Hi Paula and DeNeice, there are 9898 apples being shipped to the 23rdStreet market today, 10-4-08 which will help make lots of applesauce we hope! love, Karen
Dear Karen,
So glad- this will provide a lot of nourishment! Thanks for letting me know. Got a call last night from T to bring lots of Mahewu today as people are so hungry, but I wasn’t yet able to get the add’l 500 bags, for various reasons, but will take what I can, which isn’t much but will take more weetbix, rice and potatoes, but at this rate, and if no one sends help we’ll be in a total crisis situation as regards food. .
The exchange rate quadrupled in less than a week, and the prices of food did more than that! A little over a week ago we were buying bread at the factory (to save what we could) and it was 550 per loaf. Currently it is 5,500. Potatoes has gone from 7,500 per bag to I don’t know what, but I think it is 60,000. per bag. This is in the new money. The old price would have been 600,000,000,000,000. It almost gives me a headache to think of it! However, the devaluation and stratospheric escalation in prices, even in real money does give me a headache!
I’m going out this a.m. to give what food I can and another advance of probably another 10 thousand each, and organize something for the additional people who have come pleading for work/clothes or food! In addition taking some food direct to the lady with 15 children, another with 15 and hopefully one with 12, and a few others we know to be in extreme need. These are mostly orphans!
The White Venture is down (we can’t find a right hand torsion bar anywhere) the Green Venture is down (no brakes)- Andrew broke our gate yesterday, Big Blue (our big truck) is literally limping along, and Liz’s car has had problems. Spent more than the equivalent of US$1,000. last week on brake pads alone for her but there are more problems. To fix all these would buy a lot of food– you see why I’ve been almost crying for a mechanic! Johan is doing what he can. I’ve written to Alan Ogden the young man in Bulawayo I bought Big Blue thru and asked him for advice or info of a good mechanic, but no response yet.
Carl, Alfred says we need some sort of valve to get the irrigation going, but he is in Harare for a few days. We are having to haul water, but it is hard to keep up given the emergencies. There have been more than 1 emergency a day for more than a week, and before that the same. They came in the middle of the night last night with 3. I was so tired I didn’t even look at the clock. Two of them last night were ladies in labor and the 3rd one a shooting at Chiadzwa (diamonds).!
Must go and cook some food while we still have electricity since it is almost 3:30 a.m.
We need lots of prayers and miracles!
P
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.
