Lontia's new business and introducing little Zambian Barbara

A post from Barbara:
With so many successful Mac fundraisers taking place I thought you might like to see the results of one which took place this time last year. It was to provide a second hand clothing business for Lontia, the grandmother of my 7 year old child Nsenzeni. It began in the summer of 2009, during the worst time for fundraising, and took several months before it was finally completed. Finally, during December Lontia received two bales of second hand clothing and a wooden table. At first the business did well but then the demand for clothing ceased as the recession took hold. Consequently, Lontia reverted to selling vegetables, dried fish and beans and charcoal which business is now going well. This was only made possible by the generous donations of many of you so, once again many thanks for your valuable help in helping this poor family make a small living.

About the same time Lontia received her purchases a new grand-daughter was born on 23rd December and you can imagine my delight when the family decided to give the new baby girl my own name. Since this was the first time that anyone in my life had given me that honour I was naturally tickled pink and asked CI if while taking a photo of the new business that they could take one also of little baby Barbara.

Below you will be able to see the proud grandmother, Lontia, a beaming Nsenzeni (it only took five years to get a big smile from her) and little Barbara. If you look closely in the background you can just see her wearing her pink hat with her mother waiting patiently in the courtyard of their home. I just wanted to share with you all the results of a very succesful fundraiser."

Cheers

Barbara

Birthday Package for Nsenzeni in Zambia

Barbara's posting. Today, I finally received the photos of Nsenzeni in Zambia showing off her birthday gifts. The DP was sent sea-mail in April 2009 and did not arrive until 22nd March 2010 - talk about a 'slow boat to Zambia'!! However, I was relieved to see it had arrived safely, if somewhat battered, because an earlier Christmas DP still has not arrived.

In an earlier letter, Nsenzeni's grandmother, Lontia, advised that Nsenzenie wanted to be a doctor when she grew up so, for her birthday I bought her a toy doctor's kit with doctor's box, stethoscope and other doctor's tools. Also, I sent a blouse that could be made into a pretend doctor's white coat if it didn't fit Lontia. As you can see from the photo Nsenzeni might not get it until Lontia finishes with it!

Here is the thank you letter that Lontia wrote for Nsenzeni.

Dear Barbara

How are you? Back to us we are all fine. Nsenzeni she is very happy to receive the package that you have sent for her. Thank you Barbara and she has also received some card [Birthday card]. She feel proud with you. She has liked everything that you sent for her. Nsenzeni said I' be a doctor when I' grow up and I'am happy to receive this medical kit and cosmetic pads [sent to use for play] so that I must be able to use them. Greetings to your friends and your family. Yours Lontia and Nsenzeni Tapiwe.

The additional comments from the local CI staff read. "The child was very glad to receive the parcel from her sponsor and the grandmother has sent her thanks."

After years of pleading I was delighted to see that Lontia no longer lists all the articles included in the package - so determination won out this time.

However, just in case anyone is interested the package also included.

Medical kit
Schrek bandaids
Children's tylenol
Ear swabs
toothpaste
shampoo
vaseline
white blouse for doctor's uniform
Purell hand sanitizer
travel wipes.

1 Olympic 2010 T shirt with four mascots.
1 Pink and white T shirt
1 white long sleeved blouse
1 navy pleated skirt

panties and socks and Dora shoe appliques.
plus a small bag of sugar to make a birthday cake - but arrived too late!!
Birthday card, postcards and photos.

I think the photos show how pleased she was with her belated birthday gifts since she rarely smiles in her photos."

Fundraiser #13 Clothing Sales IGP for Nsenzeni

Dear Barbara

How are you today? Nsenzeni and I are well. Thank you very much for the money which you sent to me to start a business. We have bought two bales of second hand clothes for reselling and a table.

I have appreciated a lot for your great love and care towards us. Let God bless you! I thank you once again for your great loveing kindness.

Yours Lontia.

And I would once again like to give many, many thanks to all those generous people, family, friends, fellow sponsors, neighbours, etc., who helped make this family's new business a reality.
What were the child's/family comments when the gifts were delivered?

The grandmother is very happy and thankful to the sponsor.

How will the gifts benefit the child and/or family?

The family has been assisted with an IGP which they feel will help them generate income.

$$$$$ Money, Money all around!! $$$$$

Jonathan received $13.60

Yamileisy and Jose Manuel received $15.60

Eloina received $24.60

Nsenzeni received $15

The magazine fundraiser check arrived today!!! For those of you expecting $$$, check your fundraisers for the donations! They have all been made. Maybe our next check will make an even bigger dent in these fundraisers!

