Thandiwe's Pictures

Thandiwe above and below dishing out supper

Thandiwe's grandfather above and her bed below

Thandiwe lives with her grandfather.  The video that I have of her, she said that she lives with him because her mom died.  I am guessing that her father died as well.  She has such a sweet spirit.  When she spoke of her mother's death, she started to cry.  It really moved me because my father passed away when I was 9, so I know the loss that you feel from that. 

I had to add Thandiwe to my family.  I hope that our correspondence will fill the void of her parents in some small way. 

Ashes and Family

Ashes above with his sisters and brother and below with his mother, 3 sisters and 2 brothers (his father was taking the photos)

Ashes above outside his school Naleza Basic which teaches grades 1 to 9.  Below is the bed that Ashes' father made for him out of wood.

I now have a bunch of photos of my CHZ children!  Ashes did not do so well with is disposible camera, but I did get a few nice pictures.  From him, I learned the most from his scavenger hunt sheet.  For example, he has 2 other sponsored siblings and 3 that are not sponsored.  His best friend is Ronald Juma who is, also, sponsored. 

At his school Naleza Basic, there are 9 grade levels and 1 teacher for each grade.  If you have a child in Naleza, you will be able to figure out who is in the class with whom if you know their grade level.  That is very interesting, and I will have to investigate it more after I finish basking in the fun of looking at these wonderful pictures!

I will be posting more photos of some of my other children over the next few days.  There were a total of 50 cameras returned to sponsors this week.  Each camera had the potential of having 27 photos- that makes for 1350 photos!!!  Unfortunately, some of the children only did a few good ones, so the average was about 20 good photos per camera, or 1000 photos!!  We still have over 50 cameras in Zambia that will be returned shortly.  If you would like to participate in the program, it only costs a total of $16 per child.  That purchases the camera, and ships it to and from Zambia!  Plus, you wind up with lots of great photos, and you get to know your child better.  I feel like I have already taken a trip to Zambia and back! 

S. Henry

Henry is here with his mother and siblings outside his house.  He is wearing the red shirt.  Below is Henry's mother.  She is part of the bead making cooperative.

Henry above is 2nd from the right in the front.  Below Henry is 2nd from the left in the front with the blue button-up shirt.

 Henry talking to Hellen and giving her his details so that she can find him a sponsor. 

Henry is the child I started sponsoring way back in 2009 because he was the closest one in age to my daughter Morgan.  At the time, he was listed as 4 years old.  Morgan wrote him a few letters.  When we got a letter from Henry, it said he was 7 years old!  Wow!  He aged 3 years in just a few months! LOL!  So goes one of the problems with sponsorship programs that are formed in the slums or villages- a lot of times birth dates and age are unknown because they are home births, and no one sees the importance of notating the specific day a child is born. 

Like Vanesa, I stopped the CUS sponsorship of Henry when I was not happy with where my money was going or not knowing where my money was going.  I kept in contact with Henry because his mother started making beads in our bead making cooperative.  Now that Maureen is in charge of the CUS sponsorship program, I am sponsoring Henry again.

I will stick with those 2 CUS children- Vanesa and Henry.  I still have the other 2 Ugandan children from Tiffany's group, too- Jenina and Waird.  4 Ugandan children- 2 girls and 2 boys =)

Mercy in Zambia

Hey, everybody!
I want to thank all of you who have contributed to buy beds for my little girl, Mercy, in Zambia. Her fundraiser has now moved from FirstGiving to Aura's House, and it is almost complete (only $80 left to go!). I won't ask for any more donations right now because it is not a Thursday, lol
I just got back photos from the Direct Package that I sent to Mercy around Christmas time. I want to share this sweet excerpt from the letter her mother wrote in response:
"Mercy is all smiles today because of the beautiful parcel she has received from you. She has promised to use them properly. She is so much in love with everything you have sent her. You have really changed my daughter's life for the better."
It makes me feel so good to hear things like this, and to know that I am making life a little happier for one child halfway across the world! I enjoy seeing Mercy's smile so much that I don't even care if she wants to use the things I sent her "improperly".
Mack
PS: The red shark that Mercy is hugging in one picture - I won it for her playing that game where you grab things with a mechanical claw. The same day, I also grabbed two stuffed hippos for Paola in Mexico to remind her of our trip to the zoo. I'm quite proud of my animal-snatching skills (but I won't mention how many game tokens I used up in the process!)

Vanesa

 Vanesa is the child most directly in front of the camera

Vanesa is the girl in bright pink-above is the picture of my original 12 children in CUS in 2009

For those of you who have not been following what has been happening with CUS, they have a new sponsorship program.  I know many are unhappy with how things were done before, so this is a sweet relief for those who still want to support the children. 

These are the same children whose mothers are a part of the bead making and doll making cooperative Miracles in Caring.  That cooperative is growing as far as profits.  Profits have doubled this year compared to last year.  We are hopeful that having the dolls available for sale for our CHZ program will bring the women regular pay they can count on every month. 

