Monday, December 19, 2011

Final Newsletter of 2011

~ Blessed Season Greetings ~

Year 2011 is drawing to a close with only 13 days left of this year, and as I reflect back my mind wonders back and forth between the challenges and the testimonies ! In summary the words which just keep coming to mind are “God is gracious”.
This year started with very little cash on hand and an awareness of the many needs of the people we assist through Our Neighbours, the babies of Isaiah’s and the staff who dedicate their days to serving, counseling and caring for the Bulawayo people. If I am honest, there were definitely times, early on in the year, when I questioned that surely as a Ministry doing God’s work there should be a more equal balance between actual income and income needed, often reflecting what was the purpose for these difficult times?
Ecclesiastes 3:1 To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under the heaven
Yes there was a purpose - during these times we needed to learn the practical lessons of trusting God for His provision - for God knows our every need !Today we look back and are thankful for the provision of everything we ever needed. The babies, toddlers and children of Isaiah’s are each an individual testimony, the joy of watching these babies grow into individual personalities is just amazing.
Allow me to thank each and everyone of you receiving this newsletter...
To all our friends, donors, sponsors, prayer warriors and volunteers, for all of you we are thankful, we would not be where we are today had each of you not played a specific part in the work we do here in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
As the “festive season” is now upon us, we send greetings and pray that you will all have a wonderful and blessed Christmas.
May it be all that you wish it to be.

Merry Christmas
from us all
at Our Neighbours Ministry

~ Ministry Highlights ~
Empowerment
Our Neighbours Ministry seeks to empower individuals and/or groups of people in running small businesses. Where appropriate we offer some skills training and management of these projects, and over time become less involved ultimately handing the business over to the group or individual. On occasion all that is needed to empower some individuals is a small start up capital or financial input.
Ephraim Sibanda and Todd Muzengere, aged 50+yrs, both contracted polio in the early 1960’s. Unfortunately as a result of this illness both became physically disabled. Ephraim’s condition was not too severe, and daily he fits a leg calliper to walk (some may recall a highlight of this last year when he received his new calliper). Todd, on the other hand was not as fortunate, he was paralysed from his waist down. Only later on in life was he given a wheelchair by a well-wisher to ease the challenges of his disability. Despite these factors both gents have set out to work and provide for their families and not be set back by their physical disabilities.
Along 6th Avenue (which is a main road leading out to one of the high density areas) is a special demarcated “vending” area for people with disabilities and there each person is allocated a bay of 3m square in which to set up a small vending stand. Here sales can be anything from clothing to shoes, suitcases, linen, kitchen utensils and children’s toys.
Ephraim came to see us in October seeking a short term loan to top up his finances for payment of his vending licence. The local Council had given the vendors 7 days to pay “licence fees” and unfortunately the stock he had on hand could not cover the full fee required. Confidently he made a commitment to pay back the loan over the next 2 months. Within a month Ephraim came back to settle his loan in full.
At this time Ephraim invited us to come see his “stand” and meet the people he vends with and here we met Todd. Speaking with these two gents it was evident that with Christmas approaching a small cash injection into their vending project would greatly help them to establish a more viable business. Many who have visited Zimbabwe and seen the local markets will know that in these each vendor has just about all the same goods for sale, all the way down the road, so we encouraged Todd and Ephraim to purchase a variety of items for resale, different to the other vendors. Todd has a valid passport and so he is able to travel cross-border where he can purchase cheaper and varied stock for himself and Ephraim.


Chit-chat with Matron Sister Maliki

What have you seen as the greatest achievements? - Since the children have started going out of the home on their various outings they have developed a very strong sense of belonging, and have become very protective of each other. In gatherings if any child senses mistreatment of one of their siblings by an “outsider” they become very defensive and can even gang up against the intruder.
We have seen an increase in their speech and vocabulary, it is a real joy to listen to the children communicate amongst themselves and to others.
We have noticed when new children from vulnerable situations are placed into the home, majority of the children sense their difficulties and become sensitive towards them. There is never a moment when a child can go off alone as there will always be another child following closely behind them. At the monthly clinic visits I have noticed their care when one child receives an injection they are quick to go and offer comfort.
The children are very aware of their surroundings – they notice when someone is sick or when someone has hurt themselves, and especially notice when one of the staff are not at work.

What do you think the children lack? People to sit and read them stories - the children need to be read to in order to encourage them to read later on in life. They need to be taught how to look after and take care of books from an early age. They need to learn to read and when you have a large group of children vying for attention it is difficult to do this one-on-one.