This is it... Let's make this happen!

This fundraiser only needs $76!!! If we can fund this one today, Nsenzeni and her family will receive the items at the end of October. (If we don't fund this today, they won't get it until the end of November!) Please help make this happen if you can. Thanks!

http://www.firstgiving.com/igp4nsenzeni

So close!

http://www.firstgiving.com/igp4nsenzeni

I hope everyone can help with this fundraiser. It only needs $200 more, which is the amount of our small fundraisers that we originally started with. I know these large fundraisers are hard to fund, and most of us are short on cash. Soon we will be back to the lower amounts, and these will move more quickly. Here are a couple of things to keep in mind:

1. Every dollar counts, so if you can donate $1 or $3 or whatever, it all adds up!!

2. Once this one funds, we will go on to the next fundraiser!!

3. Here is the list of fundraisers coming up soon after this one... Make sure that you have put in your 25% by the time it is time to launch your fundraiser, so that it doesn't get delayed!:

Next in line~ Crystal & Gema (Su)

2nd in line~ Maila (Steve)

3rd in line~ Adriana (Candace)

4th in line~ Yamileisy (Dee)

These other sponsors, bless their hearts, have been given the short end of the stick!! Jennifer and Robyn have both been pushed out to later fundraisers because of problems getting the reply back from the field. Jennifer got a reply from the field, but instead of giving us a fundraiser of $500 or less, they requested $2,500!! Because Robyn's was being delayed, we sent another request out for a different child of hers, that way at least one will come back in time! I hope that by the time Dee's is getting ready to finish, they will have their responses that they need!

Nsenzeni's Fundraiser

Who's who?:

Nsenzeni in Pink

Nsenzeni's grand mother Lontia in purple t shirt

Nsenzeni's aunt Justina in a white tshirt and head scarf holding babyEmmanuel

Lontia's sister Clara in brown top

Nsenzeni's uncle Leonard in white t shirt

Nsenzeni's aunt Sipiwe in a black t shirt

Nsenzeni's aunt Memory in a white top with purple in the shoulders

The young boy in a blue top is Nsenzeni's uncle Sam

The boy in checked blue shirt is Nsenzeni's uncle Philip

The young girl in yellow top is Nsenzeni's aunt Frida

The baby with Lontia is Gloria, Nsenzeni's aunt

All the above except for Clara and her children Sam, Frida and Philip,live in the home with Nsenzeni and therefore there are 8 people in thechild's home. Clara and her children live in the house next toNsenzeni's and are related to her and they spend so much time with thefamily and therefore decided to be a part of the photos.

****This fundraiser for Nsenzeni is almost halfway to completetion!!! The good news is that the bike & table can now be purchased for them!!! This will make providing for the family easier on Lonita.

The only thing left is the IGP part. This is very important because the income is not "extra" income but "essential" income. There are 8 people living in this one small house, yet their income is still minute. The clothing business will provide them with food in their bellies.

$276 is the amount needed to complete this fundraiser. Whatever amount you can donate will make a BIG difference!!

Thanks, everyone, for your continued dedication to our children!!

http://www.firstgiving.com/igp4nsenzeni

On to Project #13!!!

Nsenzeni is 6 years old and lives with her loving grandmother Lontia's extended family in one multi-purpose room and 1 bedroom. The house has brick walls, a concrete floor and corrugated metal roof. Without any electricity their only light is from candles; their only water source is from the community faucets and their sanitary facility the community latrine (these latrines often spill over after heavy winter rains).

Last year I donated a small amount to fund a micro-enterprise business for Lontia to sell dried fish, produce and beans. Though this small business has helped the family, it has not generated enough income to provide for emergencies and other unexpected expenses that come up.

One such unexpected expense happened last year. Lonita's home was flooded inside and out, and the roof blew off of the home. Lontia is one of those strong, proud African grandmothers who would rather work herself than accept charity. Because she wants to provide for her family, I thought it would be better to provide her with an additional IGP selling second hand clothing which is always needed in the community. That way she can pay for any further damages to their house and get a sturdier roof.

Nsenzeni, like many children living in poverty, has had a rough start in life. Her mother was 14 years old when she became pregnant, and not in a position to care for an infant. Nsenzeni's grandmother Lonita took her in, and has raised Nsenzeni like she were her daughter ever since.

