Nelson boost for Zimbabwe orphans

In an increasing connection between Nelson and Zimbabwe, Rai Valley dairy farmers Judith and Paul Todd have been helping at a children's orphanage in Bulawayo.

The orphanage has a 109-hectare farm running just five dairy cows, and Mr Todd, whose great uncle Sir Garfield Todd was prime minister of Rhodesia, is using his skills to develop it as a means to help fund the orphanage.

A big community project gets underway in two weeks to renovate and then auction a Richmond house to raise funds for the village.

The folk at Khayelihle Children's Village (KCV) are doing well. The benefit for the children living in the village, which now number over 90, is captured for us in a little chap named Happison. He made Judith his adopted mother on our last trip but even she couldn't get a smile out of him; he's had a particularly sad background and was a pretty lonely boy.

But this time around he was full of life and beaming from ear to ear with a wide grin whenever you called his name. The security of a loving family home does wonders for the soul.

We saw a little of the harshness of the African environment on this trip. The village had received no rain since we were last there in May. The ground was parched and the cattle had lost a lot of condition. They had been living on only dry stalky grass and a little meal for the milking cows. One friesian cow was milking when we were there last time and since then she had calved again and was back in milk, so I wouldn't like to think how much of a dry period she had. The farm staff had continued on with the techniques we had showed them last time and the water trough was still operating in the yards and the milking cows were getting exclusive access to the dairy meal and water at night. The five dairy cows were producing about 10 litres of milk a day and they began to increase production while we were there as the rains provided some green grass for them to eat.

We were able to get four hectares ploughed and ready for planting using the Massey Ferguson tractor and disc plough. The ground was initially very hard, but once we got one rain it all became a whole lot easier. This rain was like a "Rai Valley downpour" (an inch-an-hour stuff) and it lasted for a couple of hours. The ground soon became sticky and little rivers were running down the roadways.

We bought maize and sorghum seed and fertiliser to sow with it. They only sow at around 25,000 seeds per hectare (about a quarter of the rates used in New Zealand), so it will be interesting to see what sort of yield we get. We ran out of time to plant the seed, but the farm staff planted it, by hand, soon after we left. We have had word that it has germinated and is growing well. We pray the rains will continue and the harvest will be good.

A fence built by farm staff is an eight-strand barb and plain-wire fence with steel posts and droppers. No treated posts in Zimbabwe! It cost about US$10 (NZ$13.80) per metre. All the materials are available locally; in fact, the whole economy is starting to lift again with the shops full of food thanks to trading being conducted mainly in US dollars. We would like to take a solar-fence unit with us next time to fence the rest of the farm at a lower cost.

The farm staff really caught onto the vision of what we are trying to achieve and couldn't do enough for us. We have left them fencing materials to continue repairing the boundary fences. Hopefully, it won't take long for the farm to provide some cash to help the village funds.

We were able to make some valuable contacts on this trip. As well as getting to know some of the church folk in Bulawayo, I visited an Agricultural Research Centre ( Icrisat) whose focus is on growing crops in dryland regions. They are experimenting with varieties of sorghums and running field days to teach the local farmers how best to grow them.

They are advocating planting beans with the maize to add protein to the feed when stored in the pit. We planted some lucerne in the garden as well as two varieties of grass which grow well in dry conditions. We will be able to plant these out once the maize is harvested.

I was also able to check out some farm machinery dealers and it would appear that most equipment is available either in Zimbabwe or South Africa. I was quoted a new 75 HP Massey Ferguson Tractor for US$22,000 (NZ$30,300), so that makes the ones in New Zealand pretty dear.

They have about two hectares of garden where they grow potatoes, maize, onions, tomatoes, root veges and kale; yes, they use kale like we would cabbage. The garden is irrigated and produces really well; it takes a lot to keep more than 100 people in vegetables and a lot of effort goes into this patch of land.

We are planning to return to Zimbabwe in late March 2010 to harvest and put down the crops. We will need to get some machinery organised then and buy some cows. We expect to be at KCV for a couple of months next autumn to get the farm system set up and the staff confident running it.

As with the last trip we were part of a team from Annesbrook Church who went to KCV to complete a house started by the Zimbabwean people.

Brent Horner completed the installation of toilets and showers, while Jim Smith turned his hand to the electrical work. Both these guys did an incredible job in trying conditions and with materials not used in NZ any more.

Judith and the other ladies in the group, Karen Horner and Helen Bowater, turned their hands to painting the concrete plaster walls. With the house now nearly complete there will be room for another 20 children in this house soon. There is no shortage of orphans in Zimbabwe.

While the team was determined to complete the house we enjoyed time with the children as well. These kids love having you join in their games and do family things with them. Brent even gave some of the teenage boys some driving lessons. The children love to sing, and the Sunday morning worship service is a chance for them to praise God with their voices.

The work at KCV is done through KiwiLink, the mission arm of Christian Churches New Zealand, of which Annesbrook is a member church.

As part of the fundraising for Zimbabwe, KiwiLink has been donated a house by the Richmond Mall. This house has been moved to a new section and will be renovated. KiwiLink will be selling the house by auction in the early part of 2010.

Annesbrook Church is also planning other fundraising activities for another team to carry out more maintenance work at KCV in April 2010. We are very encouraged by the enthusiasm of Nelson people to support the work in Zimbabwe.

Zimbabwe is a beautiful land, and while it is currently very rundown, its people are not without hope.

Scenes such as the Victoria Falls and the stunning sunsets make us want to go back and be with the lovely Zimbabwean people.

- © Fairfax NZ News