Fambai Zvkakanaka (Travel Well)

FOSA Newsletter

Winter 2014

by Francie Markham, Former Chairperson

Let me begin with a spirit of excitement

that, on January 1, 2014, Melvin Kelly

became our fourth

chairperson of FOSA;

he has been an out-

standing board member

and will be equally

amazing as our leader.

Welcome, Melvin!

As I exit after three

years as Chair of the

FOSA Board, this is a

prime time to reflect. The year 2014 is

the tenth birthday of the homes being

completely built and occupied. What a

year to celebrate! I am proud of our six

girls in college now and of Chipo, who just

passed her "A" levels and will be our first

Inside this issue:

An Update from Zimbabwe 2

Board Member Visits FCH 3

Photos from Zimbabwe 2 & 3

FCH Youth Goes to Poland 4

FOSA Address Change 4

FOSA Welcomes New Board Chair by Melvin Kelly, Chairperson

As I begin this new year of 2014, I want to

express my sincere appreciation to the

FOSA Board of Directors for its

confidence in electing me to serve

as Board Chair for this year. I

thank my immediate predecessor,

Francie Markham, and those who

preceded her, for bringing the

organization to its present level of

development.

My specific point of focus this

year will be to streamline our

administrative processes and

procedures in a way that allows us to spend

the vast majority of our time on raising

funds for, and assisting in the implementing

of, efforts at Fairfield Children’s Homes,

which advance the vision of the young

people who brought Fairfield Outreach

and Sponsors Association into existence.

It is my hope

and prayer

that my small,

God-given

talents will be

magnified

through the

work of the

talented

people on the

FOSA Board,

the FOSA Advisory Board and their

counterparts on the Fairfield Advisory

Committee, so that together we will bring

hope of a better life to the children of

Fairfield Children’s Homes.

loved every child at FCH, traveled there

twice a year, and brought many valued

members to our board, like Melvin,

before we lost her to cancer in 2013.

After traveling to Zimbabwe in

November with my husband (his first trip

and my ninth), I was reminded of the

valuable staff members who work with

FCH children every day: the administra-

tors, mothers, relief mothers, aunties,

gardeners, night watchman, and

teachers. For each of them, he or she

influences children constantly in loving

ways. Kudos! Finally, from the depths of

my heart, I want to lift up each sponsor

and donor for what you provide to

Fairfield; your assistance changes lives.

You are the lifeblood of Fairfield and we

ask for your continued support, along

with your sharing FCH with others.

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

young person to leave Fairfield and go to

university. Congrats, Chipo, and many

thanks are sent to all at Fairfield and at the

Babyfold, who encouraged and loved her

along this precious

journey.

As you know, I am so

happy that we now have

four Africans on our

board; their perspec-

tives are so valuable and

critical in our decision-

making. Additionally, I

happily remember the

five truck containers, which have left from

Columbia, SC, over the years, filled with

donated goods headed to Old Mutare; God

is an abundant provider. Sadly, when I look

back, I also remember the death of Lynn

Norman, one of our board members who

Celebrations and Reflections from FOSA Exiting Chairperson

Melvin with Cecillia Thobani, Assistant

Administrator at FCH.

by Luke Makwanya,

FCH Administrator

I believe that children are priceless

treasures and gifts from God and as

such, it is my conviction that the

physical, emotional, psychological and

spiritual needs of children should be

amply and competently met. I consider

the care of children God entrusts into

our care to be a very important respon-

sibility. FOSA through Fairfield

Children’s Homes is not only committed

to the care and well-being of our

children, but also strive to better the

quality of all children.

Children are our most valuable

resource, as they are the leaders of our

future. What we give to them today

shapes our tomorrow. The education,

healthcare, emotional and spiritual

support is what FOSA and Fairfield

Children’s Homes unequivocally give to

children to

ensure a

brighter

future.

CHRISTMAS

PARTY

We want

to express

our grati-

tude to

Bonne Naas

and her

husband Dave for throwing a Christmas

party for our children. They made

children happy during their holiday. We

want to thank the Barry family for the

party they had with our children. We

Our Children, Our Future: An Update from Zimbabwe also want to thank St. Peter United

Methodist Church for Christmas gifts. Last

but not least we thank FOSA for the

Christmas gifts that you graced

our Fairfield Children’s Homes

staff with. May God bless you all.

EDUCATION

Schools were opened on a high

note. Our children, both at

primary and high school, started

very well. We have 56 children

who are at primary school and 14

children at high school. Two

children are still waiting for the

ordinary level results. The little

ones who started going to school

(crèche) this year are looking

happy; you can hear them singing

new songs every day. This shows

the enthusiasm in them to learn. I

foresee these children will become great

young people in the near future.

We would like to

congratulate one of our

children who made us

proud by passing her

Advanced Level Exami-

nations. She came out

with 10 points out of

the possible 15 points.