I have been sponsoring Nsenzeni since she was two years old and have endeavoured to make her feel special by sending numerous direct packages of good clothing (for her self esteem), age appropriate books and educational toys as well as dolls and other toys just for fun and to give her some happy childhood memories. A bed was provided for her by a friend's legacy instead of flowers' donation and Nsenzeni was very pleased to be able to sleep comfortably instead of on the floor. Evidently, she sleeps with my letters under her pillow.

At first I despaired of ever putting a smile on her sad face because she glared at the camera even when holding the dolls I sent her. However, both Lontia and the CI staff assured me that she was delighted with her gifts. For her 5th birthday I sent her a sensitive doll which she must have used because Lontia said she learned enough from it to care for her new baby cousin. Another time she received two parcels on the day before her birthday and Lontia said in her quaint English that she "was smelling full of jolly."

Both Lontia's and my efforts seem to have paid off because she is evidently a very happy child. She loves attending church and singing gospel songs and dancing. She also enjoys running errands and helping her grandmother with her produce business. Nsenzeni is also doing very well in school and her favourite subjects are Math, Reading, Grammar, and languages particularly English. She says she wants to work hard at school and who knows one day she might become a teacher, an interpreter or work for the U.N.

I hope that some of our generous sponsors will consider donating to Nsenzeni's fundraiser so that she can continue to 'smell full of jolly.''

Many thanks Barbara

http://www.firstgiving.com/igp4nsenzeni

Letters from Barbara's sponsored children

I apologize that I do not have pictures to go with these letters right now. I will post some soon.

"Dear Barbara

First I'm greeting you and your friends. I hope you are all fine. Nsenzeni and I we are fine. Yes, she had malaria but now she is very well. Barbara and you too are so special to our family. I appreciate very much but those chickens you have mentioned here in Zambia I can't raise my standard of living. I just say if you can boost my business so that it can grow well I will appreciate very much. [This relates to a small start up micro-enterprise I sent last year to start selling vegetable, dried fish and beans].

Leya, she's doing fine with her youngest daughter and name is Ailedi. Barbara, Nsenzeni is saying your living is very well. She is asking when are you coming to visit her? Blessing Banda is not our relative. On Christmas day we celebrated in Church. Thanks very much, Yours Lontia and Nsenzeni."

The second one is from Pearl Daphne from Quezon City in relation to the visit from the two CI representatives. The letter is beautifully written and well spaced and she is only six years old.

"Dear Barbara,

Hi Greetings from beautiful Country of Philippines! I'm glad that you send another letter for me. Yes,I enjoyed shopping during my Easter gift. You are alone. Are you happy with that? [She is referring to my single status and lack of family here in Canada].
I saw the pictures of your country it's very beautiful. Someday, I wish I could visit your place.
With regards to Sponsor's visit I had thought you are the one visiting me here. But even I couldn't saw you in person I am so thankful and excited that day. Thank you. Always Pearl Daphne.

The last one is from Marelyn and yet another one from her mother Carolina.

"Dear Sponsor Barbara

This letter is to thank you for the wonderful gifts which you sent me. I received [followed by the usual boring list of gifts!!].....Let me tell you that here in Guatemals the summer is so hot and for that reason I drink iced drinks or iced water. Let me tell you that my family is well. I love you very much. Marelyn Magdalena"

Amongst the gifts I sent was a child's writing pad and I was delighted to see that Marelyn's mother, Carolina, made use of it and wrote me a three page letter.

" Dear Barbara;

I hope that you are well when you receive this letter. I want to share with you many things about my family. Well, during the Holy Week here in Guatemala I and my husband Luis sold [candies] in the city during the Easter processions for a week so that we could take Marelyn and her siblings to Esquipolas to visit the black Christ, located in Chiquimula. Then we took them to a beach called 'Dorada' . Let me tell you that Marelyn enjoyed the trip, playing all day in the water near the bank of the lake.she loves the water, but she cannot swim I would like to send her for a swimming course. As you know when people can swim, the most they enjoy. The summer here in Guatemala is so hot, but we drink iced drinks, which are so delicious. We were all so very happy.

When Marelyn receives your direct packages she is always so happy and likes everything that you send her. She likes the many photos that you sent her, because through them she can see the beautiful places of Canada. She says that she would like to visit them herself one day. Marelyn always remembers you every moment. She is a beautiful young girl and very intelligent. Anita, Luisa and Fernando also can't wait to see the photos that you send to Marelyn so that they can see the places that you visit and the gifts that you send to them. I want to thank you for the joy that you give my family. Thanks to you they share happy moments. May God pour out his Blessings on you. I say goodbye with much love. Carolina."

