EDUCATION
Kwathu Community School
Our desire is to continue reaching out to children who have no access to education because of their economic challenges. The inception of Kwathu Free Haven School is a result of our heart for these children. The school is located in the Southern part of Zambia, in Livingstone town. The town is named after the famous missionary called Dr. David Livingstone. The school is just a few kilometers away from the Victoria Falls. The school opened in 2017 with the vision and mission of educating orphans and less privileged children in society, at no cost. The school is one of the branches of Kwathu Ministry caring for the surrounding community.
Kwathu Free Haven School is built on the foundation of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, to love and care for one another. The school has accommodated many children since its inception, mostly children who cannot afford to go to schools where they charge for the same services. As a ministry, we believe that every child has a right to education regardless of financial or family status. Approximately 220 students attend Kwathu Free Haven School. The school runs from Baby class to grade six (6) and next year we shall have the first ever grade seven (7) class which will sit for the National Examinations, prepared by the Examination Council of Zambia.
Most of our pupils live in the Highlands’s area and they are the children of caretakers. The area is not fully developed yet, but once it is fully developed, the owners of unfinished buildings will move in. Most caretakers are widows or divorcees, many with no source of income. Before Kwathu Free Haven School opened, most children were not going to any school because their parents or guardians were unable to pay for them as a result of financial challenges.
Due to the fact that guardians and parents of our dear pupils are not economically stable, it is difficult for our pupils to have balanced meals at home. Most our pupils come to school without eating at home. For this reason, Kwathu Ministry began a feeding program providing every child with breakfast and lunch, on a daily basis, Monday to Friday. We currently feed 220 pupils daily. The feeding program has contributed to the outstanding attendance of our pupils as almost 100% our pupils are always present at school.
The school has well trained academic and non-academic staff. The cooks have a great responsibility to prepare healthy meals everyday for the learners, so that our learners can enjoy their studies and feel at home.
The school is a blessing to many and it is because of your prayers and support, the school has moved this far. We still need your prayers and support in 2019. We are preparing for a Christmas party which will be on 6th December 2018 and we will be closing on 7th December until January 14th, 2019. We sincerely want to take this opportunity to wish you a Happy Christmas and blessed 2019.
Kwathu Home Education and Welfare
It has been a great academic year for all the Kwathu resident children. The children have shown a lot of improvement in their academic work. Austin, Rosaria, Obet and Charity sat for their grade 7 mock exams and their second term. Their results were outstanding as they were amongst the top pupils with good results, both in private and provincial categories.
During mid-November they sat for their end of year final exams and we are so confident they will make it to secondary school next year. Please keep them in your prayers. The rest of the children also sat for their end of term tests and we equally have the same faith that they will have outstanding results. It is every parents dream to see their children excel academically, and of course, we are no exception.
On the 30th of November Charity, Obet, Austin and Rosaria participated in their grade 7 end of year graduation ceremony. It was a fun filled event as they performed in sketches, poems and dances. At the end of the event they were awarded with certificates of attendance by the school. We are so proud of these guys. (See pictures below)
New Staff Member
We would like to welcome our new Social Worker Miss. Naomi Lindiwe Chinyonga to Kwathu Ministries. She is on her 3 months’ probation period. We wish her well as she is with us. Thank you for choosing to be part of our big loving family.
General Welfare at Kwathu Ministry
God has been so faithful to us this whole year. We have not recorded any serious illnesses from both the children and members of staff. We are glad that the team was in full energy to execute their duties. We greatly appreciate the extra efforts shown by the members of staff in taking care of our children. The mamas have been splendid in raising and caring for the children. The administration team have done an exceptional job ensuring Kwathu Ministries runs smoothly, and our house mamas have continued to love well and support all the activities at Kwathu Ministries.
It has been an amazing year and we await more of good things the Lord has in store for us in 2019.
Birthday
Celebrating the last birthday of the year was Anna Banana. Her birthday falls on the 19th of December and she is always looking forward to closing the year with her birthday celebration. Young sisters and brothers performed a dance for her while the older ones had encouraging things to say to her. We are so happy to see Anna grow into a big and beautiful girl. Happy 7th Birthday Anna!!!
Festive Season Preparations
As the festive season is fast approaching, November was hyped with preparations for Christmas and New Year. Uniquely, this year, Kwathu is hosting two Christmas events. The first celebration took place on the 6th of December. This Christmas, all 220 children at Kwathu Free Haven School were included. We felt called to share gifts with with students before they closed schools for holiday. The second Christmas party will be on the 24th of December with only the Kwathu Children’s Home kids and staff. We wish to spend some family time and appreciate each other as we celebrate the birth of the Lord Jesus Christ the King.
