Hello!

Nearly a week since we’ve returned from Zim/SA, but still working hard to get back in the groove of things. I wanted to provide an overview of our trip to help paint a more detailed picture of EF’s partnerships and the near-future happenings in Zimbabwe and Jo’burg. Hopefully you followed the day-to-day movements via Twitter. If not, no worries! Here’s a partner by partner breakdown gleaned from the trip:

• Albert Street School: The school for refugee youth has expanded to over 500 students (up from only 125 students last September!). 200 of these students are unaccompanied, meaning the parental figure is either deceased or no longer looking after the child. For these 200 students, Albert Street attempts to provide 3 meals a day, shelter, and other childcare related services. Yet the strain of rapid growth has rendered many basic services unattainable for these 200 unaccompanied children. The school’s headmaster, Alpha, discussed with us the difficulties of food provision. He mentioned several occasions where the students had gone without for a day or two. There also remains a great need for infrastructure renovation and construction.
• Youth Education Training: Y.E.T. has reduced its beneficiary allotment to 11 students. Some students have migrated to South Africa (joining an estimated 3 million Zim refugees seeking greener pastures in SA). Other students have been dropped due to the incredible increase in school fees over the past several terms. Despite these disappointments, Y.E.T. has successfully seen two students complete ‘A’ level exams (equivalent to high school graduation). One of these students, Believe, was named prefect of his school. It is the first time a student from the slums of Kadoma has been named prefect in this specific school! You can read Believe’s story here in Adam’s travel blog.
• Elias Foundation Trust: There has been much movement with E.F.T. in the past months as they have been researching a sustainable micro-agricultural program. The revolutionary techniques of this program can increase crop yield by over 300%. E.F.T. is implementing the techniques at first via personal gardens, but plans to create a pilot farm from which to equip both rural and urban farmers … E.F.T’s outreach to the blind community continues to flourish. We had the privilege of attending a food distribution, and were overwhelmed by the success of the program. Nearly 200 families attended the event … E.F.T’s scholarship program continues to support 3 university level students, with the success of one beneficiary being all but graduated.

All in all it was a productive trip. Our media bank has been replenished thanks to Greg. You can view a handful of photos from the trip at his blog. And as Adam, executive director of the 1010 Project, has often quoted, “The trip was affirming.” He was encouraged to see EF’s grassroots, relational approach in our humanitarian efforts. He was also chuffed to meet Elias.

As for me, it is always a privilege to spend time with our partners, to learn from their experiences, and to build with them stronger and stronger friendships. It is through their creativity and perseverance that hope and opportunity return to Zimbabwe. It is a blessing to know and serve these wonderfully courageous individuals.

-scott