Fambai Zvkakanaka (Travel Well)

FOSA Newsletter

Spring 2013

Website: www.fosakids.org ���� Email: fosakids80@gmail.com

by Francie B. Markham, FOSA Chair

At our annual board phone conference

in February, the FOSA Board of Directors

welcomed three new members to our

ranks. Tracey Masuku of Silver Springs,

MD is Zimbabwean by birth and s"ll has

many family members living there. Becca

Robson just graduated from San Diego

State University and is headed to Zimba-

bwe in April for a month of volunteer

work at Fairfield. Finally, Peter Okumah

of Lincoln, Nebraska was born in Ghana,

but lived a lot of his life in Zimbabwe; he

has already given so much "me to

revamping our website. We welcome all

three of these very capable individuals to

our board and look forward to working

with them in the months and years

ahead.

Also this summer we added Anne�e

Kambarami of McKinney, Texas and

Chris"an Kakez-A-Kapend of Madison,

NJ to our board, both African by birth

and background. We are really

celebra"ng our board’s connec"ons to

the African con"nent and to Zimbabwe

specifically. These connec"ons are so

important to our understanding of our

Fairfield children and staff and of the

African culture in general.

Insidethisissue:

Story from FCH Young Man 2

Update on College Students 2

Celebrating Lynn Norman 3

Container Support Needed 4

Sponsors Needed 4

FOSA Board Welcomes New Members

by Luke Makwanya, FCH Administrator Generally all children are looking healthy.

Some few children had chicken pox. They

received treatments from the hospital and

they are now fine.

Our 2 children who

are studying at Mutare

Polytechnic College

are now doing their

a9achments in Harare

for the whole year of

2013. The one who

was at Mutare Teach-

er's College only man-

aged to pass one addi"onal "O" level, giving

her a total of 4 passes. She is now doing a

secretarial course at Magamba Training

Centre. Two other children who sat

ordinary level examina"ons in 2012, came

out with 1 and 2 subjects. They are also

both at Magamba in Garment Construc-

"on and Hotel/Catering respec"vely.

All children who were a9ending school

at Zongoro Second-

ary transferred to

Hartzell High School.

We want to thank

Mr. Kawadza, Hart-

zell High School, for

accep"ng our chil-

dren and helping us

to nurture

them. We also

want to appreciate Mr. Mudede,

Hartzell Primary School Head, and

his team for their concerted effort

towards the success of our chil-

dren. Their precious contribu"on is

shown by the results our children

Fairfield Children’s Homes Update from Zimbabwe have a9ained.

We have started a poultry project and

we are hoping that this will generate

money in our quest to augment what we

are receiving from donors and other well

wishers. The first batch of 200 chickens

were mature on the 11th of March 2013

and one and half weeks later for the sec-

ond one.

Our field is doing excep"onally well. We

hope the rain will help give us a reasona-

ble output. This

will help us to

reduce cost of

buying mealie

meal. The

maize has al-

ready ripened.

By Justice M.

Nearly 16 years have passed

since I came to live

at Fairfield. It is a

privilege to live at

Fairfield Children’s

Homes where we

stay in homes of

10 children each.

As the eldest boy

in our family

(Nyasha’s house)

and at Fairfield, I

play important

roles. The factor which most as-

sures the reality of my life is edu-

ca"on, which I receive at a nearby

school, Hartzel High School.

Educa"on makes me think that I

am not here to stay forever, but

to acquire knowledge and be a

valuable person in society. It is

my main key to success, as it

forms the main basis of my future.

Currently I am doing my Form

Four studies and later in the year

will be siFng for my final Ordinary

Life at Fairfield and Beyond Level Na"onal Exams, which are

going to indicate the star"ng point

of my next life’s posi"on.

I will never let the dream

inside my heart vanish, for

this dream is a "ny seed

from which my beau"ful

tomorrow grows. Being a

doctor, working on the

medical field or being a sci-

en"st is my dream. For the

reality of the dream to

come true, I am working

very hard for the produc-

"on of the best grade results.

Research and consulta"on with

elders in the same fields are factors

which I have discovered to help me

achieve my goal.

Being a mul"-talented person is

something I celebrate, as educa"on

alone will not build my life and

character. My responsibili"es at

Fairfield are countless. As Fairfield

is running a small chicken project,

last weekend I was taught proper

methods to look aHer the chickens

and the correct, advisable ways of

keeping them. In our family, unlike

other local families, work is not

divided according to gender.

Everyone learns to be capable of

doing all sorts of work.

Time to refresh and find fun in

simple ways is crucial to me, as it

makes the happiest days of life.

However, due to so much study

and school work, my "me for

relaxing favorites is being occupied

and subs"tuted by reading and

studying. As a result, I love sleep-

ing, rather than any other hobbies!

Under normal circumstances,

watching ac"on American movies,

watching adventurous movies and

cycling are, for most, favorite

hobbies. In addi"on to the above, I

love brainstorming and deba"ng

with my friends and colleagues

over hidden ques"ons of the

unknown. For example, were we

humans going to live on earth

forever if Adam and Eve followed

God’s instruc"ons?

