think of how to describe this place. The internet tells me the population is about 60,000 but I suspect that is the provincial population - the town doesn't seem THAT big. In fact it very much feels like a country town. Only one working set of traffic lights along the main central road (plus one not working!) Seeing a tractor drive through the main "business" area is not unusual!! There are quite a lot of shops and services, including a large number of hardware stores which we have frequented. The residential area spreads over a wide distance. A lot of High Density housing - small concrete dwellings on tiny plots with narrow roads. Makeshift stalls line the roadsides as do vendors on foot often pushing a cart - all hoping to make a dollar or two. With 80-90% unemployed this is their only hope of income. We've seen a lot of poverty in our travels but somehow this seems to sadden me more. Perhaps it the extent, perhaps its knowing the cause - I'm not sure, I just know my heart feels for the people and the country as a whole. However it is a significant time here - the people are speaking up and things are happening. It will be interesting to watch the future unfold. We do so with prayerful hope. But it's the present that concerns us right now - the immediate needs of the underprivileged. An estimated 1.6 million children are orphans(mainly due to the HIV/AIDS epidemic) and 4 million people are in need of food aid (a third of the population). David and I had the privilege of serving God by helping just a small handful of these people. Good Shepherd Centre is home to about 50 children aged from 3 to 18. We had come to learn of its existence through an Australian friend who has spent quite a bit of time in Zim with VANA Childcare Ministries. The home was in need of some repair work - the chronic shortage of funds sees repairs & maintenance as a "luxury". The children have been enduring cold winter nights due to many broken windows and doors. The poor state of the electricals left them not only in much darkness but also at serious risk of electrocution or fire! Through the generosity of VANA together with our fundraising and donations from kind friends we were able to fund a lot of work. About 40 new window panes installed, 7 new doors installed including painting them, about 20 doors repaired, got an electrician in to repair/replace all the broken/faulty lights and sockets, purchased tools which have been left to enable ongoing maintenance and purchased new plates and spoons for all the children. (Thanks to all who contributed to the funds) Along the way some boys learned some valuable new skills in basic carpentry, painting & maintenance and we had a lot of fun with them and as happens they grew dear to my heart in such a short time. We were blessed to have wonderful hosts to stay with, Simon & Linda, who looked after us physically and spiritually. Both have lived here most of their lives so we spent many hours in interesting conversation as well as a couple of short excursions, one to visit another orphanage about an hour away and a visit to the local tourist sight the Chinhoyi Caves. Today we have had a wonderful time with the Hinze family attending the reunion which will continue on tomorrow (Sunday) We have reconnected with many familiar faces and met some new ones. We then head back to Harare Monday before heading for home Tuesday. If you've made it this far - thanks for sharing in our journey. Jenny and David