Hi Everyone
We wish you all a very Happy Xmas and a prosperous 2017. Your support and contributions this year have been very important in ensuring that SOAP in Harare and Bulawayo can continue to do their good work.
We would like to update you on our activities and the position of the pensioners that SOAP support.
In early November Mike Mino visited Zimbabwe and took the opportunity to meet with Louise Campbell who heads up SOAP in Bulawayo and Deleen DuToit and her team in Harare.
BULAWAYO
Louise works with a very small team servicing about 140 pensioners. The monthly food hampers are put together and supplied to those people in their own homes or in old age homes who do not have kitchens supplying food. In most cases the food is not enough for the entire month and the pensioners need to get additional food to make ends meet. The pensioner’s conditions are deteriorating in line with the rest of the economy. Louise screens everyone very carefully before bringing them onto the scheme. Recently the numbers have increased by about 10% given the worsening conditions. Fund raising within the local community is very difficult with many working people having left Bulawayo and those staying being impacted by a lack of economic activity. In addition to supplying the food Louise and her team provide counselling and assistance wherever they can.
HARARE
Deleen and her team look after about 230 people and she has also had about a 10% increase of people requiring assistance. The situation in Harare is very similar to Bulawayo, all recipients in Harare are over 65 and it is their plan to increase the age of entry by one year every year with the intention of ultimately winding SOAP down. The Harare team consists of about 40 people who pack and deliver the food parcels both in Harare and into the districts. They also provide a counselling service and assist the Pensioners whenever they can. SOAP Harare provides food to people camped at Cleveland Dam. They also make regular visits along with other charities to ensure that they have what they need. Some of the residents have formerly been in homes but for various reasons have gravitated to the dam. The local fund raising is very difficult and SOAP in Harare relies mainly on external donors like ZAF.
Both SOAPs’ were very grateful for the funds ZAF sends them. Updates from the SOAPS can be viewed on the website.
- Once again we had a very well supported Golf Day at Boomerang Farm Golf Club in September. James King and his team do a great job in supplying an outstanding venue. For the first time we had a hole in one thanks to Ed Hough whose team went on to win the competition. Some generous donations for the auction and some great auctioning by Tony Skinner helped us raise over $24 000. Thank you to all those who attended and who donated prizes and raffle items.
- The Toowoomba Charity Cricket Festival was held on Saturday the 8th October and was very well supported with teams coming from Brisbane. This has now become an annual event with over $10 000 being raised. Our thanks go to Simon and Alex Lamont for organizing and running the event. Thank you also to all those who supported the event and who made donations of auction items and have joined the monthly donors.
- The base of our fund raising activities are the monthly donors. We are raising about $3000 a month through these regular donations. Our sincere thanks to all those who participate and for your amazing generosity. In addition we continue to receive a steady stream of one-off donations for which we are most grateful.
Finally thank-you everyone for your support. For anyone who has not received our acknowledgement of thanks and receipts for donations please let us have your email address as we have received donations but either have no contact details or our emails have been returned. Every donation no matter how much makes a big difference and is very much appreciated.
Should you wish to make a Xmas donation the bank details are as follows:
The Zimbabwe Aid Fund
Westpac Bank
BSB: 034243
ACC: 219483
Updates information and our audited financial accounts are posted on our website. Please like us on Facebook if you wish to join our page and receive regular updates and please don’t hesitate to unsubscribe should you not want to receive this newsletter.
Our very best wishes to you all for 2017
Warm Regards
Mike and Shelley Mino
On behalf of the Committee of the Zimbabwe Aid Fund
Email: info@zimbabweaidfund.org.au
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