My Dear Friends in Third World Group,

Greetings from Zimbabwe. We are now in our winter months here, so far we have been fortunate and it has not been very cold, but it seems as though the really cold is just starting so we expect it to be very cold in July. All the jackets are out now and we just try to keep warm, but you can imagine some of the poor people who have no jackets etc, especially the children. They must be very cold.

Last week a very generous church group came here and gave the old folks a beautiful new blanket, a heavy warm jacket and a new T.V plus a video machine, they are really very fortunate Our electricity is not always on but when it they can watch some of the programmes at least it breaks their day for them.

Spar, the big supermarket, has given us garden tools, medicine and seeds for planting, plus wiring and poles to make a nice garden. The City Council has also given us some men to dig the land so in time we will have a nice vegetable garden, we will then be able to sell the produce to Spar and others, and it will hopefully be a source of income for the home.

On our Christmas begging tour, we went to one of the hotels, they gave us a voucher for two to spend one night in the hotel, we did a raffle for it and the lucky winner enjoyed her time in the hotel together with her friend. The money generated from the raffle was for us to start a rabbit project. Sister has now started a rabbit income generating project, I was down looking at them, there are 6 rabbits plus one male and I believe some of the female ones are soon to give birth, so we should have a healthy diet for the old folks plus again a bit of income for the home.

I am waiting to hear from a trust fund if they are going to give us some cash to build a new dining room and kitchen, l think they will definitely give us for the kitchen but I am hoping that they will also give for the dining room, the present one is full of cracks and ready to fall down any time.

Please keep that wee project in your prayers.

I take this opportunity of once again thanking you all for your support of our Home. The old people are very grateful.

Lots of love and prayers.

Sr. Louise Malone

Franciscan Missionary Sisters for Africa

Franciscan Convent

42 Park Road

Mutare

Zimbabwe

tel:                     +263 20 637 39

email:      fransrs@syscom.co.za