Abbas Rest Orphans

Peter had a successful trip to Malawi, the staff and children alike welcomed him with opened arms. He got to work straight away and proceeded to get the Maize needed to supply all the children for the year. it was not an easy task and Peter and Charlie only managed to buy 3/4 of the years supply because of the limited crop due to the drought.

The cost of the Maize was dear and also the transport cost rose because of the long distances to ferry the Maize. We are hoping the second crop in Muona district is a good one so we can purchase the rest of the Maize. we still need nearly 300 bags of Maize with each bag weighing 50 Kilograms each. this crop is due June/July. This will cost us considerably more as it is the second crop. we are hoping it is not  too expensive for our budget.

A new sub station was added to ARO it is called Chitawo just outside Chiringa itself. It means13 new children are added to our ranks. Also 4 new children have been added to our sub station at Namba.

Charlie has been busy since November. He has supervised the building of another batch of toilet/washing units for the children, so to date 114 children have their own personal toilet facilities and personal Hygiene cubicle in their villages. This project has now been stopped temporarily until all the Maize has been bought and then when funds allow.

The home of one of the orphans collapsed and ARO is now building a replacement for the orphan. Charlie has helped communities to repair their fresh water boreholes to provide clean water.

A new project has been implemented to help the elderly guardians in their homes. Some women will go out to the villages to attend  the elderly guardians by doing their chores for them. This will be done on a rota system . In the afternoons some men will go out to the villages to repair the homes of the elderly guardians, again on a rota basis. It is proving very instrumental in the relations with the villages.

We are sad to say that one of our little orphan girls has died. Shupikaye Shawa was 6 years old and contracted Cerebral Malaria. she died on the way to the regional hospital. When she first arrived at Chiringa centre she could not walk and through the prayers and care she began walking and got to the stage where she was running around like a normal child. She will be sadly missed by all who knew her.

Richard & Eleanor are preparing for their trip to Malawi to carry on ARO work. They are looking forward to getting back to Malawi and doing their different roles.

Peter is now in Malawi and is with Charlie, the main priority is  to find enough maize to feed all the children for the year. it will not be an easy task considering the drought.

The total number of orphans fed and cared for by ARO is now 303 including those on the milk and porridge programs.

Charlie is now in Malawi and he is continuing the latrine building. The aim is one latrine for each child living in their own village.

Charlie is organising a building to be the base for training skills. Girls will be taught secretarial duties and computing to get experience for employment. The building will also be used for other skills training.

All the children in the Muona region will be tested for HIV to see if any new cases come to light.

A new manager for Muona and a new secretary for the main office in Chiringa are being  sought and will be interviewed by Charlie.

It is now  official. The drought in Malawi has greatly affected the maize crop. Charlie reports that finding maize or the children will be difficult and the price  will be much more than usual we need to find 1,112 bags of 50 kilo each. Last year the bags were selling at 1,500 and 1,600 Kwacha per bag.which i roughly £7 to £8 per bag. this year the cost is expected to be at least 2,500 Kwacha per bag which is about £11 per bag, probably higher cost in some areas. this does not include the cost of transporting the maize to the centres.