NEWS FROM MERCY TOUCH
December 2011
By Kathryn Seib
MISSION TEAM
The
visiting team came on the 5th of November 2011 and were in Zambia
for two weeks. While the team was in Zambia they worked on the School block at
the Farm, where they did painting and plumbing of the toilets. The work went on
well despite minor setbacks and the building was sufficiently ready for its
official launch of the feeding program. This took place on the 11th
of November 2011 and was a huge success.
The
team was happy to be in Zambia and excited to see the children. They enjoyed spending time with the children
and had fun with them, including taking them swimming and having a braii (barbecue
party) on the 12th of November. Saying bye wasn’t easy as they found
a new family and a new home. Having the team come over was a blessing to
everyone.
FARM
There
are lots of exciting developments at the farm. Currently our 6 fish ponds are
being prepared for commercial production. Three are already filled with mixed
breed fish (meaning male and female together). One of the ponds has Carp which
can grow up to 18Kg. The other 2 have
the popular breed of Tilapia, also called Bream. These will be used as stock
ponds as well as for harvesting. Of the remaining 3 ponds, 2 are ready for the
introduction of the fish and a final 1 is remaining to be cleaned and prepped,
these 3 will be filled with only male fish. This is because they grow faster
and bigger thus providing a larger, quicker harvest.
It’s
planting season at the farm and more land is being prepared than ever before. We
are currently planting 6 hectares of Maize, Groundnuts - one hectare, Soya
beans - one hectare, Sweet potatoes - half lima (1/4 of a hectare), Irish
potatoes – half hectare, and Beans – ¼ of a hectare.The
Banana Plantation is also being expanded by another half hectare.
In
the Hammer mill the 2nd motor is finally operational again. This increases production as well as gives
more options of the types of mealie meal (Corn flour)
that are able to be ground. The 3 different types are Breakfast meal (most
refined type), Roller Meal (whole ground maize meal), and Samp (kernels are
roughly ground to about the size of a peas).
THE TWO NEW HOMES AT
THE FARM
The
contract for the new homes at the Mercy Touch Farm is proceeding fine. The
projected completion date on the 1st house is sometime early next year.
It is currently at roof level. The 2nd house is nearing completion
of the foundation. The homes hold 20 children and 2 house mothers each. We are
excitedly looking forward to the coming of the new children. Several have been
identified within the surrounding community and preparations are being made for
their arrival once the houses are complete.
THE CHILDREN
The
10 boys and 8 girls in both Homes are doing well. They continue to be healthy
and are growing every day. We have 1 boy and 1 girl that have finished re-
writing their grade 12 exam and waiting for their results. We also have 1 girl
that wrote her grade 9 exam. The other children are writing their end of term exams
and will be going into a new grade at the beginning of next year. Within the
next couple of weeks the schools will close and the kids will be on Christmas
holiday until the beginning of January.The
children are also discovering their talents; some are finding that they are
talented in playing Musical Instruments, in Art e.g. drawing and doing hair. It
is exciting to see their creativity. Mercy Touch has talented children with
bright futures.
CHRISTMAS
We are going to have
a special meal on Christmas at the farm
October 2011 (additional)
By Bernard Mukwavi
Two
additional houses are being constructed on the farm. This will bring the number
of houses on the farm to three and one house off the farm property. We
will have a total of four habitable houses for children by next year. That
means we can take in full capacity 60 children at the moment. Minimum capacity
would be 40 children.
Our
critical need now is to raise foster parents to sponsor the children we will be
bringing in the homes. During this time please find out if you can recruit
foster parents giving $40 a month or whether you can be one of the foster
parents. The support you give goes towards the running of the homes so that
children are provided for. This is critical at the moment. The $40 a month will
change a child’s life forever.
 
 
We
will be needing to hire more house parents to help carry the load of raising
these children. We want to bring in very young children between 5 years and 7
years so that we have time to raise them with good ethics. However, we will not
turn away the older children as we will have a special program and home to help
them as well. This will have specialized care as most of the older children
have experienced lots of abuse due to their vulnerability.