Originally, 2 years ago, I was sponsoring 12 children in the CUS program. However, due to the strange happenings with the coordination, I couldn't keep throwing my money into what seemed to be a hole to nowhere.  Now Maureen is running the show, so I went with the first two I had started sponsoring first back in 2009.  Vanesa is the girl that  had chosen because Jaden wanted her for a penpal.  Vanesa is back in our "family" now that I know the money will get to where it needs to go.  (I will let you know who the second child is tomorrow)

Waird

Here is the second child I took on from Tiffany's group.  Tiffany was able to get a photo of Waird holding my letter and stickers, too.  What a cutie!  I can't wait to get the letters that Waird and Jenina write to me! 

Jenina

 Jenina has the orange top on

I know I am a little behind the times when it comes to grass-roots sponsorship programs.  Tiffany has been doing this program in Uganda for awhile.  I have only just in the past two weeks picked up two children from her program.  Jenina is one those children.  I sent her a letter and stickers right after I signed up as her penpal.  Tiffany took a picture of her with her letter and stickers and I got to see it today.  Jenina looks so haunted.  I will need to get a few minutes to put a small package together for her. 

My CHILDHOPE-ZAMBIA Girls March 2011

Thandiwe above is now my oldest child.  She is in 9th grade.  My other 9th grader left to go to school in Lusaka, so she is not in the program any more.  Mutinta below is my 7th grader.

Dorcas above in 2nd grade always cheers me up with her smile.  Elizabeth below is not a child I sponsor, but I sent her a gift of mealie meal.

Gladness above finally made it to her first distribution.  Ronah below was born the same year as Jaden, so I hope they will eventually become friends.

 Tubi below is in grade 2- Like Dorcas, she always has a big cheerful smile!!

Here are my CHZ girls that I had not posted about earlier.  I already posted Elizabeth, Margret and Agness who are all twins.  I just realized after making this post that my boy to girl ratio is not equal.  Oh, well, can't change that now while I am unemployed.  Maybe after I get another contract I can add a few girls to get them even =)

My CHILDHOPE-ZAMBIA Boys March 2011

Daniel above is in 2nd grade and holding the folder the girls decorated for him.  Fanwell below is in 5th grade and holding the certificate that says his school fees have been paid in full.

Charles above with his folder and mosquito net.  Alex below with his folder.  Alex and Charles are related- sometimes calling each other brothers because they live together with their grandmother.  They are both in the same 4th grade class.

Muntanga above is in 5th grade, and Paul below is in preschool.  I do not sponsor Paul, but I am sending him gifts until he can find a sponsor.

 Cacious above is in preschool and Evans below is in 7th grade.

Netto above and Ashes below are both 7th graders.

These are my boys that attended this past distribution (only the ones that I have not posted about earlier- Ray and Mukwisa were in earlier posts).  Not all of my boys were there, but I hope the ones that didn't make it will go to the next distribution in 2 weeks.  All of my kids will be getting photo albums with their distribution photos in them next time.  =)

Math Class

www.childhopezambia.blogspot.com

Ray and Lee

These little cuties make me want to run and pinch their chubby little cheeks =)
Ray and Lee are half brothers.  They are now both sponsored along with their older sister Pretty.  Pretty is sponsored by John, and she seems to be the leader of the senior secondary group.  She is well spoken and not afraid of the camera. 
I sponsor Ray with 2 other sponsors, and Lee is sponsored by 3 other sponsors.  Pretty writes the letters for the boys, and she seems to be really proud of her bothers (as seen in the video where she is introducing her brothers to sponsors in order to find sponsors for them).

This Month's Photos of My CHZ Twins

Margret above and Elizabeth below

Agness above and Mukwisa below

Here are my two sets of twins getting their gifts for this month.  Margret and Elizabeth are holding the folders that I sent them.  Kelly gave me this idea- She sends folders with a legal pad of paper, activity pages, pens, stickers, etc.  I made one for all of my CHZ kids.  This will encourage them to write and draw pictures as often as they would like to.  They are wearing their new primary uniforms which was their gift for this month (even though they are still in preschool). 

Agness is holding the stuffed animal I bought for her, and Mukwisa is holding his soccer ball.  Each one of those items was only $6, so it was no big feat on my part.  And, it is great to see their sweet faces!  Agness is wearing the dress I sent her in a previous package.  That always makes me smile, too =)

Updated Photo of Perla in Mexico

Perla's new photo arrived!  She is getting so big!  You may remember we did a fundraiser for her large family.  Her newest report stated she is now living with relatives, but it did not explain why =(

A Letter from Mutinta~ Feb 2011

This letter was sad to me.  Mutinta said that her mother was in the hospital around Christmas for 2 weeks!!  Now, I have to hurry and write her back and see if her mother is ok.  =(