Kathleen T. Pelley - My Charities

My Charities

Makumbi Orphanage in Zimbabwe

Excerpt from the Zimbabwe letter (full text of letter below):

"There are shortages of fuel and many food commodities. We are all hoping for light at the end of the tunnel but there isn't any in sight at present. We pray that somehow change for the better will somehow emerge."

The Giant King is a book about kindness, and the proceeds from this book will go to those who are most in need of our kindness.

AIDS Orphans in Zimbabwe

For the past five years, my family and I have been involved with Makumbi Children's Home in Zimbabwe, Africa - a home for AIDS orphans. The pandemic of AIDS has left more than 600,000 orphans in Zimbabwe. Makumbi is home to about 90 children, ranging in age from a few weeks to boys and girls of eighteen.

Recently, the situation in Zimbabwe has worsened considerably, leaving even more orphans desperately in need of our help. My proceeds from "The Giant King" will go directly to Makumbi Children's Home.

To learn more about Makumbi, and the Orphan Train Project, go to http://www.rotaryorphantrain.org.

We are now sending our contributions to our orphanage in Zimbabwe at Sustainable Living Foundation.

February 2008

Thanks to all our friends and supporters, we raised $11, 045 for the children of Makumbi in 2007. Heribert Muller, the new director of the home told us that this money will be used for urgently needed renovations in the children's homes. He also wrote that, "Provisions are so difficult to get and so expensive. We managed to import some milk powder for the babies. With God on our side we'll manage." He also sent us a CD of the Makumbi Children's Home Choir. Last November two world-class musicians, Chris Birkett and Lee Ward flew out from U.K. to Zimabwe in order to record a Christmas song to be launched on World AIDS day. Here are some of the children's stories that were brought back to us after that visit.

Tinashe, age 3
"Tinashe was just two days old when he was discovered by chance behind a beer hall. People heard a baby's crying and, on investigation, discovered the infant - who had been abandoned and partially buried - being attacked by dogs. He was taken to social services and, a week later, to Makumbi Children's Home whre he now enjoys a human being's most basic right: the opportunity of life."

Precious, age 13
"Before Makumbi, I wa living with my parents in Harare and then they died. I was seven years old...After that I was feeling lonely, but now that I lvie at Makumbi I have lots of friends and I feel happy. When I grow up I want to be a person who can help those with HIV/AIDS because my parents died of AIDS."

Theodora Kapikinyu, age 28
"I grew up at Makumbi. I always felt secure. I don't know what my life could have been if Makumbi wasn't there!"

The full name of the home is "Makumbi Upfumihwenyika Children's Home." Upfumihwenyika means "Wealth of the Country" since this is what the children are.

October 2007

Our annual fundraising letter has been mailed. This year we have joined forces with the Clerk Family in CA and will be sending all donations to Makumbi through their Sustainable Living Foundation. As Mother Teresa said, "TOGETHER we can do something beautiful for God."

February 2007
New Hope Academy in TN has sent another generous contribution of $375 for the children of Makumbi. Thank you again.

January 2007
In December we raised $12,000 for Makumbi. The new director of the Home is Heribert Muller.He sends a big THANK YOU to all of you who helped us toraise this money for the AIDS orphans. Life in Zimbabwe continues to grow more and more difficult. Inflation stands at 1026%. The home has a new generator, and so now instead of sitting in the dark because of power cuts, the children will be able to read and study. Our friends, the Clark family in California, are getting ready for their 8th Annual Run for Zimbabwe Orphans on March 25, 2007. Check out their website for more information (Go to Home page, click on links, then click on The Sustainable Living Foundation.)

Letter from Zimbabwe

Here is an August 2005 letter from Roland von Nidda, the director of Makumbi Children's Home in Zimbabwe:

"Sorry for being out of touch for so long. No doubt you will have learned that much has been happening in Zimbabwe. There was the destruction of thousands of houses of the urban poor - an exercise called 'murambatsvina' (get rid of trash). The economy is in dire straits and inflation is rocketing again.
"There are shortages of fuel and many food commodities. We are all hoping for light at the end of the tunnel but there isn't any in sight at present. We pray that somehow change for the better will somehow emerge.
"In the present circumstances it is extremely difficult to keep things running at Makumbi. But somehow we manage. Luckily we have a good team approach in the schools, Children's Home, parish (with its 33 churches), and training centre. The Children's Home is continuing quite well. Sister Flora, the matron, has good contacts in the right places and manages to get food, soap, fuel etc (which are all difficult to come by). The children are well. It is school holiday time now and many are away with families. It is good for them to get out of the place in the holidays and to get to know people outside the Home. It stands them in good stead when the time comes for them to leave the Home. Unfortunately we lost little Chipo. She was about 3 years old and died of AIDS. A good number of the children are HIV positive. After a long time with no doctor at the hospital we now have a doctor. He will be screening all the kids to establish definitively which ones are positive."

Neglected and Abused Children in America

The Giant King cover The publisher of The Giant King, Child and Family Press, is an imprint of the Child Welfare League of America. The publisher's proceeds from the sale of this book support the CWLA's programs for children in need.

For more information, visit the CWLA site at http://www.cwla.org.