We
are putting in place beginning this November a community program to feed the
malnourished under five years children who still have their parents. The
mothers will be empowered by being given micro loans where they will begin some
income generating venture to help support the children. In the meantime their
children will be fed at our centre until they gain their proper weight and then
the mothers will continue looking after their own children. This project is
being funded by Mercy Touch Mission volunteers in Alberta.
We
have a block of four classrooms on the farm. These are being rehabilitated by
the mission team going there this November from Alberta. The school will be
used to train mothers as well as special after school programs for the
children.
October 2011
By Bernard Mukwavi
We
continue to rejoice in the growth of the children in the homes. With 5 children
being in boarding school we now have room to bring in younger children in the
homes. We are also building two more houses to be able to take in 40 children.
The first house is projected to be functional by April 2012. All
these developments have necessitated us to send a Canadian social worker to go
and help monitor how the children are developing. The social worker will work
with the local house mothers and the Zambian social support office that looks
in the affairs of children. Mercy Touch workers from Canada are all volunteers
and they raise their own financial support when they go to Zambia.
We
are grateful for all the donations that we receive from well-wishers and
regular Mercy Touch Mission supporters. This work is only made possible by your
generosity. Volunteers in British Columbia organized a 4-hour cruise to raise
money for this cause. Volunteers in Alberta have also been raising funds
through various fundraisers. There is a team going to Mercy Touch Mission in
Zambia in November. The team is being led by Sandra Butters one of the Mercy
Touch Mission Ambassadors from Spruce Grove Alberta. They also are having a
fundraiser as I write this update.
The
purpose of the team’s trip to Zambia is to launch a feeding program. The
feeding program will focus on helping the malnourished children from the
communities surrounding our farm to get back to good health. The mothers of
these children will be taught how to prepare nutritious meals for their
children. They will be provided with small portions of land to grow crops on
the Mercy Touch land.
The
team will also be working on rehabilitating the one block of four classrooms at
the Mercy Touch Farm. This building will be used to educate mothers on how to
take care of their children as well as be used to tutor children in their
schoolwork. With the plan of bringing in new children in the homes has come the
need to recruit more foster parents. It is our hope that more people will sign
up as sponsors so that we can make a difference in these children’s lives.
July 2011
By Bernard Mukwavi
UPDATE ON THE CHILDREN
The children continue to progress well physically, spiritually, and
academically. Seeing where they have come from we are grateful for the progress
we see in them. Of course as children become teenagers we also see some usual
teenage challenges begin to surface. Our staff is working diligently to address
these challenges and facilitate and guide the children in ways that are
healthy. We have also approached the Zambian Social Welfare Department to
attach a Social Worker to Mercy Touch children’s homes so we may continue to
receive the expertise we need.
Most of our children come from abusive backgrounds and they have needed
healing and counseling. Another challenge is that our children continue to
sense the stigma of being orphaned. The communities where they go to school as
well as play can be very harsh to our children. However, we feel that they
should continue interacting with the community like normal children. They have
become our children and they are not institutionalized.
FARM PROJECT REPORT UPDATE
HAMMER MILL
We are now able to generate some income from the hammer mill operated by
our Mercy Touch boys. The neighboring farm workers who come to grind their corn
at a fee use the mill. Our own children made over $300 in the month of
April from the mill takings.
VEGETABLE GARDEN
Peas were harvested and sold. The small amount raised goes a long way to
contribute to the expenses in the homes. We are expecting tomatoes will
be ready by the end of July, and we hope to raise some good money as well. A
good number of cabbages have been transplanted onto a big portion of land.
Also, more beds are being prepared to finish transplanting onion; which has
grown in bulk. A small portion of winter maize (corn) was also planted. To help in the irrigation of the crops we bought a hundred meter
polypipe horse to replace the leaking pipes. The water flow and pressure has
increased; making watering much easier.
BANANA GARDEN
Bananas are coming up very well and we are about to start applying
manure. Joseph, the garden worker, is able to do plumbing, so he to lay the
polypipe, in the garden. He has connected banana irrigation pipes; which we got
from our storeroom. The polypipe, water valve, and a detector for the water
pump; cost $300. Fifty-meters of polypipe was connected in the main garden and
the other 50 meters in the banana garden.
HARVESTING OF
MAIZE
All the maize (corn) has been harvested and we just need to do the
shelling. For now it has been stored in the storeroom.
