Month Focus
“So built we the wall; and all the wall was joined together unto the half thereof: for the people had a mind to work.” – Nehemiah 4:6
February 2019 was a month of planning. Every department was given a task to plan activities, events and programs they wanted to implement in 2019. We are alive to the fact that failing to plan is planning to fail and we want to avoid that by all means. Planning helps us measure our progress and open our eyes to see if we are meeting the objectives of the organization by caring for the less privileged children in our society who are so precious to God. The future is dependent on these very children that we are educating and caring for.
Every department was on course in planning and soon the Kwathu Ministries Year Plan will be displayed in the office and also sent to various partners and stake holders.
General Welfare
Programs that were planned for in the month of February have been under taken, showing commitment to what we have set to achieve this year. Weekly management meetings have become regular; the engine of the organization which allows Kwathu Ministries to run smoothly. The monitoring tools that we have implanted are bearing fruit. Family meetings are taking place every week by a member of the management team on staff. These meetings are bringing about a variety of ways of building relationships with the families, and the children are learning from various people who are looking out for their welfare.
We are proud to state that the Social Welfare were very pleased with our Ministry after their random inspection visit this month. Their hearts were moved to prompt another orphanages that have been around for a long time to visit Kwathu and inquire on how we are managing the organization. This is a joy to us because Kwathu Ministries is a model in the district. The District Social Welfare Officer remarked at the end of the inspection that they are proud of Kwathu Ministries.
We feel encouraged by such sentiments and we give all Glory to the Lord. We are even more focused and resolute to outdo ourselves and learn from other facilities on how to improve in caring for these precious children.
Expectations for Next Month
This coming month, we want to continue implementing our programs, activities and events that have been outlined on our year calendar. We are hoping to start sensitizing all staff on the Kwathu Child Protection Policy. This is a policy that has been written to safeguard children against all forms of child abuse. We look forward to creating further awareness, with our staff, of what constitutes abuse, what can be done to prevent abuse from happening and what measures can been taken in that event that abuse happens in order to protect and safeguard the best interest the child.
We are also looking forward to having local fundraising ventures so that we can supplement on the many needs that we have. Our goal is to be self-sustaining as an organization. Currently, self-sustainability looks like a far-fetched dream, but we serve a God of the impossible and put our hope and trust in Him.
We are excited about the month of March! We are so expectant for what the Lord has in store.
By: ~Pst. Brian (Manager)
Home Visitation
In February 2019, we intensified our home visitations for the children from Kwathu Free Haven School. We visited 8 families of of our 6th grade pupils in the last week of February. We particularly visit Ngwenya Township within Livingstone. This township is rated as the poorest community in Livingstone and this can be evidently seen by some structures/homes that are unfinished or made out of mud/clay.
The distance between Kwathu Free Haven School and Ngwenya community is between 4-5 Kilometers. A shocking distance for a child to walk just to access education. One of the grade 6 girls (Namaya, age 13) narrates that she has to be awake as early as 05:00am every day to start preparing for school. She starts off from home at 06:15am in order for her not to be late for lessons that begin at 07:30am. She says she spends over an hour to get to Kwathu Free Haven School. She always hopes to reach the school before classes begin so that she can have enough time to rest from the walk before she can focus on learning.
One would wonder why this child has to cover this distance just to get to school. You may want to ask if there are no other schools in-between. Well, yes there are other schools in-between Ngwenya and Kwathu, but most of them are either private schools where they have to pay exorbitant school fees (to cover the cost of running the school) that are way off their parent’s paygrade. The limited number of government community schools around Ngwenya are not enough to take in the large number of children who need to access education.
The above are some of the reasons why Kwathu Free Haven School opened its doors to supplement the government’s effort in educating the community. Indeed, it is not an easy task for us, as the cost of running the school is heavily placed on our shoulders. Our desire is to see that in our little way, we could impact change in the lives of a few that we are serving. We invite anyone who feels they would want to help with the cost of running the school to contact us and get more information of how you can contribute.
By: ~Situmbeko (Administrator)
Kwathu Home:
The general welfare of the children has been well this month. Two of our children were not feeling too well but they have since received medical attention and they have fully recovered. Rosaria celebrated her birthday on the 1st of February. She turned 14! We wish her happy more returns and many more years of joy in Christ.
By:~Naomi .C (Social Worker)
Staff Focus: Mama Sharon.
