Two children were admitted on the 6th of April 2020. Theresa (8 years) and Philip (4 years) Mulenga.
Theresa and Philip were taken to the Department of Social Welfare because their mother had gone on a business trip last October and the last time anyone heard from her was on 17th December 2019. The children were left with a maid and a close family friend, whom they refer to as grandmother, would check up on them. However, due to no contact between the mother and the family friend, she started staying with the children. Due to a non-stable income she could no longer provide food for the children hence reporting the matter to the Department of Social Welfare. The children were then brought to Kwathu.
Since the time the children have been in the home, they have been trying to adapt to their new surroundings. Although in the first few weeks, it was a struggle, but with the help of the House Mamas the children have improved. They were taken for medical check-ups for any serious illness and they are both healthy, despite being malnourished. They have since been put on special diet to assist with nourishment. Generally, the children seem to enjoy living at Kwathu and love playing with the others.
Both parents are alive. The mother has now returned and has been charged with an offence of negligence awaiting to appear before the courts of law. The father is incarcerated in a Correctional Facility in another town.
With the current lockdown, and with all our children at home, they have been kept busy with different in and outdoors activities such as planting of trees and other fun yard maintenance. The Ministry of Education has introduced an educational channel for the children to learn from home of which the children have been following. On the other hand, some teachers have been sending work for the children via emails.
Easter Celebration
We had a wonderful Easter celebration on the 13th April 2020 where staff and children prepared food together. This was a joyful event, and everyone had a good time.
Birthdays
Jane had her 7th birthday on the 12th of April and shares the same birth date with Mr. Phiri. Austin had his 16th birthday on the 13th of April. All three (3) birthdays were celebrated on the 13th April together during the Easter celebration.
The children and some members of staff have been having church gatherings on Sundays which are usually organised by the children and they take turns in preaching.
In the month of April, we undertook several construction projects, taking advantage of the reduced population at the home with the closure of the schools in the nation.
Borehole Project (Success story)
Ever since we sunk our borehole, we have always used electric powered submissive pumps. With the power outages we found ourselves replacing these pumps every now and then. From last year October, since the pump developed a fault, we opted to find a sustained way of having water at the home. Thankfully, this month we were able to procure a full set of solar generated pump. This pump was fitted, and the panels mounted. Now we have water at the home without ever depending on power from the utility company.
Plumbing Works at the Staff House (success story)
This project started two years ago, and it had stalled due to lack of enough funds. We embarked on extending one of the staff houses at the property by adding another bedroom with a bathroom inside. The works reached only at construction and roofing. The remaining works had been tiling, painting, plumbing and adding an apron. The plumbing works were done in the month of April. The bathroom is now functioning very well. The other works will be done as finances are made available.
Soak Away Project (success story)
Ever since Kwathu home was constructed we only had a septic tank without a soak away. This has been a problem for a long time. Every now and then we had to siphon water out of the tank whenever it was full. This was a tedious job. Now this is a thing of the past. A soak away was built bringing an end to this situation that has bothered us for a long time now.
Container Clinic (Progressive success story)
In our quest to bring meaningful development to our community, Kwathu has embarked on an ambitious project of setting up a clinic on the property. Kwathu is a community project that seeks to make a difference in the community where we are. In view of this, a container was procured so that it can be modified into a clinic. Works have begun to modify this container. So far, the windows and door frames have been fitted in.
The partitions are the ones being worked on currently. We still need to do the roof, the concrete in front of the container and the painting. This is phase one of the works. Phase two involves the furnishings of the clinic. It will have two rooms for screening, one registry and one store room. We shall be working hand in hand with the Ministry of Health to ensure that we deliver quality medical care to the children, staff and community surrounding Kwathu Home.
Donations
Amidst COVID-19, we have continued to receive donations from a few individuals and firms.
Muchenje Farm, located within Livingstone, donated lemons and lettuce to the home.
Clothes – These are donations from one person who sought anonymous and has promised to come back and donate again to the home.
This is yet another great and amazing donation of 100 plants from Hamina Banda towards our kwathu farming project. These are mainly; mango plants, pawpaw plants and some guava
Quarterly Shopping
These quarterly items carter a period of three months, that is from April to June. Shopping was done much earlier (end of March) due to the deadly pandemic of the COVID-19 and a fear of total lockdown which would later impact the livelihood of the children at the home.
Kwathu response to Staffs and community needs amidst COVID-19
With this global issue of the deadly pandemic, Kwathu through its partners came to the aid of the staffs and the surrounding community by distribution of essential food stuffs to see them through for a while. The COVID 19 pandemic continues to affect many lives across the globe and Kwathu staff and the community have not been spared. The effects have mainly been economical in that there is reduced income because of the shutdown of some schools, companies, and business houses. We are so thankful to God that He hears the cries of the afflicted.
Many thanks go to the Partners and Kwathu Directors for buying food packs for the staff and some families in the community. This was a huge blessing and it makes these families breathe a sigh of relief in this hard and difficult time that we are living in.
Like the Bible says in 1 Chronicles 16:34: “Oh give thanks unto the LORD; for he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever!”
Such help is much appreciated for it comes at a time when everyone is trying to look at how best they can care for their own immediate families. But to have people with such large hearts to think of the plight of others, it’s a marvel. “God, continue to bless everyone that is making a positive difference in those who faced with difficulty and challenging situations.”
Our Needs
How you could help if you would love to give a donation towards our feeding program in the midst of COVID-19,please follow this link: (https://www.givengain.com/cc/kwathu-school-feeding-program/)
You could also help by becoming a fundraiser on behalf of Kwathu children’s home.