CONSTRUCTION OF TWO NEW HOUSES
We received a generous donation that we hope will allow us to build two
more houses on the farm. Work has begun in excavating and laying the foundation
for one house, and soon work will begin on the other house. Both houses
will be able to accommodate two house parents and up to 20 children in each
house.
FISH FARMING
Mercy Touch farm has fishponds from where we have started to farm fish
that will be consumed at the farm as well as sold to outsiders. The Zambian
government provides help through officers from the fisheries department. They
help by giving free consultation on how to do fish farming.
FUTURE PLANS
We plan to renovate the block of classrooms on our
property to begin using it for the community feeding program as well as other
community outreach events. This year in November a team will travel from
Alberta, Canada to go and help in the renovation; and also to help launch the
community-feeding program. The feeding program will focus on malnourished
children as well as the education of the mothers in growing food that they can
use to feed their children. We hope to give some parents portions of land on
our farm to grow gardens from where they will be taught these skills.
April 2011
By Kathryn Seib
Kathryn Seib, our Canadian Mercy Touch missionary has gone back to Zambia after being home in Canada for 5 months. She is safe and has already settled. Her job includes being the director of Mercy Touch homes, amongst many other things. Kathryn sent us this report:
“I am keeping busy and being verbally caught up. I have trouble resting sometimes, as there is lots to do. We were approached by Grace Academy to help house one of their students. She is a little girl about 8 years old who lives in the area near Grace Academy. It was discovered that the people keeping her have been sexually abusing her. Grace Academy does not have room in their children’s village to keep her at this time. The child needs to be rescued as this is an emergency.”
The good news is that this child was rescued and is being housed by Mercy Touch Mission in our girls’ home. Her name is Justine. She has settled better than expected. The Mercy Touch girls welcomed her warmly. Justine seems excited and relieved. She has epilepsy and takes medication twice a day. It was discovered that she has 4 significant burns on her back and her leg. Her background information is that she is the oldest of 3 siblings. She has 2 half brothers and a deceased half sister. Justine was living with her mother and stepfather where she was very neglected, isolated, and sexually abused by members of the community.
Please continue to support the Mercy Touch Cause and help us rescue girls like Justine. Together we can make a difference.
March 2011
By Kathryn Seib
Welcome to the homes in March 2011! We are at the height of the rainy season (often a favorite season for many) and Zambia is a lush green! Both homes are pleasant and refreshing with well kept surroundings, vibrant vegetation, and happily chirping birds. The days are warm, humid and bright with temperatures reaching well into the thirties. Thank goodness for the shade trees! When the rain comes it comes in a deluge, cooling the air and watering the ground.
March brings with it many changes. It finds the boys settled at the farm house. They report that they are happy and enjoying the new surroundings. Tresford (the eldest, 20) has moved into separate lodging on the farm and is learning about how to be a responsible, single adult. He is working on the farm while moving toward post secondary education. Thomas also boards in town so that he is able to walk to school as he works on grade 11. This leaves Bruce (17, grade 8), Lackson (17, grade 6), Alfred (15, grade 5), and Elijah (12, grade 5) living in the farm house.
All five of our grade 10 students (Chimwemwe 18, Elvis 19, Wilson 16, Austin 16, and Patricia 16) are settled in boarding school. Phone calls tell us that they are doing well.
The girls house is settling into new routines with reduced numbers. Kennah (the oldest, 19) is staying with her sister in a nearby area while working toward her post secondary education. And with Patricia off in boarding school, that leaves six girls remaining at home; Annah (16, grade 9), Prisca (14, grade 8), Eva (15, grade 6), Dona (13, grade 8), Miless (12, grade 5) and Bupe (9, grade 4).
March 8th was World Women’s Day here in Zambia and also a national holiday. The girls were home from school and celebrated by having a huge water fight and watching a “chick flick”.
