Mthombothemba Project Progress Report April 2019 

This rocky, dry place was given the name Mthombothemba which means the place of hope by the first missionaries to come to Zimbabwe in the 1800s. This place was very fertile then as there were very few people; actually there were less than 10 families in the whole community. At the present moment the community has got over 8,000 people including the squatter camps around the community. The increase in population contributed to land degradation, indiscriminate cutting down of trees leaving the community like a desert, rapid spread of diseases, small pieces of land for farming, poor pass rates at school as the teacher/student ratio increased to 1:54 per class etc. HIV/AIDS killed so many people between 2000 and 2015 leaving many children as orphans. A poor rainfall pattern has contributed immensely to the drought that the community has been experiencing. The unstable economy of Zimbabwe left this community on its knees as there has been no source of income for the people and this opened the door for some men to be involved in criminal activities while women were involved in prostitution. When Fountain of Hope went into this community, the community was known for criminal activities, low pass rate at school, hunger and starvation, poor sanitation and water sources, no good roads, disenfranchised people and disjointed community leadership.

It is to this background that Fountain of Hope started running projects in this community to improve the quality of life of orphans and vulnerable children as well as reducing the spread of HIV/AIDS amongst the people of this community. We are so grateful to Bright Hope World for coming alongside us in improving the quality of life in this community. To date there has been a great improvement in the health status of the community, a great increase in food security in the community, the pass rate amongst orphans has amazingly increased from 3% to over 85% annually, crime has reduced to a point that the police do not see any reason why a police camp has to be built in this community, and development is slowly taking place. These people, who used not to come together and discuss development, now have got several meetings where they discuss how to effectively develop their community.   

Please find below the report on the projects that brought a difference in this community of Mthombothemba; 

Recent Events

Foundations for Farming and Gardens

With the support from Bright Hope World, we have trained over 200 people from the four main villages of the community of Mthombothemba. These people really do believe in this type of farming such that they preached about it to the government’s AREX department who have now adopted this type of farming. The farmers practice this type of farming in the gardens that were established in this community thereby increasing food security. Even though the rains were very erratic this season, the people of this community have got enough vegetables from their gardens, thanks to Bright Hope World. One of the gardens that relies on dam water is undoubtedly doing very well, to a point that some of the farmers were able to sell potatoes from this garden and earned some finances for their children. There is a garden in each of the four villages of the community except in the area where there are squatter camps. 

Challenges
• Erratic rains are always a challenge in this community especially this season
• Water from the boreholes is shared between the garden and people’s daily consumption 

Opportunities
• So many dialogues were borne out of the meetings in the garden. These dialogues brought some changes in the community like the one that is running now which is called Church and Community mobilization process. The whole community is mobilizing one another towards development. Thank you so much Bright Hope World for opening such opportunities for the community to come up with its vision for the future
• Even though Zimbabwe does not have employment opportunities the people of this community have learnt to employ themselves through these gardens
• Foundations for Farming training was adopted by the government in Matabeleland due to the trainings that took place in this community paving way for other communities that we are not working in to be trained to practice Foundations for Farming  

Transformation Centre

This is one of our best transformation centres; it has produced great children out of orphans and vulnerable children. At the beginning of this year two of our orphans at this transformation centre were the best in their grade seven exams. By virtue of their high passes, their school got a higher pass rate percentage this year. They did way better than the schools in town. Our transformation centre gives children an opportunity to study after school hence these children did very well even though they come from difficult circumstances. Thank you very much Bright Hope World for affording an opportunity to these girls to get birth-certificates which was an incentive for them to do well in school. Both these girls would like to be doctors after school. Thank you again that doctors are being molded from the ashes of Mthombothemba through this transformation centre. 

This transformation centre has got 62 children both in primary and secondary education. Apart from the 62 registered children there are others who come once a month to be treated at the mobile clinic we run to improve the health of these children since some of them are HIV/AIDS infected and are on treatment. We provide monthly medical supplies to these children. 

Furthermore this transformation centre is opening up a school for the girls who dropped out of school or who were made pregnant by old men and then dumped, to ensure that they finish school.

Challenges
• The transformation centre is not currently friendly to disabled and deaf children and we are working on putting up structures that can accommodate all kinds of children
• More trained psycho-social support counselors are needed for this transformation centre
• It is a bit difficult for the ones who have outgrown the transformation centre to get jobs in Zimbabwe since unemployment is very high in the country
• More study guides are needed for the centre 

Opportunities
• The transformation centre has accorded the Primary school in the community an opportunity to be recognized regionally and nationally as one of the schools that is doing very well in education. One of the objectives of this transformation centre is to provide quality education to orphans and vulnerable children by 2025.
• The recognition of this transformation by the authorities has undoubtedly opened the door for children from the transformation centre to be exposed to many things
• The transformation centre has also opened the door for people to come to Christ since they see the love of Christ being shown to the vulnerable members of the society  

Livestock Production and Management

Mthombothemba community is very good for livestock, both goats and cows. The community built a dam a few years ago to provide water for community livestock. Through Bright Hope World over 80 people from this community benefitted from this project. Some were given goats and others were given chickens and it is our pleasure to report that some of the farmers who were assisted turned their goat project into a broiler project. The diversification is really bearing fruit for some of the people of this community, please read the testimony below;

Mrs Dube never had livestock of her own but thanks God for Bright Hope World which opened a way for the members of this community to own livestock especially widows and orphan families. She was blessed with three goats, two female and one male, which she looked after like a woman looking after her newly born baby. The goats began to multiply and within a short space of time her goats reached 20. The goat farmers came together and discussed amongst themselves on how they can move forward and the idea of starting a chicken broiler business was then birthed. Goats were sold for the project to kick start and Mrs Dube was one of the first people to start the project. 

Training was provided to these farmers on how to effectively run a viable chicken business. Market was sort for these farmers by Fountain of Hope and the project started. Due to this chicken project Mrs Dube is able to send her child to school and is even now part of the community women’s club that helps people to buy kitchen utensils. She is also part of the burial society and this is because of the income that she is getting from the project. We are again very grateful to Bright Hope World for bringing a difference in the lives of the people. 

Challenges
• The economic challenges of Zimbabwe sadly leaves the farmers with very little profit
• It is difficult to transport stock feed to the community since some of the places do not have good roads and need 4 x 4 trucks
• Wild dogs sometimes come to eat goats especially at night 

Opportunities
• The livestock project has enabled people to learn how to run a business especially in a difficult environment like the one we are in, in Zimbabwe.
• It provided an opportunity for the community to live a life of helping one another
• Children are going to school through this project and also families are able to buy food 
• The project is one of the projects in the community that has stopped all criminal activities as people are involved in meaningful business
• It also opened an opportunity for children to be protected from abusers as people talk about how to raise up God fearing children in their farmers meetings