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The children were very excited to receive their first ever school uniforms .

News Letter  August 2010

SUMMARY

      The last 6 months have seen considerable growth for Oz Kids (OK). Several new productive partnerships have been formed.

 OK have partnered with Operation Lift www.operationlift.org to send our container. They have donated half of the costs along with much of the needed medical equipment for our birthing clinic. The container is almost full and will be sent as soon as the funds become available.

OK has been kindly donated a two story 8 bedroom kit home. The birthing clinic is included in the building and the home will be packed and sent toward the end of the year. The generous donor wishes to remain anonymous. This is a huge step forward.

The children at the Mazabuka orphanage are all healthy and in good spirits. As most of the older children had little or no previous education some are in need of special attention. To address this we are employing a school teacher. His name is William Phiri and he and wife Mirriam will bring a wealth of knowledge to the home as William also has degrees in early childhood development and counselling, while Mirriam is a nurse.

Many thanks go to Kaoma Kashito our Zambia manager who has worked tirelessly to insure the smooth running of all our operations there.

WE NEED YOUR SUPPORT

     To keep up with the running costs of the home and progress to the point of moving into the new home we need a short sharp injection of capital for the infrastructure needed on the ¾ acre block before the 8 bedroom kit home arrives at the end of the year.

    We need funds to send the container of medical equipment and household goods.

    We have started a monthly sponsor club (500 club) where we are inviting businesses and individuals to consider donating $50.00 a month for one year only - less than $1.65 a day.

    This is the primary source of much needed funding; all funds are managed to the full benefit of the children and their community. We are aiming for 500 members.

           500 CLUB=$12.50 a week for one year fully tax deductible.

GOALS IN DETAIL

     At OK we use the 8 Millennium Development Goals (MDG) as our blueprint. These goals are a United Nations initiative that all 192 UN member states have agreed to achieve by the year 2015.

     We are doing what we can to assist Zambia and its people reach these goals.

Goal 1: Eradicate extreme poverty and hunger

             Oz Kids has 17 orphaned and abandoned children in full time care. We provide food  to the children’s ward at the District Hospital and support the feeding programme at the “Needs Care Day Centre” where 200 children are fed daily, whenever possible.

    We have plans to educate the rural farmers in sustainable agriculture and at a later         t date to implement an out-growers scheme which will provide income and food security.   

·        Goal 2: Achieve universal primary education

·                                 Oz Kids has plans for a primary school on the land purchased in 2009 and the new buildings should be completed by early 2011.  We have organised a qualified teacher/councillor to start work with us in 2011. At a later stage we will be providing free education to many orphaned and underprivileged children who have little or no hope of an education. After becoming self funded we have plans for a vocational training centre.

·       Goal 3: Promote gender equality and empower women

·                                 Education for girls in particular remains elusive. Most women are uneducated and relegated to more vulnerable and informal employment with its lack of benefits and security.  Not only will we provide education at our planned centre, with a strong emphasis on girls, but we will also provide vocational training to steer them in the direction of higher-level jobs.

In the villages we can improve the life of women there by providing bio-gas systems for cooking and lighting, freeing up 3 to 4 hours a day which is usually spent in the pursuit of gathering wood for cooking. This will also greatly improve the health of the mothers and children, as they will not be inhaling the smoke, the major source of respiratory and eye disease in Zambia.

·       Goal 4: Reduce child mortality

·       Goal 5: Improve maternal health

·       Goal 6: Combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases

·       Goal 7: Ensure environmental sustainability

·                                  

·                                          The preceding four goals will be addressed in two ways:

 Firstly, by providing a birthing clinic at the site of the new home and school. The building has been donated along with the eight-bedroom home. We have partnered with a group “Operation Lift” who have provided the needed medical equipment.

Teaching improved methods of agriculture and the use of compost and bio-fertiliser will

also benefit not only the environment but also the economy.

Talks will also be held on hygiene, nutrition and HIV/AIDS prevention.

·        Goal 8: Develop a Global Partnership for Development

·                                 OK have been officially operating since January 2009 when the Town Mayor opened the “Mazabuka Orphanage,” which was registered in Zambia as a charitable society a few months previous.

      To fit the criteria for government assistance on projects we need to have a two-year

track record of operation and accountability.

With this in mind, next year we plan also to partner with “Global Development Group Australia” for our most important and critical project - becoming self funded.

This will be done through the purchase of farm land that will be commercially farmed, providing income and local employment, along with the opportunity to train youth in the practical skills of agriculture, business, animal husbandry, marketing and a whole range of value adding, such as milling grain, vegetable oil production and compost worm farming.

THANKS!

Now 18 months on from our launch, we would like to thank the many people who have been a part of Oz Kids International. We cannot exist without your support; the incredible growth is a credit to you all. We cannot express enough, the value you have added to so many lives.

Regards

Dalwyn Webster.