You helped provide clothes and toothbrushes to over 90 kids this year!

Recently, two Temwani Officers, Regan Murray and I , made the trek to Lusaka, Zambia to check on our projects and meet face to face with our key partners.  We want to report that your donations are having a real impact on children there!

Our objectives for the trip were ambitious — we squeezed in meetings and volunteer opportunities in the mornings, afternoons and evenings!  We intended to give real-time updates during our trip, but our busy schedule and short times at the internet café just did not give us the opportunity.

We have so many stories to share that we will feature them in depth over the next few months.

I know many Temwani supporters are anxious to hear about the trip , so here are some brief highlights with photos of the Angel Project, Kachele School, Blanket Project and the Braille Printer!

Angel Project 08

Luckily, all of our baggage arrived (after a few days) and we were able to distribute over 100 pounds of shirts, pants, socks, toothbrushes, crayons and other supplies to all 90 children at the Kondwa Day Center for Orphans and their teachers.

We are grateful to the students at the University of Zambia Service Learning Center and our friend Paul Schwengels for helping us that day!  Dressing the children, taking photos and getting it all done in a few hours was quite a challenge, especially since a member of the Zambian Parliament also visited that day too, complete with news crews.

The clothes for the appropriate ages were big for many of the kids, emphasizing that even thought they are fed well at Kondwa, they still come from impoverished backgrounds and need all the help we can give.

Regan Murray and the Kachele architect.

Kachele Primary School

Construction has begun! We were very excited to visit the land of the new Kachele Primary School, meet the construction Site Managers, and take photos and video of the building in progress!

The first 5 classrooms, dining hall and bathroom foundations were dug, and a block of three classroom foundations were built.

Workers at the Kachele land site build classroom foundations.

Assuming construction proceeds on schedule, a special group of 1st graders being schooled by teacher Sheila at the Kondwa Day Center for Orphans will move into Kachele this Fall and start 2nd grade there in January 2010.

The building will be completed in phases, and funds are still needed to complete the school buildings for next year and all 7 grades!

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Bevin Dunn greets families during blanket gifting.

Singing praises for the blankets.

Blanket Project 09

On our first day in Lusaka, we went to a shopping center where we could purchase warm Zambian- made wool blankets. The shop keepers gave us a volume discount and we purchased 200 blankets with money from blanket fundraisers.

We met the guardians of the 90 children at Kondwa Day Center and gifted two blankets to each family. Many guardian women were dressed in colorful chitenge fabrics and their beautiful African songs filled the air at the end of the day.

Other blankets were given to the teachers at Kondwa and to a special home for abused girls.

Braille Printer for HAITA

Over the past year we have been fundraising to help buy a business speed Braille embosser (printer) for a special group that translates HIV/AIDS materials into Braille for visually impaired students and adults in Zambia.

We were impressed that many of the HAITA (HIV/AIDS Info Tech Africa) staff are also visually impaired. They answered our questions about learning Braille and the need for the printer was evident, as a simple one page pamphlet takes upwards of 30 12×12 printed pages when translated!

Not only that, the printed materials need to have covers added and be spiral bound.  We hope to finish this project soon with the purchase of a new and much faster printer and help them purchase a paper cutter and binder as well.

Our Kondwa Fundraising Experience 
Submitted by the Huron Centennial School

Our school raised money for the Kondwa Children’s Foundation and we found it to be a very successful experience. It felt good to raise so much money for such a good cause.

Our school, Huron Centennial Public raised a grand total of $1000.92 which reached well above our goal! We had hoped to raise $500 but our school was so willing to give generous donations that we raised twice our goal.

With the information that we had on the Kondwa Foundation, we explained to our students how to “be an angel” at Christmas. Our school was so happy to know that we were helping these children with school and supplies that were so desperately needed.

We would like to continue our involvement with the Kondwa Foundation in the future and help those who are less fortunate.

Sincerely,
Ben, Shannen, Lydia, Magnus, Sydney

In late February, the children at the Kondwa Day Center for Orphans and Vulnerable Children celebrated the beginning of the new school year by opening Holiday Angel gifts! The little boys in the Baby Class received matching sweaters in blue, gray, and white, while the girls received lavender dresses with embroidered flowers.  Their teacher, Mr. Pritchard, passed out gifts of clothing, toothbrushes, school supplies, toys, and candy to the 25 happy three to five year olds in his class. 
 
All 90 children currently attending the Kondwa Day Center received gifts, from the baby class of 3-5 year olds to the Pre-primary school class of 7-9 year olds.  In addition, the four teachers and six staff members of the Kondwa Day Center were sent gifts of clothing and toiletries.  Thanks to the dedicated leadership of the school director Angela Malik, this school offers the hope of a bright future for these children, and KCF is passionate about assisting Mrs. Malik in her mission.
 
This year, we were delighted to also give gifts to the 25 children attending the Assisi School for Children with Disabilities, led by Sister Helen Scully.  Some of the children are deaf, some are mentally retarded, but all benefit from the love and care provided to them at Assisi!  We are proud to be partnering with Sister Helen to help these children.
 

Thanks to your generosity, more than 115 children received gifts this year as part of KCF’s Holiday Angel Gift Project!  More than 50 individual donors from across the United States and Canada, banded together to share gifts of holiday spirit with children in Zambia. 
 
Thanks to Laureen Ayers and her students at Huron Centennial School in Canada who raised more than $1,000 to support the Angel Project.  Thanks also to the folks in Cincinnati for the Holiday Angel fundraiser which raised more than $200! 
 
Each donation included a $10 gift toward the construction costs of the new primary school for the graduates of the Kondwa Day Center, and totaled $1,230.  These funds will be put directly to use this spring to build the first classrooms for the new school.
 
Thanks to all of you for a successful 2007 Holiday Angel Gift Project! In 2008, with your help, we will reach 150 children!
 
Please email angels@kondwa.org for more information.