Not collected from school?

The KG VI Centre in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe is a (boarding) school for physically handicapped children. We have sponsored several projects for this school in the last few years, such as musical instruments, a computer and an asphalt baseball field.
Sadly, the situation in Zimbabwe has deteriorated so much that just having enough food for a meal is a moment of joy for the children of KV VI, and having a parent or close relative come pick you up for the holidays is almost a luxury. People are struggling to survive and what they need least of all is a handicapped child to take care of.

That is why KG VI concentrates on teaching the children to take care of themselves and to be able to do household chores. It is heartrending to see them stirring soup with a spoon in their mouth, to iron a dress with a weight on their wrist to keep their arm from falling off the ironing board or to work the sewing machine with their feet. But if you look at their faces while they perform these tasks you see the happiness. They are proud they mastered these tasks, they are happy to be able to live as independent human beings, to be part of a real world.
The centre obviously needs money. To pay for the ridiculously expensive basic foods, to pay for a bar of soap for the child who came to school without one, to pay for the training of staff to counsel abused and undernourished orphans because the centre cannot afford to pay for a social worker or child psychologist. To pay for the little girl whom nobody came to fetch at the end of last term and who had to spend the holidays with a staff member.
A lot of the children of KG VI are AIDS orphans now and some of them have nobody left that will take them during the school holidays, a sad fact that sometimes does not become apparent until the day they should be collected! And even if they do have relatives, it is very expensive for them to pay for the transport to and from the school to collect the child and feed an extra mouth - of a handicapped distant cousin! - for several weeks. Children are supposed to bring their own supply of toiletries, clothes and some pocket money when they return; fewer and fewer families are able to provide this.
Moments of Joy paid the transport costs and the food for those families that could not afford it, we paid for the children who were not picked to stay six weeks with staff members and we paid the supplies of toiletries (and pocket money of course, very important to be able to buy some sweets now and then!) of those who return to school without. Total costs were 1580 Euro in 2003/2004.
We would like to continue our support to KG VI, to pay for these expenses for 2004/2005 as well, and to pay for extra food and for some necessary repair to the houses. Even though the situation in this country is very discouraging and most doors to a better future are closed, we can at least open some of them.

We received an emotional thank you note from the director of KG VI - a very capable (white) woman who has not abandoned her children for a better life in Europe.
She wrote: "No child should come into this world only to find every door already closed. And yet these children do. Your continuous efforts to support KG VI has opened a lot of doors and most important of all, has shown the children that there are people who find them worthwhile."

For the children who are not collected from school or return without necessary toiletries etc. Moments of Joy wants to raise 1600 Euro.
For extra food and some long overdue repairs we want to raise 2000 Euro.

TOTAL € 1600,-- AND € 2000,-- 

DONATED FROM THE GENERAL FUND OF MOMENTS OF JOY