Isubilo

ISUBILO STORIES

New OVC Centre

The whole Centre has now been decorated except the older children’s lounge which is still being used as a carpentry room! Kristi has used bright, light primary colours to great effect making it very much a happy young people's place. The staff and children are so impressed and can't believe how lovely the centre is. Hours, days, weeks and months of painting were carried out by Kristi, along with a band of (mostly!) willing helpers. Julia and some OVC volunteers helped when they could, along with a handful of the children. A special mention has to go to John Saiti, an 18 year old on the OVC programme who worked tirelessly and enthusiastically for days on end!

Hundreds of books have been stamped and we are just awaiting Oswald the carpenter to put the finishing touches on the bookshelves for the library. Large terracotta tiles are being put on the floor so that we can complete the set up of the library. The children are getting so excited about the opportunity of using the many books - school books and novels for reading. It will be a huge help for them to have these resources available to them on a regular basis and it is our hope that the library will be used regularly before and after school to supplement their studies. A very big thanks to the many individuals and schools who have donated books to us for this purpose.

The brightly decorated reception / office area is well used and computers have been installed. Our study room has educational posters up and has been used for classes but we are waiting for the library to be finished before being using it regularly. The OVC team plan to have booster literacy classes for the children on the programme who are struggling to stay in school due to their poor reading and writing skills. The mukwa (local hardwood) desks made by Oswald (yes – he’s been busy!) really are good quality.

The large OVC main hall has been painted and as a special touch we painted an Isubilo tree on the back wall with each of the children contributing by using their handprints as a leaf on the tree.

We were proud last weekend to use that very hall to host a national table tennis tournament! Teams from a good number of towns including Lusaka came. Four tables were erected in a row down the hall and youth and adults, including a team from the Zambian army participated. We won first and second prizes in the junior section (and a cup to prove it!) which amazed the many coaches there. An international Chinese coach also attended, and assumed that Isubilo was a school. When he found out that the children at Isubilo were OVCs he offered to come and coach them for three days! We are now in training for the 2011 All African Games held in Zambia.

As a celebration of the new centre, each OVC received a ‘goodie bag’ with a notebook, pen, crayons and a small toy. The kids were thrilled with the gift and with their handprints on the tree!

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Bernard Daka

Bernard Daka (mentioned in a previous update) is 17 years old and is studying carpentry at the Twikatane Training Centre. He has already started to show promise as a carpenter, building stools and bookshelves. He will be graduating from the program in August and then will be able to start working full time. It can be so hard to ‘make it’ as a carpenter with so many others around. We hope that the training he has received will enable him to stand out from the other.

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Given

Given, who finished her grade 12 exams last year helped in the Isubilo clinic for four months before having a trial period in the office. She is being a huge help in the office and we are very impressed at her speed in picking things up. She is learning to man the reception and do all the entering of money in and out. Through working in the different departments she is able to find out where her skills and interests lie, therefore making it easier to choose her further education.

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NEW OVC CENTRE BERNARD DAKA GIVEN	ISUBILO STORIES New OVC Centre The whole Centre has now been decorated except the older children’s lounge which is still being used as a carpentry room! Kristi has used bright, light primary colours to great effect making it very much a happy young people's place. The staff and children are so impressed and can't believe how lovely the centre is. Hours, days, weeks and months of painting were carried out by Kristi, along with a band of (mostly!) willing helpers. Julia and some OVC volunteers helped when they could, along with a handful of the children. A special mention has to go to John Saiti, an 18 year old on the OVC programme who worked tirelessly and enthusiastically for days on end! Hundreds of books have been stamped and we are just awaiting Oswald the carpenter to put the finishing touches on the bookshelves for the library. Large terracotta tiles are being put on the floor so that we can complete the set up of the library. The children are getting so excited about the opportunity of using the many books - school books and novels for reading. It will be a huge help for them to have these resources available to them on a regular basis and it is our hope that the library will be used regularly before and after school to supplement their studies. A very big thanks to the many individuals and schools who have donated books to us for this purpose. The brightly decorated reception / office area is well used and computers have been installed. Our study room has educational posters up and has been used for classes but we are waiting for the library to be finished before being using it regularly. The OVC team plan to have booster literacy classes for the children on the programme who are struggling to stay in school due to their poor reading and writing skills. The mukwa (local hardwood) desks made by Oswald (yes – he’s been busy!) really are good quality. The large OVC main hall has been painted and as a special touch we painted an Isubilo tree on the back wall with each of the children contributing by using their handprints as a leaf on the tree. We were proud last weekend to use that very hall to host a national table tennis tournament! Teams from a good number of towns including Lusaka came. Four tables were erected in a row down the hall and youth and adults, including a team from the Zambian army participated. We won first and second prizes in the junior section (and a cup to prove it!) which amazed the many coaches there. An international Chinese coach also attended, and assumed that Isubilo was a school. When he found out that the children at Isubilo were OVCs he offered to come and coach them for three days! We are now in training for the 2011 All African Games held in Zambia. As a celebration of the new centre, each OVC received a ‘goodie bag’ with a notebook, pen, crayons and a small toy. The kids were thrilled with the gift and with their handprints on the tree! [BACK TO TOP] Bernard Daka Bernard Daka (mentioned in a previous update) is 17 years old and is studying carpentry at the Twikatane Training Centre. He has already started to show promise as a carpenter, building stools and bookshelves. He will be graduating from the program in August and then will be able to start working full time. It can be so hard to ‘make it’ as a carpenter with so many others around. We hope that the training he has received will enable him to stand out from the other. [BACK TO TOP] Given Given, who finished her grade 12 exams last year helped in the Isubilo clinic for four months before having a trial period in the office. She is being a huge help in the office and we are very impressed at her speed in picking things up. She is learning to man the reception and do all the entering of money in and out. Through working in the different departments she is able to find out where her skills and interests lie, therefore making it easier to choose her further education. [BACK TO TOP]
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