Cooling off at school this summer!

Hello Friends,

Summer is here and so comes the heat! Nhaka Foundation is proud to be in partnership with Ruffs Kitchens which supports the daily feeding program in some of the schools we operate in seeing about 5 174 children being fed every single day! As summer beckons the children will be receiving 500ml of the nutritious traditional drink called maheu. Served as a cold and refreshing beverage this drink surely does refresh the children.

We have been working hard the past couple of months on various fronts. The team has been implementing various interventions through the early childhood program such as classroom renovations, health screenings to help with early identification of disease, parenting meetings to promote great parenting practices amongst parents and caregivers as well as working with schools to establish outdoor playground centres for the early childhood development classes.

I have also been out and about on the regional and international front, working with various partners to promote access to early childhood development for children living in difficult circumstance across Africa and around the world. This work has certainly broadened my view especially of the work we are currently implementing in Zimbabwe and also opened up different lessons that I have brought home for adaptation and implementation in the communities we work in. 

Follow some of the regional work we have been involved  here  as well as read about us in articles that we have contributed to such as in the ACEI Childhood Explorer Summer 2015 issue by clicking  here . As a learning organization we are happy to be part of various initiatives that will ensure that children will enjoy a brighter future that opens up a whole lot of possibilities for their lives.

Until next time,

Patrick

Rocking Zimbabwe forward

Dear Friends,

Forgive me, it has been quite some time since I  put up my thoughts on this blog. The past couple of months have been filled with a lot of activity and movement within the Team Nhaka family. The work we carry out in the communities continue to hold a lot of meaning as lives are transformed and children have a better shot of opportunities that exist for them in the world. The passion, energy and commitment that the Team has always puts a smile on my face and makes me want to work even harder each day. 

2014 was a very busy year for Nhaka Foundation and the trend is set to continue in this new year judging by what has transpired so far. The team is working on finalising the 2014 annual report which will be posted shortly on the website and sent directly to our partners and friends. Just having reviewed the report myself, I am amazed by the commitment of the team members but more importantly by the resolve that communities have to solve their own local level challenges. Where in some districts children are not enjoying the power of play, this is not the case in the district we are working in. Parents have mobilised themselves and constructed outdoor playground equipment using locally available resources. Parents are coming together to load scotch carts with bricks, river sand, pit sand and are carrying drums of water so that an early childhood development classroom is either constructed right from the ground or is renovated with support from Nhaka Foundation and its partners.

Nhaka Foundation believes in the power of working together, collaborative approaches to community development as well as in the use of appreciative inquiry to build up the positive strengths that exist in the communities so that the lives of children do not remain the same. It does take a village to raise a child, thus when everyone comes together to work towards one goal, the children of that community benefit more.

In 2014 we continued work with our amazing partners in Ruffs Kitchens who have committed to building more feeding stations and tripling the number of children that receive a guaranteed meal each day. 7 schools are currently being supported resulting in over 3 500 children receiving a meal at school each day. If you dont see that as awesome and out of this world, I don’t know what will… We are grateful for this kind of support and what it is doing to the children and communities in Goromonzi. 

Our friends from Rock Africa supported the construction of a two classroom block at one of the schools in the District and already over 150 children are benefitting from the use of the classrooms. In 2015 they have committed to supporting after school discipleship clubs that will see children being mentored and discipled!. Exciting kingdom work!

We have had some staff movements, as we restructure our operations to improve efficiencies and ensure that we are able to reach out to more children.

This my friends, kicks off the blog for 2015!

Best,

Patrick

Our children, smile laugh and cry!

Dear friends,

I am delighted to share that we have over the past 10 months been able to streamline our work, have better operational efficiencies and reaching out to more children. 