Meet Barbara's 3rd sponsored child Nsenzeni!

This post is about Barbara's 3rd sponsored child. This is what she wrote about her:
I began sponsoring Nsenzeni (nickname Tapiwe) only a few months after Miguel in July, 2005. Lusaka had just been added to C.I's list of countries and, at first, they had difficulty in persuading the local population that strangers actually wanted to help them I wanted a very young child and Nsenzeni was only two years old when I began sponsoring her. I chose her because of her sad face. Later I learned that she had a very good reason to be sad but it is too private to be shared on a blog. She is being brought up by her grandmother, Lontia, with her own family.

After seeing Nsenzeni's sad face I determined to put a smile on it one day soon. Famous last words as it took over three and a half years before I saw the first glimmer of a smile. She didn't even smile when she received the many gift packages though Lontia and the CI staff assured me that she was overjoyed with them. I asked, begged pleaded for a smile all to no avail and she even started to cover her mouth. After being told that she really enjoyed the candy I often included I tried some reverse psychology and made a deal with her - no smile - no more candy!! And this bit of bribery actually worked and now I get a smile in each photo.

At first Lontia was supporting her family with only $29.00 a month. Over the years it went up to $50.00 and only months after I sent a small incentive gift to start her own vegetable vending business it has increased to $70.00. But now she helps Lontia sell the greens, beans and dried fish which is the main staple of the Zambians and seems so much happier.

Nsenzeni is a funny little child. Evidently, she talks about her sponsor to her little friends in the compound. At first she told her grandmother that she was going to take everything that I had sent to her with her when she got married. Then she told her little companions that Barbara was going to buy her a big house with everything in it which dream I had Lontia immediately dampen.

From her earlier photos where she glared at the camera and didn't appear to like anything that I sent her I despaired that she just did not like anything. I was later reassured by Lontia that when her little niece, Leya, was born she helped look after the new baby after practising with the sensitive doll that I had sent her.

Over the years Nsenzeni has benefitted from the medical care provided by C.I. It was found that she had a tapeworm which prevented her from gaining weight and parasites which were immediately treated. The only water available is from the community faucets and community latrine. I recently learned that she has had malaria but is now O.K. but CI will have her checked out by their physician and also for cholera as there is now an outbreak in the neighbourhood. In spite of all the local problems I am optomistic that she will do well in life and hopefully develop the dazzling smile of her strong grand-mother.
Here is the latest letter from Nsenzeni to Barbara:

"Dear Barbara,

I hope you are very find. Back to us we are fine. We missed your letter Barbara. We are always happy when we received a letter from you. Oh you are so special to us Barbara. We want to thanks you for the things that we receive from you and we like them very much. Nsenzeni she was not feeling well. But now she's OKy. She had malaria.

We received everything that you sent for her and I was very Happy for the money you sent for me and I say that thank you vry much for friendship and support you are giving Nsenzeni. Happy Merry Christmas and Happy Year. You are special. May God bless you and your friends. Thank you. Yours Lontia and Nsenzeni."

Here is her bio:

Age: 6	Gender: F	Date of Birth: 1/9/2003
Height: 3 Feet 7 Inches		Weight: 41 Pounds		Hair Color: Black		Eye Color: Brown
2. Health problems, if any: None
3. Attends School: Yes
4. Favorite School Subjects: Languages, Grammar
Favorite Pastimes or Sports: Playing with dolls
Chores at Home: Running errands
Talents or Hobbies: Dancing, Singing
Languages Spoken: Nyanja
INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S FAMILY:
5. Approximate monthly income for the family (in U.S. Dollars): $70.00
6. Name of Father: Jabulani			Age: 33	Occupation:
(If not present, why?) Deceased
7. Name of Mother: Stella			Age: 21	Occupation: Unemployed
(If not present, why?)
8. Brothers and Sisters:
Name Leya		Age 3	Gender F
9. Child now living with: Relatives
INFORMATION ABOUT YOUR CHILD'S HOME:
10. Description of Home: Living Room, One Bedroom
Cooking Facilities: Coal stove
Sleeping Accommodations: Beds
Home Construction: Walls Brick			Roof Corrugated metal		Floor Concrete
11. Facilities and Services:
Water Source/Storage: Community faucets
Electricity: Not available
Sanitary Facility: Community latrine