A mother’s arms are made of tenderness and children sleep soundly in them. This is the case of Mama Sharon who is doing a recommendable job taking care of the children in the home. She is a woman driven by compassion, faith and a fierce sense of justice and a heart full of love. For the past few years that she has served at Kwathu, the children have grown a fondness and special bond with her. We appreciate all the hard work she is doing.
By:~Situmbeko (Administrator)
Kwathu School:
2018 was a very busy year, but we thank God that our staff and pupils took a Christmas and New Year break for almost a month, starting from 7th December, 2018 to 14th January, 2019. It was a good break to reflect on 2018, and plan for 2019. 2018 had its own challenges for Kwathu Free Haven School. We look forward to 2019, which we know will have different challenges, but we are ready to face the year with great faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. As the Psalmist said in Psalms 23: “The “Lord is my Shepherd….”
2019 started on a very good note at Kwathu Free Haven School. The school, which was not registered with the Government of Zambia, under the Ministry of General Education, has finally been registered and granted to run from Early Childhood Education to Primary level. For Kwathu Ministries, this has been a great achievement and we thank you for your support and prayers.
Our staff opened on the 7th of January, 2019 for preparation of the new school year which opened on the 14th of January, 2019. It was so wonderful to welcome our pupils and see them in good health and ready to learn. On opening day, almost all pupils were present. Seeing them was an encouragement to our hearts. It was during the first week that we had our new Baby Class. We received over 70 applicants for this specific class, but we could only accept 25 of them. It was so challenging to select the applicants because we want to provide everyone with the opportunity of an education. The large number of applicants is a sign that there are many children who really need to be enrolled at our school, but we cannot enroll all the children in the community due to limited classroom space and human resources. New Year is always such an exciting time for each pupil because they anticipate moving to the the next grade. We are so proud to announce that we have the first grade seven class who will be sitting for their National Examination this year.
Our grade seven’s have already been registered by the Examination Council of Zambia for them to sit for their National Examination towards the end of this year, and they have been given their examination numbers already. We have a good class of eight (8) boys and eleven (11) girls who are been prepared to sit for their national examinations with less difficulties. We have assigned two (2) well trained teachers to facilitate these pupils, Mr. Hachoose and Mr. Musole.
By: ~Gilbert. C (Head teacher)
Teacher Focus:
Mr. Hachoose is a trained teacher from Paglory Teacher’s Training College and he graduated with a Diploma. He started working at Kwathu Free Haven School in 2018 and he was teaching the grade six (6) class in 2018, which is the current grade seven (7) class. He is the current class teacher for grade seven (7). His expectation is that by the end of this year, the beautiful and handsome boys and girls should sit for their national examination, pass, and graduate to grade eight (8.)
~Hachoose .K (Teacher)
Feeding Program:
“Food is the ingredient that binds us together…” This a statement Kwathu Ministries agrees with a 100%. There is so much happiness and satisfaction that you can see in the children after having their meals. It gives them the confidence and less worries to face their day’s lesson with a tummy that is full. To some, these are the only meals they may have in a day, and the thought of having provided something for them gives us so much joy. Undeniably, the costs of feeding 243 pupils twice a day is straining and we could use a helping hand. Any kind of donation (e.g cooking oil, vegetables, tomatoes, eggs, etc. ) or an financial amount to purchase these items would really cushion our monthly budget. Please contact us to get involved.
By:~Situmbeko (Administrator)
Child of the Month:
Meet Sophia, a very cheerful and calm young lady. She was admitted into the home in 2017 together with her two siblings Mapalo and Jane. Sophia attained the age of 18 last year on the 14th March and her career goal is to become a school Teacher. In the meantime, as she waits to go to school, she is helping out with daily management activities. She is our Front Desk Secretary and her basic responsibilities are: welcoming visitors, sharing general information to our visitors, showing the visitors around Kwathu Ministries, typing documents, photocopying documents for the school, etc. Outside the office, she helps Aunt Naomi with the Kwathu home stores by keeping record of food rations and groceries. It is our desire to empower her and keep her mind busy as she waits to take her huge step into the career world.
By: ~Situmbeko (Administrator)
Support:
We are grateful for the continued support we are receiving from all our partners. Your continued commitment and support is what defines Kwathu today. We pray for a strengthened relationship for many more years to come as we make this world a better and safe environment.