She is eager to go to

university. She is on

cloud nine celebrating

her success. We hope

to continue giving her the necessary

support in her endeavors.

HEALTH

We would like to thank the Most High

God for healing one of our children who

has developed brain tumor. We also

want to extend our gratitude to FOSA

which helped us with the support to foot

his medical

bills. The first

operation of

draining the

fluid from the

brain was done

and we are

glad that it was

successful. The

second opera-

tion of remov-

ing the tumor

is yet to be

done, but the

doctors in-

formed us that

it will be done

soon. We con-

tinue to raise funds for his surgery, as

we do not yet know the final costs. We

are kindly asking for your prayers, so

that this operation will be successful. We

hope God will make everything possible.

He will never fail us.

PROJECTS

Last season we managed to harvest

nine and half tons of maize for our

children. This season we planted maize

and sugar beans, so that our children

will have both carbohydrates and

proteins. In our garden we are

replanting vegetables and we have just

planted tomatoes for consumption and

selling. We also keep chickens at a small

scale, and we are hoping to grow to a

larger scale.

These photos were taken during Bonnie and Dave Naas’ trip to FCH in December 2013. Read and see more on Page 3.

Sponsors Needed: Meet Shamiso

DOB: 8/28/2010 Age: 3

Shamiso is the youngest child of her family. She is a happy child and her name means “Miracle” in Shona.

by Bonnie Naas, FOSA Board Member

It was a huge blessing to be able to spend Christmas at Fairfield Children’s Homes. Although I have been visiting FCH for 10 years, this was my first opportunity to spend Christmas there. Thanks to the generosity of some friends and family we were able to have a Braai (BBQ) on Christmas Day. Many of the older children and moms helped to prepare the delicious side dishes of potatoes, tomatoes, and cole slaw. Adhering to the tradition that the men cook the meat, several of the older boys helped with the grilling duties, a job, I might add, they loved. That is what a Braai is all about, the grilled meat! As the preparations were underway, the younger kids gathered around the cooking hut to sing and dance. It was a great time to mingle with the family of FCH. A few hours later, the feast was ready and it was time to eat. And boy, oh boy, did the kids eat! Many went back for second helpings, and maybe even thirds. It was great fun to see some of the littlest children sitting in the grass with heaping plates. They were all so happy to enjoy what they call "fizzy drinks" (Coca-Cola). Because the children were on Christmas holidays during our entire trip, my hus-

band and I were able to spend quality time with most of them, as they were not busy with their school work, studies and chores around the house. The atmosphere was somewhat carefree, which allowed for great fun playing, dancing, coloring, and even watching movies on a laptop we brought. Ironically, their favorite movie was “Annie”. They wanted to watch it again and again and again. One of our FCH children, Chris, was recently diagnosed with a brain tumor and had been in the hospital for a month. We witnessed the emotional homecoming when Chris returned from the hospital after a procedure to have fluid drained from his brain. At that point he was very weak and unable to move around. By the end of our visit, he was up and walking on his own. Chris will have surgery again soon to remove the tumor. Please be in prayer for this precious child that has captured the heart of those who have had the blessing of meeting him. After 10 years of visiting Fairfield Children’s Homes, I fall in love over and over again with the children and I am ever grateful for the dedicated and loving staff.

FOSA Board Member Spends Christmas at Fairfield

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

On 11 June, 2013, I began my journey to

Poland. I was selected to be on a

Zimbabwean soccer team. We camped at

Harare Emerald Children's Home for

three days; our group consisted of three

girls and three boys, with four leaders

accompanying us. We arrived at Harare

Airport at 8:40 and we flew out at 9.

The airplane first landed in Lusaka,

Zambia, Africa; next, we were in

Amsterdam, Netherlands. Then we got

into another plane and travelled just two

hours until we reached Poland. There we

were taken by someone for fifteen

minutes to the Reytan Hotel.

On Friday the games started. We played

as five teams: Finland, Germany, Italy,

Belgium, and, of course, Zimbabwe. We

only challenged Germany. On Saturday

the competition continued. Sunday was

the final game and Poland 1 became

number 1 and Poland 2 was second. Then

on Monday we visited a lot of places in

Poland; our sponsor guided us. After our

brief stay in Poland, on Tuesday we

returned to Zimbabwe. We had a nice

journey.

FOSA is so proud of Rumbidzai; the

opportunity to travel outside the

country is rare for one of

Fairfield's children.

Congratulations, Rumbidzai!

FCH: A Unique Chance to Go to Poland to Play Football (Soccer) by Rumbidzai, House 4

7914 West Dodge Road #122

Omaha, NE 68114

We have a new address for donations and correspondence. We can assure you that this change will not affect the processing of

your donations or sponsorships. Our corporate address remains in Indianapolis; however we now ask that you send all donations,

sponsorships and notes to: FOSA, 7914 West Dodge Road #122, Omaha, NE 68114.

Note: FOSA’s New Address