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December 21,
2009 Issue
No. 8
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Dear Victor and Beverly,
We have not posted an eNews letter
since August 28th, but it's not because of a
lack of news and happenings. We had our most
profitable and busy third quarter ever and
we chose only a few stories for this issue.
We hope to have another newsletter
follow quite soon with more about what we
are doing around the world. We want to talk
about the secondary school for 200-300 in
Malawi, our scholarship program, computers
for students subset of the scholarship
program, our livelihood development projects
and more.
Last week we mailed out our our
conventional year-end letter. About 1700
pieces were sent that included 700 2010
calendars to our donors. We do all our own
mailing with volunteers. The work is fun!
You can see the year-end letter, four-fold
brochure telling you what LifeNets is and
calendar at
www.lifenets.org/newsletter.
Your support and interest in our
projects to give people a "hand up" is
greatly appreciated. It's been a great
ride for the first ten years of LifeNets
existence. To see successful outcomes in
people's lives is so gratifying to all of us
involved with LifeNets. I want to again
thank everyone, our volunteers, donors,
staff and board of directors for being so
supportive of our Mission.
It's still not too late to make a
year-end (tax-exempt in the US) donation.
You can even pay by credit card or PayPal
from the home page of our Website
www.lifenets.org.
Enjoy the stories!
Victor Kubik
President
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Wheelchair Goes to to Kenya as Part of UCG
Youth Corps Project
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by Jeremy Lalllier
This wheelchair is part of the Youth
Corps project. I will be helping out at the
summer camp that we run in Kenya, and then
spending the following week visiting people.
I will be leaving for Kenya Sunday December
13, 2009 and returning December 31. The
wheelchair will be coming with me on the
flight, and then Mr. Antonio Ndungu (who
alerted us to the need) will take us to
present the chair to the boy. Below is what
Mr. Ndungu wrote to me about him.
Jeremy Lallier and
Beverly Kubik
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"Thank you very much for this good
news. I cannot explain how exited I am for
the assistance of a Wheel to this needy
young boy. His name is Edwin Ng'ethe Ndung'u
and now 10 years old. He was born with a
spine problem "[Spina] Bifida" and therefore
has no nerve feelings on his lower part of
the body. He has been in that condition
since childhood.
This no doubt means that he cannot
stand on his own and has to be lifted to be
placed on the Wheel Chair. The boys parents
are in our village.
The wheel chair he is now using is in
bad condition and they parents could not
afford another one for replacement as they
are not financially in a position to do so.
They have been looking for someone to assist
them get another one for over 12 months now
and when recently I learned of their plight
I was so touched. He attends a school nearby
in Class 1 and now will be in position to
attend classes on the wheelchair."
God's hand has already been so involved
with the planning of this trip, but I think
being able to provide a wheelchair to
someone in need has thus far been the icing
on the cake.
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Report from Dr. Sam Chilopora in Malawi
about Goats for Orphans
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Proceeds from the June 28 Tea in
Piscataway, New Jersey were earmarked for
the LifeNets Orphan Care Centre in Balaka
Malawi. Look further in the newsletter for
story about the Tea. Specifically, the the
ladies wanted the money to go for goats for
the children. The Chiloporas invite about
100 at risk children in Balaka to come to
the Chizeni Health Clinic each week for food
and a health assessment. What Sam and Esther
Chilopora have done has greatly helped the
children in the area.
Esther and Sam Chilopora
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This year, with consultation by Dr.
Chilopora and the chief in the village, it
was decided that the funds should go to
purchase goats for the children. Following
the Tea, $2,000 was sent as the first
installment of the donations that were
raised. The first thing that had to be done
was to build a brick corral as a home for
the goats.
In a conversation with Dr. Chilopora
on October 25 Beverly Kubik learned that the
corral for the goats has now been built and
there is money to purchase forty goats.
Additional funds which were raised for this
project were sent later. There items of need
for the orphan community are Bed Nets
(mosquito nets) and fertilizer to boost crop
production in the gardens. For many, the
only source of income and food comes from a
small garden.
On another note from Dr. Chilopora, The
Chizeni Health Chinic which LifeNets has
funded, is now completed with the final
stage being the addition of razor wire at
the top of the six foot wall that protects
the clinic. Dr Chilopora and his wife
Esther, who is a nurse and midwife, have
dedicated their lives to their people and
the communities that surround the clinic.
Their son Garvey is following in their
footsteps and is finishing his medical
studies in South Africa with the intention
of returning to Malawi after another year
and one-half.
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Goats for Community in Zimbabwe
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Through our South Africa LifeNets
affiliate we have started a successful
goat-raising project in Zimbabwe. It's not
easy doing anything in Zimbabwe and we have
had to bring money in hand to finance this
and other projects.
Earlier in August Steven Tshabalala
in Bulawayo wrote to us saying:
I would like to take this
opportunity to express my gratitude on
behalf of those living in Chember,
Gokwe, Zimbabwe for the money that I
received from LifeNets through South
Africa LifeNets Director Mr. Andre van
Belkum to buy goats so as to help the 11
people to start a goat keeping project.
We were able to purchase six goats, one
he-goat and five she-goats.
Four of the goats will be
having kids sometime in November
2009. We are planning to visit
Gokwe again and take pictures of the
goats and members and send them to
you.Once again, thank you and may
God bless you for the wonderful work
you are doing.