By Judy Ahlschwede, FOSA Board

Fairfield has had two more of our

young women move on to the next

phase of their life Journey. Chipo M.

and Lizzie, with the guidance of

Fairfield staff, have chosen a post-

secondary educa"on path. They are

both enrolled in Magamba Voca"onal

College near the mission. Chipo has

chosen to study Hotel and Catering,

while Lizzie is studying Garment

Construc"on. Sylvia has also

redirected her area of studies to a

secretarial course at Magamba.

These are all two year programs

that are a mixture of classroom

and a9achments (internships).

It is also exci"ng to update you on

Sarudzai, who is in her second year

of college, and Nyarai, who is in her

third. They are both doing a9ach-

ments in the capital city of Harare

this year. We are very proud of

them and their progress.

We are thrilled that these young

ladies will con"nue to have a place

to call home at Fairfield Children’s

Home when they are on holiday

breaks from their studies.

We want to sincerely thank all of

you who have helped to support

these young women in geFng them

to stage of their lives. It is FOSA’s

commitment to the children of

Fairfield that we fund educa"onal

programs to prepare them to be

produc"ve adults. This is

accomplished through our “Careers

for a Brighter Future Project” which

you can see when you visit on our

web-site: www.fosakids.org .

Dreams to Reality

Celebrating Lynn Norman FOSA and FCH recently lost Lynn Norman, a FOSA Board Member for many years and loving supporter of the

Fairfield Children's Home Family. Many have contributed their thoughts and pictures of Lynn to share with you.

I first met Lynn in 2004 on one of her many trips to Zimbabwe. I had just moved to Zimbabwe and was living at Fairfield. Her crazy

gray hair, quirky smile and laugh were what first stuck in my mind. She would later return and stay with me in the guest house many

"mes over the coming years and grew to be a close friend and part of our Fairfield family. She was known by everyone here as

Ambuya (Grandmother) Lynn or simply Gogo (Granny). She stayed with me during the first Christmas I was away from my family and

really helped me not to be sad over the holidays. She said that Fairfield was her family and that is why she wanted to spend Christ-

mas in Zimbabwe with us. We took many trips together during her visits and she made forever friends wherever she went. She was

so wise, and one of my favorite visits was the "me she spent days telling us her life story-very amazing! When I learned that Lynn had

passed away, I felt a great peace come over me. More than anyone else, I know for certain where Lynn is now. Gogo Lynn, rest in

peace with your Saviour. The children, staff and I will never forget your love, your support and everything you taught us by your

example; also, Honey the dog will never forget all those treats you used to bring her! Love, Janine

Lynn was one of the most honest and trustworthy people I have ever met. She had

a genuine love for the children at Fairfield and kept "her eyes on that prize" in her

decision making on our FOSA Board. She loved working with agriculture projects

that would benefit the children. I smile that she even leH the children a pet dog

Honey once when she was there; Honey is s"ll there. Lynn was my friend,

colleague, fellow journeyer, and lover of Africa. She is deeply missed by us here

and by so many 8500 mile from here at Old Mutare. Our precious children there

now have a very ac"ve guardian angel. Love, Francie

Lynn and I met at a func"on at the Bal"more Wash-

ington Conference for the UMC for the Zimbabwe

East Conference. I think it must have been 2006. We

became instant friends, easy to do with her, and she

almost immediately began her campaign to get me

connected to Fairfield. Over the next few months

we phoned each other and I told her about my

commitments to the two local hospitals and she said

she would con"nue to “nag” me un"l I agreed to

connect with Fairfield. When other members of my

church and I began to plan a visit to Mutare in 2008,

I called Lynn to see if there were things the children

needed that we could take. It was during that visit to

Fairfield that I developed the connec"on that Lynn

wanted me to have. I returned to Fairfield in 2010,

met Cecillia whom Lynn had spoken so lovingly of,

and in 2011 I became a member of the FOSA Board.

I will truly miss the physical presence of my good

friend, but she will always be a strong spiritual

companion. Melvin

Food Donations Desperately Need

for Container to Zimbabwe

Website: www.fosakids.org ���� Email: fosakids80@gmail.com

Sponsors Needed:

Meet Tinashe

DOB: May 2003 ���� Age: 9

Tinashe works hard in school, but has

the support of others, as he needs to

have his homework checked just to be

sure he is on the right track. He much

prefers to play and gets along well

with others. Tinashe works in the

garden and is always cheerful and a

joy to be around!

While FOSA is proud to be a

major contributor to FCH and

ensuring that the needs of all

children are being met, FCH

receives addi"onal support

from others. At this "me, they

are in need of items they have

typically had donated in large

quan""es or provided by the

government. Please consider

contribu"ng these items or for

these items to be purchased

and sent on the next container

to Zimbabwe.

-Working gloves; hosepipes;

gum boots; toilet cleaner;

bleach; dish liquid; & bathing

soap

-Money for food (mealie

meal - $280 + a month to

cover all Fairfield homes) or

large quan""es of sugar/

cooking oil / rice / dried

beans / peanut bu9er /

self-rising flour/ and Ramen

noodles

If you are able to contribute,

please send dona"ons to

FOSA, 5500 North Meridian

Street, Indianapolis, IN 46208,

and indicate that it is for food.