We are grateful for true partnerships that join hands with us and work to support the lives of children in Zimbabwe. Last night I had a conversation with one of the respected citizens of Zimbabwe and she took me back memory lane to the things that this country used to do to ensure that children are safe and living in secure environments. Some of the information she shared was from back in the day and I could not relate to it because I was not born yet! As much as these mechanisms of childcare where developed in the colonial period, the new government failed to maintain the systems that ensured that the poor and vulnerable children would be taken care of. Now that is really sad…

When I reflect on the work that we are doing at Nhaka Foundation, I see how as a team we are working to reweaving these mechanisms and trying to get communities to take more responsibility to look after their children. Granted this is not an overnight process, we will continue to claw away and ensure that communities value children, respect their wishes and creates friendly spaces for them to play and learn.

When we look at life, how many of us wish that our children do well in life and that they become happy, responsible and productive individuals, citizens, members of society, members of families, leaders, parents and brothers and sisters? This off course should be what everyone cherishes and have as a dream. Are we doing enough to help our children, to ensure that they have all the opportunities available to them?

Im our daily hustle and bustle do we to pause to think and reflect on the fact that our children also have a human side that craves for hugs, smiles, laughter, love and bonding? Are we getting too busy for these basic yet most important aspects in the development of children? 

The above all starts in early life and it is important for us all to invest into the early years of our children.

Until next time,

Patrick

Catching up...

Hello friends,

These are exciting times at Nhaka Foundation. A lot of things have been going on in all facets of the organisation i.e from Admin to Programs. We are grateful to you our friends and partners for the journey that we are taking together. 

Since my last update/post, I have travelled around the country looking at various initiatives that are being undertaken by organisations as well as the various efforts being made by various individuals to promote the wellbeing of the Zimbabwean children. I have also been honoured to meet with various funders who are looking for ways to support the Zimbabwean cause targeted at ensuring that our littlest and most vulnerable children receive the support that they need so that they live happy and fulfilling lives.

Apart from taking a physical journey, I have also been travelling, this time in my spirit. My relationship with God has grown tremendously particularly as I have quiet moments, ruminate on the word of God, the promises He has made over my life and indeed the Word He has spoken over Nhaka Foundation. It is true friends, God watches over His word to perform it. Many of you know of the testimony of Nhaka Foundation and I am proud to say that indeed God is watching over His word and it is springing to life.

When one looks around and at best looks deeply into the Zimbabwean situation, we see no end in sight. We see suffering, we see children not going to school, not having three square meals a day, not prospering, lack of health services, increased maternal mortality, children heading households, an economy that has spiralled out of control. These are the daily heartaches that we are having to wake up to and the realities that we have to face. When shall we live in a Zimbabwe that has abundance for all, a society that is just and whose rulers are fair? I have been spending a lot of time also with my seniors, people who saw the sun decades before i did...trying to delve into their minds, getting wisdom and knowledge at the same time. Interesting journey this has been.

So what is consuming your time, your mind and where are the treasures of your heart? I know a lot of you will be starting up a conversation with me about this..lets talk! remember you can drop me an email on patrick@nhakafoundation.org. Thank you for the conversations that we continue to have. 

Join the discussions on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and be part of the work we are doing in Zimbabwe!

Be blessed!

Patrick

It takes a village to raise a child!

Dear Friends,

It has been quite a while since I personally wrote something on the blog. It has been a very busy season for myself and certainly for the entire team. The team in the past 6 months has grown, we have moved to new offices and have grown our portfolio of projects that are designed to provide holistic support to the children we serve in Mashonaland East. With growth comes various opportunities and challenges and also this comes with a greater level of diligence as we engage with various ones in ensuring that we provide the best service to the little children we reach out to.

