Zim Kids

May 2010 Newsletter

Darren — Mon, 21 Jun 2010 16:22:07 +0000

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May 2010 Newsletter

April 2010 Newsletter

Darren — Wed, 28 Apr 2010 16:38:58 +0000

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April 2010 Newsletter

February 2010 Newsletter

editor — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 10:16:00 +0000

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February 2010 Newsletter

January 2010 Newsletter

editor — Tue, 27 Apr 2010 09:57:38 +0000

Please click the link below to see the newsletter in PDF format

January 2010 Newsletter

Discover Zimbabwe Week

Darren — Tue, 05 Jan 2010 17:19:01 +0000

At the end of September and into October we held a ‘Discover Zimbabwe’ week to raise the profile of the work we are doing with Zimkids….and what a week it was!

We rocked to three bands in a local nightclub; we had a week long Zimbabwean sculpture exhibition in the Church, an evening of explaining how Zimkids has grown and how the community can help us, and an evening of prayer.

The week ended in amazing African style! We had the Zimbabwean vocal and dance group ‘U’Zambezi’ showing us incredible harmonies and rhythms.

Huge thanks to John Merriman (www.crownlanestudio.co.uk) for organising the week. He has showed us the way, so look out for more events in the future!

All photos of the week by Nick Downes (www.ndphotographer.co.uk)

Zimkids Video on youtube

peter — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:53:18 +0000

September 2009

peter — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:32:00 +0000

We continue to support those we have supported longer term, and also newcomers who come to the church seeking help of various kinds. We have just taken delivery of a metric tonne of maize mealie meal, the basic staple food. We recently received a selection of items in a container – medical items, football kit, office items. And our latest UK volunteer brought out a load of books. We are focussing on teaching good farming methods to both children and their adult carers, and we were able to attend a 2-day training course taken by the “Farming God’s Way” team, now called “Foundations for Farming”. This method is highly regarded in government and is to be part of schools curriculum, which should help the next generation be more effective in farming methods.

During August we carried out 2 holiday projects. We took a 3-day holiday club at a Methodist Church. About 20 children came on the Friday and over 40 on the Saturday. We taught 3 sessions and also had plenty of games, and provided lunch. On the Sunday we joined the church service and presented a gospel drama.

Immediately following this we got ready for a 3-day residential camp at the Resthaven youth centre outside Harare. We took nearly 30 of our older Zimkids, from both the Harare area and Mutoko. The theme was “Courage” and we taught on various Bible characters who had shown courage, such as Paul, Noah, Esther, Daniel. We also had plenty of games and activities.

UK Festival-September 2009

peter — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 14:56:43 +0000

This year we are celebrating the official launch of the Zimkids charity.

We are marking the occasion with a week of festivity including:

29th Sept: Zim from a Zimkids perspective- this includes a talk from our Zimbabwean Director, Charlene Stotter, as well as stories from volunteers and the Zimkids themselves.

30th Sept: Prayer for Zim

2nd Oct: Band night@ the Watershed, Wimbledon (book online now)

3rd Oct: U’Zambezi- amazing Zimbabwean choir. Come and hear them, you can even join in!

28th Sept- 4th Oct: Zimbabwean Sculpture Exhibition- FREE

Most of the events will be hosted at Morden Baptist Church www.faithinmorden.com

June 2009

peter — Sun, 19 Jul 2009 21:16:08 +0000

Zimbabwe economy is now based on the US dollar, and inflation is officially at 3% rather than the astronomic rates of last year. Supermarkets now stock a variety of food, to a degree not seen for a long time. So food is accessible so long as you have access to US dollars. For those not in employment or without overseas contacts, life is still based on exchange of goods.

The Cholera epidemic has subsided for now but is expected to arise again due to the continuing absence of a public water supply.

The public healthcare system has improved in that doctors and nurses have returned to work, although supplies of drugs etc are very limited. It costs a significant fee in US dollars even to report to A&E, so we still have folk arriving at church in need of help, who we help as much as we can. Thankfully we have access to God through prayer as well as limited medical supplies and knowledge, and recently we were able to pray for a lady who was almost blind, and see her sight completely restored!

Schools have started to partially function again, but many are charging high fees, and are not yet providing a full curriculum. We have tried several experiments to provide some curriculum education, and in June assigned 3 of our team to be especially responsible for giving basic teaching. Not a complete solution but we can at least keep them mentally active.

Sadly, a 22-year-old lad who we have supported to a degree for 2 years, became very ill and died in June. In arranging his funeral, we encountered a noisy funeral celebration in the adjacent grave, complete with spirit dancers, engaged to summon the spirits of ancestors to greet the deceased. This was a challenging environment in which to conduct a Christian burial, and it reminded us of the spiritual environment that we work in. We continue to focus on bringing light into dark situations, and hope where there is despair.

Lovejoy and Asher

admin — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 16:53:28 +0000

The work of Zimkids through a childs eyes

“My name is Lovejoy and I am 16. I started to know Zimkids through Charlene. I was very sick with HIV and lonely so God sent Charlene. This was 2007. From that year Zimkids didn’t leave me lonely. They come and see me, they encourage me, and I know that they will never leave me. So Zimkids has really changed my life, through Christ.”

The work of Zimkids through a childs eyes

Asher is a 14 year old boy who Zimkids has been involved with for almost 2 years. He is a very bright young boy with a promising future. Asher lives on the outskirts of Harare with 9 other children and his grandmother.