December 6 Christmas event
The day everyone was looking forward to! The weather is favorable, the gifts are in place and everyone is just getting ready for the fun filled event. After a prayer to commit the event in God’s hand, the floor is open for a dance challenge. The kids are excited to challenge each other. After the best dancer was discovered the pupils decided to challenge their teachers in a dance battle. The teachers didn’t disappoint us as they gave their two best dancers, Teacher Edward & Teacher Kulman. After a fierce dance battle, it was proved that the teachers were getting “old and rusty” thus they couldn’t compete with the fresh blood.
It was so exciting to see how happy the kids were when they saw their teachers struggle to shake their waist as they tried to dance, indeed it was a special day for them.
We had a short speech from the Director, Anita Held and the invited official from Social Welfare department. They all thanked everyone who made the event possible and their desire to share a little something as we celebrated the birth of Jesus Christ.
This was followed by a number of performances by our Kwathu children and dances from the Kwathu Free Have School kids. They had prepared cultural dances, poems and songs. They were both educative and entertaining performances.
After giving out so much energy from the performances, we sat down to share a very appetizing and finger licking good meal. All the children were served by members of staff as they enjoyed some soft music by our able DJ’s.
The event took an even more exciting turn as Father Christmas arrived. The kids knew it was time for gifts. They were all eager to receive their precious gift box and eagerly anticipated it’s contents. Ho Ho Ho… Merry Christmas!!
December 22
Morning:
Kwathu Children’s Home was invited to the Livingstone Arts Gallery end of year art sale. We were given an opportunity to sell our art work and snacks. Our visit also gave us an opportunity to talk more about Kwathu Ministries to those who visited our stand.
Apart from selling our art items, the Kwathu children performed some dances to entertain the buyers and sellers.
Evening
Later in the evening, all Kwathu children, staff members and Big Hippo Love members of staff met at Avani Hotel for a Christmas meal and movie. This was organized by Anita as a way to close the year together. We were treated to some pizza and other goodies. We watched a cartoon movie about the birth of Jesus Christ. The kids loved the movie as it was characterized with suspense and funny scenes.
December 24 Christmas Day
Finally the big day came. The kids woke up so excited to celebrate the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. The day filled with all smiles and joy. As the day unfolded, we all gathered under the shelter to share a few scriptures and encouragement. We later exchanged gifts and ate lunch together.
We thank God for this blessed event as it brought us even closer to each other as we shared love and care through the celebration of the birth of Christ.
Appreciations
It has been an amazing year full of blessings of amazing people. We were so blessed to meet new people this year and create new relationships. Our relations with those who have been with us for a while are now stronger than ever. We truly appreciate all the support rendered by everyone.
Donations
We would like to thank the following people for their donations during the month of November and December.
Gibiino Family: So much appreciation for the two consignments of assorted toys and clothes sent to us for distribution for the Community Christmas event and our Kwathu children. Words cannot match up our sincere gratitude for your kindness.
Family Held: Thank you so much to Anita and the family for helping organize and for sponsoring the Community Christmas celebration. It was a joy to be a blessing to many little children. In addition, we would like to extend our thanks to Karien- 50 chickens (750 chicken legs) Chantal- 200 soaps, Lizel- 250 soft drinks, Leandre – 5 bags lollies, Erika – 75 crayons (and she helped package and will serve on 6th,) Tanya- 250 milks, Jackie – 30 soaps and 30 coloring books, Ami- 10 coloring books, Rachael and her assistant-helped package, and the Held Family gave 75 crayons, 120 coloring books, 250 sweets bags, 230 washcloths, 230 toothbrushes, 230 toothpastes and 110 stuffed dinosaurs.
E’lisha Fogle
Thank you so much to you aunt E’Lisha and everyone who supported her call to bless Kwathu Children’s Home. The items bought will definitely go a long way in supplementing our needs. May God continue blessing you.
Contact Us
Kwathu Home: (Zambia)
Email: kwathuoffice@gmail.com
Facebook: Kwathu Children’s Home
Website: https://kwathuhome.com
Tandeka e.V: (Germany)
Website: www.tandeka.org
Facebook: Tandeka e.V
Grace Klein: (USA)
Website: www.gracekleincommunity.com
Facebook: Grace Klein Community