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Mr. and
Mrs. Gorondo and the goats
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In late October Mr. Tshabalala gave a
further report and enclosed the photo.
On the 16th of October 2009, I
visited Mr. and Mrs. Gorondo who are
farmers in Chemba Gokwe. Gokwe is 290kms
from Bulawayo and it took me 10 hours
there. On my way back on the 20th of
October, it took me 18 hours to travel
from Gokwe to Bulawayo.
The Gorondos are well and they are
now waiting for the rain season to begin
so that they can start ploughing their
land which will be difficult as they
have no oxen or ploughs to till the
land. They hire a span of oxen from
their neighbours but they only get them
at the end of the ploughing season when
they the neighbours have finished using
them.
Mr. Gorondo and his family are
happy that LifeNets helped them start a
goat-keeping project which is doing very
well. Mr Gorondo who has kept cattle and
goats before has faith in God that this
project will succeed because as can be
seen in the picture a well is being dug
which is also funded by LifeNets, So
far they have dug 46 meters and the
diggers expert to find water soon, at
the depth of 50 or so meters.
The well will help the Gorondos
have water for the goats and for
themselves as they often walk a long
distance to fetch water for themselves
and their animals,
When I was in Gokwe, Mrs. Gorondo woke
up early in the morning to go and beg
for water from those who have bore
holes,but came back late as the owners
of the bore holes do not want to give
them water even though they pay 80kg of
maize which is their much needed staple
food.
The goat Project is progressing
very well.We had bought six goats.One
he-goatand 5-she goats,two have given
birth to two healthy kids and we expect
more very soon.
People in Gokwe need a cattle
keeping project, which will help them
with draught power and milk.
As the rain season begins,
thesemembers will hire people with a
span of oxen to plough their Land, but
they will only come to plough at the end
of the rain season after first making
sure that their own land is first
ploughed.
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Our Continuing Work with Chernobyl
Children--Report by Dr. Vasyl Pasichnyk
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LifeNets continues to support children
at the "Revival" Centre for Disabled
Children 40 miles east of
Chernobyl. Our support goes back to
1996 predating the founding of
LifeNets. It's been a joy to be a part of
the startup of this center to help so many
children.You can see our extensive history
working with the Centre on our Website at
www.lifenets.org/chernobyl. Vasyl
Pasichnyk or Dr. "P", as he is lovingly
called, writes this report for our
newsletter:
This has been the second year that
we have been functioning as a Rehabilitation
Centre for children who are not local and
who stay overnight. Our provincial
government provides the financial aid for
this. We have capacity for 30 children to
stay in this facility, we need much more
capacity.Therefore, a decision was made to
expand this number by another 60. The
project has already been planned. Because of
the current difficult economic conditions,
we were not able to start the project as we
had hoped this year.
Since April 1 this year we added 14
youths to Galina Mayurenko's
department. This is two more groups of eight
seriously ill children. The local provincial
government is taking care of those
finances. We have another section of
vocational rehabilitation for 50 more
children.
As to our "Revival" Centre, due to
financial shortfall, we have had to lower
our intake of children's visits to 30 per
day. And only thanks to charitable
organizations such as LifeNets we have been
able to do this kind of charitable work.
Right now "Revival" is able to handle a
total of 170-180 children per month. We are
happy to report that in almost all cases we
have significant progress in the state of
the children. The children not only have
intensive treatment, but they have lots of
entertaining activities that they take part
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Formal Tea Fundraiser for Malawi in
Piscataway, New Jersey
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On June 28th a group of ladies and a
few men gathered for a beautiful formal
Tea on the lawn of Dr. Barbara Walls in
Piscataway New Jersey. What was the purpose
for the Tea? It was a fund raiser for a
community of needy and orphaned children in
Malawi (see story above). Dr. Barbara Walls
and her friends have committed themselves to
supporting the Orphan Care Center which was
established by Dr. and Mrs. Chilopora.
Dr. Barbara Walls
and Beverly Kubik
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More than $4000 was raised for this coming
year's efforts. Two thousand dollars, however,
was given to provide goats for the
community. Goats are very important for milk and
meat. Orphan children under age five come to the
Balaka Chizeni Clinic from two communities
within walking distance where children are given
a medical assessment, food and instruction for
their guardians and caregivers. LifeNets has
operated this Centre now for six years at a cost
of about $5000 a year. This essentially provides
for the food and medicine.
The program stated with our signature
song "Ordinary People." Dave Johnson was
the Master of Ceremonies and introduced Dr.
Walls who welcomed the guests, including
former Piscataway Mayor Helen Merolla and
faculty from the School of Medicine at
nearby Rutgers University. This was truly an
inspiring event: It helped people, it helped
focus attention on the work of LifeNets for
orphans, it brought people together to focus
on making a difference. It gave LifeNets the
resources and courage to continue its
mission with the LifeNets Orphan Care Centre
in Balaka, Malawi. Read more about this on
our Website at
http://lifenets.org/tea/tea2009.htm.
You can read about it at
http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/victorkubik/9/1246334917/tpod.html
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Quick Links...
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Contact Information
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LifeNets
3707 Turfway Ct.
Indianapolis, IN 46228-2095
317 216-0802
317 679-7676 mobile/sms
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