February 2011
By Bernard Mukwavi
As I write this report, five of our Mercy Touch children are driving for three hours to go to a boarding school. Last week I received news that the following children who passed grade 9 examinations have been given places at Nkumbi International High School, in grade 10:
 
Austin Banda (on arrival and now)
click here for letter
 
Elvis Kangwa (on arrival and now)
click here for letter
 
Wilson Mpenzhi (on arrival and now)
click here for letter
 
Chimwemwe M'Tonga (on arrival and now)
click here for letter
 
Patricia Mulenga (on arrival and now)
click here for letter
In Zambia children write final exams in grade 7 in order to go to grade 8. If a child fails the exams that is either the end of their education or they repeat. This makes children who have no help to become street children or feel that they are not smart enough and quit trying all together. The same is true when the children reach grade 9. They write an exam to go to grade 10. If they fail that’s the end. Lastly they write an exam in grade 12 which determines whether they go to college or not.
The reason the news I received last week was exciting is because five of the children have made it to grade 10, three have made it to grade 8 and two are waiting for grade 12 results. Education in Zambia is very competitive. It is amazing to see that our Mercy Touch children who were taken from dire poverty with no education background are proving to be successful in education. All this has been made possible through God’s blessing by all you who support these children through Mercy Touch Mission, by those that are working on the ground as house mothers and volunteers who guide these children. We are greatly indebted to you all for your generosity and sacrificial giving.
The five will be in boarding school and will be periodically coming back on holidays. The total for school fees and living expenses for all five is $1500 a term. You can help support these children as they have three more years to go before they graduate grade 12. Our staff will be visiting the children at school to monitor their progress.
We are beginning another campaign to bring in five more children in the homes. We are looking for children between the ages of 4 and 7 years. It helps when they grow together as a family in the home. Mercy Touch is small enough that your support is guaranteed to reach the children.
January 2011
By Bernard Mukwavi
As we are well into the new year, we keep reflecting on how we have arrived where we are. Last year February 2010 was the 10th anniversary of when the first short term mission trip traveled to Zambia from Canada. During this trip a house was identified and dedicated towards being used as a home for some children orphaned by AIDS in Zambia. Since then we have seen the growth which has led to helping children that were brought in the two homes that are run by Mercy Touch Mission as well as the community feeding programs run by the organization.
We continue to expand through the help of our faithful ministry partners. Our partners have made it possible for us to acquire the farm where we now have one completed house as well as growing crops and keeping poultry. Soon we will be embarking on building two more houses on the property so we can help more children.
Looking back at 2010
We lost one house mother (she is still alive) but she came down with T.B. and will not be able to return to work. An interim house mother is taking care of the girls home as we look to find a suitable mother to continue helping children in the home.
Children were each given monetary gifts to use for Christmas. They used half of the money to buy clothes and other necessities. The other half they will be using to purchase their school supplies. They were very excited about the gifts and they appreciate knowing they are being loved and cared for.
I spent part of December 2010 with the children and their house mothers. This was an exciting time on the farm. Our schedule everyday was: wake up at 6am to exercise, 7am have Bible reading time, then breakfast followed by working on the farm . This was followed by lunch, games, supper and family time before bedtime. It was a very enjoyable time as we also had our Christmas program which included opening of presents sent to the children by one of Mercy Touch partners.
Two of our children have graduated grade 12 and are waiting for results to get into college. Zambian children write elementary final exams to go to grade 8. All our children who wrote grade 7 exams made it to grade 8. These are: Prisca Malisawa qualified to grade 8 with 699 points and is at Grace Academy, Donah Chilambo also passed with 685 point and has continued at the same school Grace Academy and Bruce Musonda was congratulated for passing with 750 Points in grade seven and he has continued at Grace Academy.
The rest of the children have proceeded to higher grades except for those waiting for grade 12 results and 9 results. Education in Zambia is very competitive and we are encouraged at the performance of Mercy Touch Children. This has been made possible by those who support the children so that they can focus on school and not drop out to go on the streets.
Money to purchase a vehicle that will replace our long serving vehicle was donated last year in December. We are grateful for this generous gift.
As we look forward into 2011, we anticipate expanding the production at the farm so that the farm can continue to provide food for the children as well as profits after selling any excess. We are in need of a tractor and a farm truck. Short term mission teams that can go and do renovations as well as building are most welcome to apply through our office.
We look forward to helping more children through our homes as well as through the community outreach that we contact. By helping these children, you are contributing to the survival of the nation of Zambia which has been devastated by AIDS.
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