Nhaka Foundation has been able to live up to its mission of ensuring that the littlest and most vulnerable children receive the utmost care and programs that support their holistic wellbeing and development. How have we done it? We have been able to engage partners who have funded us to carry out awareness raising campaigns in various communities on the importance of early access to education, importance of regular health checks, importance of a balanced diet for the children, homeschool relationships as well as importance of parental involvement in the lives of children right from the early years. We are optimistic that with this level of community engagement, there is going to be increased enrolment of children at ECD centres, there is going to be increased parental involvement in the lives of children and thus promote guidance socio cultural aspects that are necessary also to stimulate the growth of children. Coupled with these aspects we have also been engaging with community stakeholders, providing information, statistics and evidence of the importance of ECD. There has been an apparent lack of knowledge and clear information on various aspects relating to ECD and thus Nhaka Foundation has been holding community stakeholder meetings, key stakeholder meetings, high level meetings with the Ministry of Primary and Secondary education officials and with other non state actors. These meetings have been also driven by the African proverb that says "it takes a village to raise a child" Thus everyone has a role to play in creating an enabling environment for children to grow and have great lives.

Another passion and area of interest that has been in one corner of my heart has been the issue of inclusion. That is working with children with special needs/disabled/challenged in one way or the other. Africa and indeed Zimbabwe is fraught with stories of disabled children who are locked away in granaries or food storehouses or children who are hidden from mainstream society because of the various challenges that may present themselves in the physical or mentally. Nhaka Foundation is very soon going to be launching programming specifically aimed at working with these children and their families to ensure that they too have access to play and learning opportunities. They are no different and they need the same access to such.

I will be back with more news and insights into what God has been doing in my life and through me to reach other lives and communities.

Be blessed,

Patrick

Meet the Staff 6. Ringisai Chikohomero-ZINECDA Intern

Hello to you all!

My name is Ringisai Chikohomero, and I am the ZINECDA intern at Nhaka Foundation. Education is an important tool that each child has the right to possess. Each child also has the right to learn in a safe environment and have their basic needs catered for. I am driven by a great desire to improve living and learning conditions of young children, particularly those in living in extreme poverty and vulnerable circumstances. A child’s environment greatly affects their performance in school and in later life. It is paramount that each child learns in an environment that is conducive to academic success.

My engagement with child development dates back to my years as a student. I volunteered with a church organisation responsible for orphans and vulnerable children. Interaction with these children left a mark on me. Parents are supposed to provide economic and emotional support to their children but, what about those without parents, are they not entitled to economic and emotional support?

Children do not choose their circumstances but are born into them; surely they should not suffer for having a poor or vulnerable background. Nhaka Foundation in partnership with ZINECDA aims to ensure all children are given the opportunity to use education to better their futures and the future of coming generations.



Best Wishes
Ringisai

Meet the staff 5.Garikai Makokoro-Logistics Officer

Hello Friends.

 Garikai Makokoro is my name, and I am the resident go to guy at Nhaka Foundation otherwise known as, the logistics officer. I am responsible for making sure that the Corn Soya  porridge and Maheu are delivered to the schools on the feeding programme and that the children have their meals. I work mainly in the field making sure that renovations are underway and meet with the builders and painters. I enjoy my job because I spend a lot of time in the field interacting with the community ,being where the action is and seeing the change first hand that Nhaka Foundation makes at schools and in the community.

I am humbled to be a part of bringing such great change to the communities and to vulnerable children. Seeing the smiles of the children we feed drives me to work even harder. I am passionate about equipping children with different tools and resources they need to live a fulfilled life.

Nutrition is an important part of academic success and physical development. In vulnerable communities children often attend school without having had anything to eat and spend the whole day at school hungry. It is difficult for a child to concentrate when they are hungry and in addition,  malnutrition stunts their physical growth. However in some households there is not enough money or food to ensure children receive the proper food they need. Every child has a right to basic nutrition despite their environment or circumstances.  Nutrition is particularly important to ECD pupils. They are young and are in the middle of crucial physical and mental development. A healthy diet will mean they can be more active and play better therefore they can learn better.

 

It is sad to think that our nation used to be the bread basket of Africa however ,due to economic problems a great part of our population are underfed and malnourished. Nhaka Foundation through our feeding program aims to ensure despite turbulent times in our nation the children are not the ones to suffer.

 

Best wishes

Garikai