June/July Newsletter.
General:
World Cup Take Over:
During the past month the eyes of the world have been focused on the nation of South Africa as we have played host to the FIFA 2010 Football World Cup and it seems that we have proved ourselves as a worthy host for the first World Cup Finals to be played on African soil.
Arron has arrived back from his three month placement at YWAM (Youth with a Mission) Harpenden and it has been a pleasure to welcome him and the team for nine weeks to help with the sports outreach we have undertaken during the children’s schools holidays.
It has also been a very busy time for our children’s unit with a few health issues, parent visits and trying to work within a tough system which we are still trying to understand but more of that later.
Children’s Unit:
The children we look after here on the Village of Hope go from strength to strength. Each and every day we see small miracles in their little lives, whether in the improvement in their health, a new word in their vocabulary or just a change for the better in their behaviour.
Daz and Lisa along with Maz, were away in May. Maz spent two weeks in England visiting her new little grandson and her presence was certainly missed as she and Lisa do a sterling job as they work not only with the children in the unit but also with the House Mom’s who look to Maz for motherly support!
Over the last weeks we have had a few health issues. Two of our elder children have very bad respiratory problems, one with only half a left lung and the other with both lung and heart problems. It hasn’t helped having the first rains of winter as both are or have been suffering from pneumonia and TB, which comes with the HIV virus so it’s not an issue of poorly heated rooms! Our ten year old has also been in hospital for a week with his health issues and your prayers are much appreciated for him at this time. Also please continue to pray for our little nine month old girl is in hospital with pneumonia.
Two weeks into the Football World Cup we were blessed by a visit of a group of Dutch Michelin star chefs, who following around the Dutch football team on a huge 1 Million Euro bus which is fitted out with full professional kitchen. We had the pleasure of welcoming them and the Dutch Ambassador onto the Village of Hope where they cooked (not the ambassador!) a meal for all of our children, including those we have placed back out into the community, their carers and our house moms...this was a truly amazing event.
Sports Outreach:
Where do we start? Firstly we have the unfortunate news that Daz managed to break his leg playing an after Sports Saturday football game with the YWAMers. It was no one’s fault and we wish Daz a speedy recovery.
We all knew that this was going to be a busy period for the outreach team who run our programme each day in the community but I don’t think we really thought that we would be putting on a programme for around three to four hundred children every afternoon for nearly four weeks. The events have taken place at two local schools, where the YWAM team worked for a couple of weeks prior to the World Cup holidays. In each of the halls we have had a big screen for the children to watch the 4pm afternoon matches, provided a hot meal and drink to each child and taught the children football, cricket, dodge ball and netball skills.
A week before the World Cup kicked off we also welcomed Trefor Williams from Big Shot Cricket who ran a week long cricket coaching course for 9 – 15 year olds. He was ably supported by Paul Baker (the YWAM leader) Arron and Josh (Walker) along with some of the YWAMers.
Each Saturday during the World Cup, starting on the 12th of June, and finishing on the 10th July we have been running our Sports Saturdays. These events, along with the wider World Cup programme have been run alongside a local Task Team who have supported us over this time. We welcomed a team from Ashfield Boys School in Northern Ireland to one of the Saturday Tournaments which proved to be a great success and we thank them for their support and fair play!
The list of events could go on and on but within it all we have truly blessed around one thousand children and our desire is that we now build on those relationships during the next few weeks and months as the World Cup band wagon moves on to focus on Brazil 2014. Maybe England might win that one!
Volunteers:
We have mentioned the fact that we had a visit from UK board director Trefor Williams, which was great and also the twenty three YWAMers, but we were also blessed by having Charlie Docwra (an ex Crusader who Tim has known for about twenty years) and also an American called Tyler who came out with a mission team last year and has given up his summer vacation to come and serve us with his handiwork skills.
Our long term Norwegian volunteer Grete and her son Trim left just before the World Cup, leaving Trondor to fend for himself as he welcomes his son and daughter over to enjoy the games. We really do miss Grete and Trim.
We are also saying goodbye to the latest students from the HAN University in Holland who have been faithfully serving us in our various projects. Thanks Faye, Sanne, Cheryl, Margo, Mika, Luke and Matthias, we will miss you.
We have also been hosting a seven strong team from Illinois, lead by Tim Berger. They have been very active around the VoH installing a new car port/wood store on the end of the volunteers unit, assisting with the Thembacare Unit by painting the patients lounge and completing some much needed maintenance on the windows and doors as well as installing a 'race track' for the children at the VoH to ride their bikes around!
And finally:
Please continue to lift our nation as we hear of xenophobic attacks breaking out around foreign nationals, mainly those from Zim and Nigera as the fight for jobs ever increases following the departure of the FIFA circus!
That wraps up the last few weeks, however if you would like to keep up to date with the daily comings and goings of the Village of Hope then please visit our blog at www.thembavillageofhope.blogspot.com and if you would like to come out to visit/volunteer then please contact us at office@thembalitshauk.org.uk where Emily will guide you through that process.
