Latest News
August 2010Zimkids Project Update August, 2010 Dear friends of Zimkids, A year and a half ago, 10-year old Brian Dube showed up at Zimkids coughing and weak. We took him to the doctor, who diagnosed him with both HIV and active tuberculosis and put him on medications for both. It was too late for his tiny body; he died in the middle of his night while sleeping with his grandmother. Six months later, we lost 17-year-old Simsethu. HIV positive and on antiretroviral treatment, she’d run out of medication and informed no one. After two strokes, she succumbed in the summer of 2009. Their deaths were a wake-up call, and I realized then that food wasn’t enough; we had to make health care for the children a priority. Since then, we have tested all of them for HIV, and those who proved positive are now on medication. And we regularly take kids in for treatment for scabies and worms, tuberculosis and myriad other infections. We have had no deaths among the children since then. But our caregivers have not fared so well. Sizi Moyo, mother of Musa and Mthabisi, died this February at the age of 42 of HIV-related illnesses, having refused antiretroviral treatment. Three weeks earlier, she’d given birth to a 4-pound baby boy. Esther Mashaba’s mother Sekai, died later that month at the age of 35, also of an HIV-related illness. She had refused to be tested. At the beginning of June, we buried Sidumisile Ngwenya’s mother, Sithibile, following what appeared to be a diabetic coma. We’ll never know for sure since the hospital did nothing to figure out what was wrong with this funny, energetic woman who’d seemed in perfect health. Then, Busisizwe Fuyani’s mother, Sibongile, suddenly fell ill. She’d had a rough time after her husband, Vigour, died in 2008. His family had taken everything they’d ... Read more |
June 2010Zimkids Project Update June, 2010 Dear Donors, As summer approaches in the States and winter is making its way to Zimbabwe my wife Elli and I are returning to New York for six months. I leave Zimkids in the hands or our extremely capable team of local trustees, Sipho, Tinashe and Prosper and our Council of Elders. All activities, distributions and medical monitoring continue. On June 8th I begin meeting with our friends in the States with a visit to Ramaz School in New York City. We have a pen pal project with some of their students and Zimkids. I plan on visiting many locations throughout the States including Alaska for fundraising. I begin in earnest in September with occasional meetings over the summer. Please note I do not use donated funds for travel. If your school, club, church or synagogue is interested in hosting us or establishing a connection with Zimkids please contact me at dennis.gaboury@yahoo.com or call me at home at 607-326-3301 after June 1 and we can make arrangements. A few quick updates: We are continuing our monthly outreach to the squatters living at the city dump. Our last visit included our Council of Elders and their mentees - 28 Zimkids in all. We have added beef to our monthly food distribution. Depending on the number of beneficiaries in a family we provide 20 – 30 KG mealie meal, 2 – 3 kg beef, 1 liter peanut butter, 2 -3 kg dried beans, 1 liter cooking oil and fruit and vegetables per month. The school term ended in early April. Following examination of the children’s report cards 21 Zimkids qualified for payment of their school fees. They had to be in the top five of their class. Of the 21, 12 had never scored that high. Mpilo Hospital, which is where children go to be tested ... Read more |
December 2009Happy New Year to you all from Zimkids! We wish you the very best. To start the New Year off we thought we should send our donors an update of what we are doing now and what we hope to do in the coming year.As you know, providing quality food and medical attention to our beneficiaries and their caregivers is at the core of our program. We spend over 85% of our annual budget on these two items. The third tier of our program involves social, sports, and creative activities. As part of that program our Council of Elders (beneficiaries 15 and over who have been with Zimkids for 2 or more years) provide leadership and training in activities that include drama and comedy writing and performing, drawing, dance, choir, drumming, girls and boys soccer, chess as well as group play activities. We now have a lending library composed of locally donated books from the city library and local private schools. We have applied to the City Council for land for a community garden and have a farmer ready to donate seedlings. We are waiting for the slow wheels of the local bureaucracy to finalize our application. Medical oversight for those children who are HIV+ has been intensified. Zimkids has been chosen by an Israeli filmmaker and has received a video camera to film their daily lives as part of a documentary project. Each of our Council of Elders has microcredit accounts funded by a donor’s purchase of one of their dolls. Their monthly food allotment is paid by direct donations. They may use these funds to pay for school fees or O and A level tests or other educational programs.Over the last year we have grown from serving 60 orphans to 160. We stopped at 160 because we feel ... Read more |
October 2009October, 2009 Zimkids lost one of our shining stars among the Council of Elders. Simosethu Ndlovu, 17, HIV+ since birth, passed away following her third stroke this year. Her first, in February, paralyzed her right side but she fought hard to walk again. Through her struggle she continued to work with the youngest zimkids to assist them in their dollmaking. She always had a smile for everyone. She will be sorely missed by all. Prosper Modhi and Mqondisi Ngwenya are enrolling more and more children into their chess club. We have over 30 children playing. Collen Makurmuridze, Oyleen Sithole, Charity Ndweni and Tinashe Basa are working on a comedy. The play is about a mother and father who argue about all the work they do and feel that the other does not appreciate them. God appears one night and switches their gender to teach them of the struggles each gender faces. It is coming along nicely. We hope to perform it at HIFA (the Harare International Festival for the Arts) in ... Read more |
