From Lynne at ZOPOM in Australia:

Dear All,

Quite amazingly I got through to Paula on the phone tonight.  She never fails to inspire me enormously – what an amazing woman!

The situation in Zim is beyond belief and things seem to be getting worse if this is at all possible.  I try to ring Paula once a week as I know when I was there what was most difficult was to unburden oneself with someone you can trust.  Hopefully I am able to serve in some little way as the emotional burden is enormous. I also rang Paula to let her know that I have been able to organise spending 4 weeks at the orphanage, but not until September/October.

Paula has asked me to pass on a few messages.  Firstly she said if she does not respond within two days to an email it is most likely that she has not received the email.  I was aware this was happening as there were a few emails that I needed responses to and Paula knew nothing of them.  This is Zim I guess.

Marc, Paula has advised she anticipates that the order that is due at the orphanage this week will last about 4 weeks, and this is really rationing things as more and more starving grandmothers are pleading for food.

Paula said they had some good rains recently and she had the workers working long hours digging in the leaves that are collected to build up the soil and retain water.  This had paid dividends and the maize is looking good.  The three people working out at the orphanage from Enviro Africa have been a real blessing, because as those of us from Africa know the workers must be monitored around the clock. With having these people from Enviro Africa there knowing what has to be done and monitoring everything  it is paying dividends. So this is a real blessing.

Paula has checked the access to the house in Mutare and it is possible to have a container delivered and left in the yard.  So if we are able to organise this it would also be a blessing, with all the food arriving and starving people everywhere it would be much safer for all at the house if things were locked in a container.

I did find it a little concerning when I asked Paula about cholera in the area.  Apparenty there is cholera as close as Chickwerera which is only about 15 kms from the orphanage.  However, Paula has been in Africa long enough to be very cautious and she is quite amazing how she is able to use what is available to ensure everyones safety.

And finally, I join with Paula in thanking you all for your generosity of spirit for our vulnerable children and the grandmothers that Paula is keeping alive.  God bless you all.

Love yvonne

89 years old, emaciated, bent over with arthritis, barefoot, clinging to 7 year old orphaned (and with AIDS) grand-daughters hand, she walked 21+ kilometers to the orphanage as she had nothing to eat and had heard that we would help her.  She had tears in her eyes when I gave her 10kg mealie meal that I had just purchased in Marange a few minutes before, plus some beans and Mahewu.  It took her more than 7 hours to reach the orphanage.  I’m sure the little girl was very exhausted as well.

Arriving at the orphanage I discovered another child– an orphan, just last week her 16 year old brother that wanted to support them both had gone to the diamond field at Chiadzwa.  He was shot and killed there, so this beautiful little 12 year old girl has no one!  We’ve also acquired another child that ran away from the other orphanage in our area because they weren’t giving enough food, (which we verified with an older child there) and another brother and sister Juliet and Jon, who are orphans and mistreated, ignored, locked out and starved by their step-sister.

One of our workers was shaking with weakness, and confessed that he had had no food for 4 days.  I brought him in and gave him a bowl of cereal, and Liz made him a large sandwich and gave him 2 carrots, and we sent grateful Joshua back to work with a package of Mahewu that he could add to water to have extra strength!

We went by his home to find out the bag of potatoes we had taken there Sunday was taken by his wife to camp-meeting and no food left for the children.  Their mother had left early this a.m. and there was no food at all in the house.  The lady next door, my age, and limps as a result of a stroke, looks like she has lost 50# and admits there have been days with no food.  We gave her some beans, maize, sweet potatoes and Mahewu and asked her to feed the neighbor children when their mother is so neglectful.

This story could be repeated several times with slight variations, but there is stark hunger out there.  People are getting very thin.  I just got our now village health workers first 32 reports, and almost without exception they state “NO FOOD AT ALL”!  It is depressing reading.  The two quadrillion I spent for food yesterday is not going to last long!  I’ll be buying more tomorrow.  Two emergency trips in the night, the last one at 4:00 a.m. this morning and then the regular Wednesday trip with 9 HIV/AIDS patients.

More later when I’m not quite so tired!

Love,

Paula

To donate, go to www.active.com/donate/zimbabweappeal for the Agathos Foundation Emergency Fund Drive for medical supplies, food and farming supplies for Paula’s ministry.