Silokwethemba 2011 Newsletter

silokwethemba — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 02:54:15 +0000

The Silokwethemba Project continues to grow and take on new initiatives.
Due to government regulations, children in Zimbabwe cannot attend school unless they pay school fees. Over the past seven years, the Silokwethemba project has paid the school fees for over 4000 orphan or vulnerable children in the 35 rural schools in the Tshelanyemba area. This past July, another 700 children will be able to attend school because of the generosity of those who support this Project. We are encouraged by the growth the project has seen over the years. In July 2011 the project spent more than $30,000 USD with over half of those funds going towards paying school fees. Silokwethemba also supports a scholarship program for university students and organizes and runs a soccer school for local children. In addition to this, for the first time this year, we bought and distributed 600 pairs of shoes.

Shoes, Shoes and more shoes

Tshelenyemba Children Receiving Shoes

This year’s shoe program started as a suggestion from a Silokwethemba supporter from the Tshelanyemba area. It was interesting trying to collect shoe sizes for 600 children for an area where phones and internet are virtually nonexistent, but in the end it was an amazing success. Community elders sent word back to us informing us how pleased they were that children were getting new shoes. For some students it was the first pair of shoes they have ever owned.

Soccer Schools

Playing 'Football'!

Soccer, or as it is better known throughout Africa, Football, is a passion for the Zimbabwean people. It is a sport played and enjoyed by nearly everyone, yet few people are able to afford proper footwear or even a soccer ball. Children play barefoot and use makeshift soccer balls made out of whatever material is available. Silokwetehmba supports this passion for soccer on a few different levels. We support the local soccer club, we bring high quality soccer balls to every school, and we offer soccer skill programs for the local schools. It is our hope that this aspect of our project will grow even more in the future.

Silokwethemba 2010 Newsletter

silokwethemba — Sun, 09 Oct 2011 20:27:16 +0000

CANADA WINS WORLD CUP?

Only in Tshelanyemba can a Canadian team win the World Cup. “Team Canada” consisted of five young boys from Tshelanyemba Primary school.

This was the first year of the Silokwethemba Soccer school. The school was two days long: one day of skills building and a second day for a World Cup tournament. Local high school and primary school took part, it was four amazing days of soccer. The children of Tshelanyemba are excellent soccer players but seldom get the opportunity to work on fundamental skills. Each school was attended by 40 students. We brought 40 balls to

Zimbabwe with us, so that the participants could practice skills with their very own ball. (The balls were later distributed to over 35 local schools.)

On the second day the students were divided up into 8 teams, they all played each other in a World Cup Tournament. The winners of the World Cup were Canada in the Primary school and Zimbabwe in the Secondary school. Despite the harsh conditions, all the children and coaches had an amazing day they will not soon forget. The Silokwethemba Soccer School was supported by local coaches from the schools and Tshelaneymba Hospital staff. The coaches and volunteers learned new skills and were anxious to implement them into their own programs. The soccer school was a great success, we hope to continue this program for years to come.

ANOTHER AMAZING YEAR!

This was another amazing year for the Silokwethemba Project. Over and over we heard of the positive impact Silokwethemba is having on the local schools and community. In every Head Master’s office, there was a list of organizations that support students. It was very encouraging to see the Silokwethemba Project always at the top of the list, indicating that we support more students than any other organization. Again, this year we paid school fees for over 700 students. The majority of these students are orphans or are from vulnerable settings. There are a number of other projects in the Tshelanyemba area that we support: contribution to Home Based Care, donations to the hospital and staff, tuition support for post secondary students, support to daycare and supplying over 500 bottles of peanut butter and milk powder for local

malnourished children. We also continue to support the PREFER Preschool in Ruhengeri, Rwanda, providing funds to buy a daily nutritious snack for 140 children.

SHOES…

During our school visits in 2010, it was striking how many of the children we support were in school without shoes. Our Community Support worker asked us if we would take this on as a project for 2011, our response… we would be honoured. Each pair costs approximately $10, this will be another exciting option for supporting us this Christmas.

CONTINUING CHALLENGES

Zimbabwe now uses the US dollar and the South African Rand as their official currency. This has been a challenge for the people of Zimbabwe, who have little access to ‘foreign’ money. This also presents a problem for the Silokwethemba Project, as prices have quadrupled over the past two years. Your continued support is greatly appreciated.

SILOKWETHEMBA

Silokwethemba 2011 Newsletter

Silokwethemba 2010 Newsletter

CANADA WINS WORLD CUP?

SHOES…

CONTINUING CHALLENGES