What is a typical start to your day at Isaiah’s? – The children are always up and about by the time I arrive at the Babies Home. Some children will be watching through the bedroom windows as the staff arrive for their duty whilst others will meet us at the kitchen door. When they see us arriving they shout out in excitement – mamma, aunty… calling the staff by name and then letting each staff member know where their designated child is. Then the reports begin of who has done what so far – from who wet the bed to who spent the night out! They say children see everything and will report… this is very true – especially of our children at Isaiah’s.

The children love to play outside and they do not like being confined to inside the house. The children are developing their self independence that at feeding times they prefer to try feeding themselves. They are so proud when they are done and get to take their plates back to the kitchen.
The downside to a large group – the children are less conscious and are more than happy to all go to the toilet at the same time, boys and girls in the same bathroom at any given point.
I think in a large group like this their survival instincts are more developed, the children will stand up for themselves and not allow people to walk all over them.
What can be disappointing? I can never understand how children can talk and tell you a whole story but then they fail to tell you when they need to go to the toilet.

So who is your favorite child? Oh, am I allowed to have a favorite child? Ok if you say I can then there are a few but honestly I really love them all. At one point in life you will always have to let a child go, our aim is for every child to be adopted so there are some I am learning to let go of. For this reason we have to be careful of having favourites.

Who is the naughtiest child? There are the noisy naughty ones but those who are quiet are the ones to be more careful of? We have a few who are naughty.

Who wants the most attention? There is a little boy who is always at the front of the queue, and close behind is a little girl.

Who cries the most? The babies cry when they are hungry or need changing but the two who always demand attention are the two who cry the most.

Who has the most energy? There is a little boy with an awesome smile who never stops moving around – turn your back on him and he will be up the fence or windowsill in a heartbeat.

When you think of each of the children what is the first thing which comes to mind…
Anesu – I’m lost and not sure who to trust right now – help me and show me the way.
Blessed – Give me love and acceptance and I will certainly love you back.
Blessing – An intelligent girl with a high level of concentration
Craig – A big brother who cares much about the other children
Christopher – Very observant young boy
Darlene – Very active but often seeking attention
Faith – Quiet but welcoming
Gugulethu – Loves to be held and given individual attention
Jessica – Big sister always willing to help and serve
Keith – Always out to discover and learn new things
Matthew – A strong and confident character
Mthandazo – Always full of laughter and mischief
Nobuhle – Strong willed with determination and willpower
Nomalanga – Responsible, loving and caring with a very good memory
Pride – A very humble child
Ruvarashe – Independent and Jovial
Samuel – Strong and sturdy
Tadiwa – Always ready to lead the group
Tendai – Gentle and passive
Thamsanqa – Quiet and reserved
Vimbai – Forever smiling

Sister Maliki’s Christmas message!
Wishing all our friends and team members a very good Christmas. Our wish for all the vulnerable children and communities across Zimbabwe is that they will receive the many blessings that we have received through-out this year. As Christian’s we must all gather together to pray for those people who are worse off than ourselves across the globe. As we celebrate the birth of Christ this year let us cast our thoughts to at least one under privileged child this Christmas.

Baby Count as at 17~12~11
Boys :- 10 Girls :- 11 Total 21 Beautiful Blessings from God

Pride, Mthandazo, Craig, Keith, Tadiwanashe, Christopher, Samuel, Anesu, Matthew, Thamsanqa
Nomalanga, Faith, Nobuhle, Blessing, Jessica, Blessed, Darlene, Ruvarashe, Vimba, Gugulethu, Tendai

Should you wish to see photographs – these have been posted onto Facebook.

Building of Volunteer Living Quarters has begun at the Babies Home.
Facebook has some of the first photographs taken of the building project in progress in Suburbs.
Currently we have sufficient funding to build only up to foundation level and we ask you
to pray with us for God’s continual provision for this building which will provide
long term/ short term accommodation for groups or individuals wishing to serve in the Ministry.
Should you be interested in partnering with us for the completion of this building,
please feel free to email us at isaiahs@yoafrica.com or martinbarrow@hotmail.com.


Hope you have enjoyed reading the last quarter news and we look forward to posting more in 2012. May the Lord richly bless you all with a holy and happy Christmas - with enough joy inside to last you the whole year through.

Luv 'n' friendship in the Lord always
Belinda

1 comment:

kud said...

Hi, I enjoy reading your blog. What's the latest on Isaiah's? Happy new year.