February Followings



1st Grade students writing letters to their new sponsors!



February has been a great month for HOPE!  The weather has been beautiful and we finally received the rain we had been waiting on for a few weeks.  I am very thankful that two of our Form 4 (11^th grade) students passed their exams well enough to go on to Form 5 and 6 (two additional years of high school in preparation for university).  One received 6 A’s and the other received 7!  Most of our children finish high school at Form 4 and either go to a training school or try to find employment.  It is our hope that each year we will be able to have a Form 6 student graduate with high enough grades to continue on to university. 



Loreen, a 1st Grade Student in need of a sponsor



Although we accepted 30 new students into the HOPE program last month, some of them still do not have their own sponsor.  If you or a group you are involved in would like to consider sponsoring a child, please send me an email and I will make sure you get all the information you need to help make a decision.  Most of the new children we accepted are in 1^st and 2^nd grade and were recommended by the principals because their family could not afford to pay their fees.



Chenai and his Fairfield mother and brother



The HOPE staff was able to visit one of our children who used to live at Fairfield, but has now been reunified with his extended family.  He was very happy to see his “mother” from Fairfield who brought him some treats to eat!  We hope to continue supporting these reunified children as needed once they rejoin their family to make sure they have everything they need to do well in school.







Abby enjoying a splash!

Abby and Grace have had a great 16^th month!  Two of Fairfield’s board members came to visit from the US and along with friends already in Zimbabwe we took the girls to see their very first waterfall in an area called Nyanga.  Unfortunately, it started pouring the rain on the hike back and we discovered Grace does not like cold rain!  They also had their first swim in a baby pool, which they loved.  Friends from college, Stacy and Todd, also joined us for a few days as part of their honeymoon around Africa.  The girls loved having visitors to entertain them!  Both girls are healthy, happy and moving.  Grace can now stand by herself and crawl.  I am sure she will be walking on her own soon.   Abby is close behind and can now walk holding onto the edge of the table.  

Thanks for all the love, prayers and support!  Janine