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| David |
About six weeks ago, a baby boy was found abandoned and brought to the orphanage. He was tiny and very malnourished, but
when I went in a few days ago, I was very encouraged to hear from Sarah, the house mother, that the baby, whom she'd named
David, has more than doubled his body weight in the 6 weeks that he's been there from just 2kg to 4.7 kg. Isn't that wonderful?
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| Melody |
Another little girl named Melody was admitted into the orphanage at the end of last month. Her mother had died from TB, and
her father, a gardener earning just 10 pounds a month, had been struggling to look after her. He finally admitted defeat,
and when the home took her in, she was in a dreadful state, suffering from severe malnutrition. Her face and head resembled
a skull, with sunken eyes; although 14 months old, she could not sit up, but would flop over onto her face like a rag doll;
her spine seemed to be curved; her skin, which should have been dark and glossy, was pale and pasty, and her hair was wispy
and brown, instead of wiry, strong and black; she had a continuous cough, and was suffering from very bad diarrhea. After
just a couple of weeks at the orphanage, both the cough and the diarrhea have disappeared; her face has filled out beautifully,
and her skin has taken on that wonderful African sheen; her hair is as it should be, and she is now able to sit up, unassisted.
Although she is still quite weak and, if you hold her, she immediately allows her little head to flop against your shoulder,
she is, nevertheless, making a wonderful recovery.
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| Catherine |
In addition, a little baby girl called Catherine, who has been there since February 2003, has finally started walking at the
age of two and a half years! She, too, was severely malnourished on admittance and it has been a long, slow haul with her,
but she has gained weight and strength, and Sarah puts it down to the healthy diet she has been receiving.
These children eat so much better than many other Zambian children: each day, in addition to their staple food of a maize
meal porridge called Nshima, they are given either meat, fish, chicken, pulses or groundnuts as well as vegetables and other
foods. Formula milk is always available for the small babies and they no longer suffer losses among these little ones as
they did some years ago due to malnutrition, thanks to the help of donors such as many of you. So ... a BIG thank you to
all of you who help us support the orphanage.
We are now, also, putting two young teenagers, Marianna and her brother, Willy, through secondary school. They are from
a poor family, and their father recently lost his job and was unable to continue paying the relatively small amount for their
education. Marianna started school in May, and Willy in June, and they are both so happy to be back in full time education.
I even had Marianna here the other day, asking for help with her English homework! I thought those days were behind me,
but obviously not!!
Samson Zulu 1 and 2:
You may remember me mentioning a man by the name of Samson Zulu who was suffering from TB and whom we helped by paying for
all his tests, xrays and treatment. I didn't see him for some time but, about 6 weeks ago, he was waiting by the main gates
as I was driving out of our farm. He wanted to 'present' himself to me, just to tell me that he'd made a full recovery, and
to show me how different he looked! I was so delighted! I actually didn't recognize him at first, because the Samson whom
I'd met months ago, was a very sick man. He could hardly talk, struggling and gasping for every breath and wheezing terribly;
his eyes were sunken and hooded and he looked dreadful. This 'new' Samson spoke clearly, breathed deeply and easily, and
looked the picture of health. His eyes were bright and wide, and full of sparkle. I was so thrilled.
You will also recall another Samson Zulu, the 8-year-old son of one of our workers. If you remember, he was complaining
of severe chest pains, as well as ear and abdomen problems, and I spent many hours with him and his father in the clinic whilst
they ran tests. Following treatment, he seemed to make a good recovery, but had a relapse some weeks later. Again, following
treatment, he seemed to bounce back but, sadly, suffered a relapse yet again. The doctors are now running further tests for
TB, and we are awaiting the results. If it is TB and the past clear results have been in error, then we can at least treat
it with the appropriate medication, but we can't treat something that, at present, has no name.
Peter:
In his association with John Enright (an American missionary who is involved in community work in his area) and others, Peter
is beginning to see encouraging potential in agricultural projects and in developing the local community. So, he is turning
his time and energies in this direction. These projects should, over the next 3 years, begin to create a powerful "funding
stream". Up to 60% of the profit should go to support our work and community development projects.
We already have a field of onions on the go and will start a banana project in November on a 35-acre plot of land that
we are in the process of purchasing. Bio-fuel, herb gardens and other projects are all part of the long-term vision.
On our base on Plot 10, Peter continues to work away at our home. In addition, he continues to do some video-editing work
to promote groups in the community, and our aim is to eventually create a studio for serious music and video editing. The
potential is really great but we are just constrained by time, energy and funds.
OTHER NEWS:
My van is continuing to be the blessing I always prayed it would be! My heart goes out to the people who live in this
area because there is no transport system for them whatsoever, and many of them live anywhere up to 15 kilometers or more
from the last bus stop. Although I can't take many of them all the way home, I'm able to take them a good distance towards
their destination, and we enjoy good long chats along the way! As a result, I've come to know many of them quite well, which
is really nice. Even the soldiers at the paramilitary road-block further up the road from our farm no longer bother to stop
me, as per their orders! They are so used to seeing me driving back and forth to drop people closer to their homes, that
they just smile and wave me on!! I really wonder whether we need to start praying that God will provide us with a small bus
which we could just run back and forth between the last bus stop and the outlying areas (we would have to hire a driver, though!)
Our two 'adopted' young people are both doing well. We managed to get 22 year old Gabby into full time secondary education.
He has joined Year 9 and will stay on until he completes Year 12. We have enrolled Jane, aged 21, in afternoon computer
classes and she is doing well. At the end of the course, she will come away with an African recognized certificate. Next
year, she will re-sit some of her Grade 12 exams in which she didn't do as well as she'd hoped at the end of last year. She
is a huge help to me at home and becomes very bossy indeed if she thinks I'm overdoing things !!!
Well, until my next newsmail, God bless you all.
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