Summer Distribution Post 2

Chipo 216 above and Golden 222 below

Rody 228 above and Rovert 229 below

Not to be out-done by his twin brother's grimace, Rowness 230 above

Joyce 240 above and Hanatonga 302 below

If you are not a part of our yahoo group, you are missing out!!  Send a request to join, and I will get you set up.  There are some wonderful photos that have been coming in, and you can see them all in their entirety in the group photo albums.  If you are sponsoring a child, you will, also, see their newest photos uploaded on the mwanahopezambia.com web-site as well. 

Here are some of our youngest sponsored children at the recent distribution.  Aren't they adorable?!

Summer Distribution Post 1

 Inonge 635 above and Chinyama 433 below

Matron 70 below

Here are the first pretty faces of the latest distribution.  This is the first smile I have seen out of Inonge.  Very rewarding!!

Thank you, Sponsors!!

“Thanks for showing me that even on the darkest, rainiest days the sun is still there, just behind the clouds, waiting to shine again.”

Lisa Harlow - Thanks to caring donors, Gift received wonderful and quick hospital services!!  The family is very grateful for this, as they would have not been able to help Gift alone. Gift and his grandmother are now back in Mazabuka.  They will be returning to Lusaka on Thursday to find out the results of the biopsy.  Stay tuned, and thank you so much!!!

Gift Waiting

Here is Gift with his grandmother waiting for the 5 medical consultants to take a look at him.  The doctors are baffled as to what could be causing him to be so ill.  As you can tell by the photo, his grandmother is very worried.  What do you do when you have no diagnosis?  How do you know the way forward- what treatments to take, what changes in diet to make, what if anything you can do to make yourself well?   Please keep Gift in your thoughts and prayers.  We need answers for him and his family, so that they can go back to celebrating life.  It is not too late to help.  If you would like to help toward the costs of the stay and any medical occurrences, simply click on the emergency medical donation link in the upper right hand corner of the blog.  Thank you for all you are doing for this brave young boy of 5 years!

Gift Recovering

As we anxiously await news from all of the testing, here is a picture of Gift recovering in the hospital.  He had an xray, blood work, and a urinalysis, so hopefully we will know more how we can help soon.  I will keep everyone posted.  Please keep him in your thoughts and prayers! 

Playground in Use

Here are some photos of the children playing on the UNICEF donated playground equiptment. 

Greeting Paris

Here are the Tongan ladies greeting their Cyprus visitor in Simwaba. 

Update on Gift's Health

Gift was rushed to Lusaka this morning after a hospital visit in Mazabuka found he was extremely ill.  $350 was raised to cover some of the costs of the transport, medicines, food, and accommodations.  We will soon have an update on his diagnosis and what the total cost will be to make him better.  I am extremely grateful to the donors who provided Gift with his chance to live!  His family would only have been able to keep him comfortable and wait for him to die, since they do not have the funds to get him to Lusaka and treatment.  As you may imagine, Gift's grandmother is in awe of the love that you all have poured out on Gift and his family. 

I will keep you posted as I have more information. The staff of CHZ in Zambia have been going back and forth to get the family settled at the hospital and get the funds logged in.  It has been hectic for them, but it is all for a good cause =) 

Meet Paris from Cyprus! Part 2

The three above look like Hildah and Daniel, but I am not sure who the littlest one is.

Here are more pictures of Paris with the children handing out gifts.  School jerseys are perfect for them right now because it is still very cold outside.  It appears that most of the people are back from vacation now that school starts back on Monday.  What a turn out!

Meet Paris from Cyprus! Part 1

The children arrived in Simwaba again today to meet with a young man from Cyprus.  The high school boy named Paris raised funds to purchase clothes, shoes, footballs, and mealie meal for the children.  He met with them today and took pictures.  He will be taking these photos back with him to Cyprus to encourage more donors. 

It is always heart-warming to see young people making a difference in the world!!  This young man put a lot of smiles on the faces of the children.  Thank you, Paris!

By the way, the other man with the fooball jersey is Paris' uncle Nikki.  He was there to help Paris fulfill his mission.  They will be in Zambia until the 6th of September and then head back to Cyprus.  Have a safe trip!!  Thank you for thinking of our children!!

Excitement in Simwaba

Visitors are always welcomed and it turns into quite an event.  Here, all of the children were clamoring to see the UNICEF workers.  If you are planning a visit to see the children, this is what you can expect.  A terrific welcoming committee!!

Message to US Sponsors

Child 1194 above

Dear Colleagues,

We were so sorrowful and confounded to read and watch the Hurricane Irene that struck America. Please accept our condolences on the tragic death of the people who were trapped by Hurricane Irene and the victims whose homes were left in pieces. You are all in our prayers and we believe that God will comfort those who were affected and lost their beloved ones due to the Hurricane Irene.

In sympathy,

CHILDHOPE-ZAMBIA

Welcoming UNICEF

This picture shows all of the community members that met up at the Simwaba ECCDE center to welcome UNICEF.   =)

Keeping the Sick Alive!

Here is a photo of donations that were sent to feed the terminally ill.  Wow!  This is going to do a lot of good in the community!  This mealie meal has been distributed to sponsored and unsponsored families affected by HIV.  Thank you!!!

Thank You, UNICEF!! Part 3

Bicycles were donated to the community by UNICEF.  These will aid in the many daily activities that the community leaders participate in, including getting to families to check on their well-being.  If you saw the video during the rainy season, you know that bicycles are beneficial for carrying heavy bulky items back and forth.  Thank you, UNICEF!!

Thank You, UNICEF!! Part 2

Check out this playground equiptment that was donated by UNICEF!!  Won't the children be surprised when they get back from holiday!?   Swings, a slide, a merry-go-round, and a see saw!  By the way, the equiptment was installed in Simwaba... Which means that the children will be able to play during distribution, too!!!  Yay for the children!  Thank you, UNICEF!!

Thank you, UNICEF!!! Part 1

A UNICEF convoy arrived in Mazabuka yesterday.  The Zambian staff was there to great them.  They were there to drop off some donations.  Remember I told you that most of the families are on vacation? Well, the Preschool children are going to be in for a BIG surprise when they return to school at the beginning of September!!  I will post pictures of the surprise in the next post later this afternoon. 

Children Receiving Gifts

Emeldah 150 above and Cornwell 495 below

Agness 886 above and Mukwisa 887 below

Esther Mutinta below

As we already knew from a few weeks ago, most of our families are on holiday and not in their homes.  Chim and the Zambia team brought items for the few children and women that remained behind.  These are the last of these kinds of photos.  Nearly everyone was on vacation, so we will be getting tons of pictures at the upcoming distribution.  In fact, distribution will be so large, we will have over 300 children present as well as women in our women's program and some of their family members.  This could mean 500+ people at next distribution.  It will take 3 to 4 days to distribute everything to everyone!!! 

Mangunje IGP Distribution Part 2

Translation:
I asked the man in the video the relationship he had with the boy and he told me that the boy in the picture was the son. I asked him how he felt about Mangunje receiving the chickens. He told me that he was very happy and so was Mangunje.  He told me that the chickens would help Mangunje sustain himself for a long time. He thanked the sponsors for the good work and encouraged them to continue helping the boy.