Summer 2018 Newsletter
2018 has been a fantastic year at City of Hope. God has blessed us with happy, healthy children and bright students, eager to learn, both academically and spiritually. Our faithful donor partners are helping us to further our construction projects and to continue the work that God has asked us to do. We are blessed to be making a difference in the lives of the children of Tanzania each and every day.
Thank you for you support!
City of Hope Girls Rock!
Our girls regularly take time to help local widows with chores such as cleaning and gardening as part of their leadership training program.
Stacey Sauerberg Women's Leadership Initiative Highlights
Our secondary school girls have been fortunate to participate in many special programs thanks to this leadership initiative being led by Hilda and Catherine.
- The older girls have each been matched with four younger girls in a mentor relationship. The mentors went through peer/mentor training to be able to better equip them for this role.
- The girls took baking lessons (cakes, breads, & samosas), and then learned soap-making. Both of these skills could be profitable small businesses.
- This being a circumcision year, the girls have embarked on anti-FGM (female genital mutilation) campaigns in nearby primary schools. As the face of these campaigns, our girls will give presentations to the primary school girls. As a follow-up, they will be forming/leading girls' clubs to keep the momentum and the anti-FGM conversation going.
2018 Mission Teams Impact COH
In April, we once again welcomed Duke University Nursing Students to the COH campus. Nine students and their clinical instructor spent about ten days doing student assessments, teaching wound care and feminine hygiene classes, and observing at our Amani Medical Center. We look forward to a second team of students in August.
We had a visiting team from Hickory United Methodist Church in Chesapeake, VA as well as a group from Martinsville, VA at COH in late June/early July. The group worked hard, along with some of our kids who were on their school break, to build 160 new desks for our primary school. Two teachers in the group spent time giving extra tutoring in English to some of our students. We were also blessed to have our Board Treasurer, Creed Taylor, and his wife, Judy, in the group. Creed preached at both the City of Hope Children's Church, as well as one of the local churches. The group did enjoy some leisure time with a day trip to nearby Tarime for lunch and some local shopping, as well as a 2-day safari to the Serengeti National Park. Thanks to the members of this team (and their families and supporters) for all of the hard work they put in for the children at City of Hope.
To plan your own mission trip, contact our office.
City of Hope is on fire for God!! This is one of our visiting worship teams. Their messages are so powerful that they are able to keep our children engaged for up to five hours in one worship meeting.
CHALLENGE WEEKENDS
We have Challenge Weekends periodically with visiting worship leaders and guest musicians. One of our themes was Having a Sharp Focus. One of the messages focused on greatness: God is the source of all greatness and He wants you to think great thoughts. His agenda is to raise great people to change nations and the world. Another message was about putting in the work to build a strong foundation as that is the most important part of your character. We were able to relate this to the kids as they have watched the arduous process of digging and preparing solid foundations for the 4-story dorms that are being constructed on our campus. Building a strong foundation is hard, dirty work, but is necessary to make a stronger structure in the end. The older girls were blessed to hear from three accomplished women who stressed the importance of both education and following the Lord. They were advised to let God lead them to a husband who truly loves them to be able to build a family that will serve God together. They learned many practical steps for becoming women of substance. These Challenge Weekends not only reinforce the Christian teachings that the children hear daily, but they also get to hear messages and music that inspires them to continue their Christian journey.
Construction Updates
Our secondary school leaders will soon be able to move into their new home, adjacent to the Dr. John Chacha Secondary School.
The concrete foundations for two 4-story dorms have been poured. Government requirements caused delays for this project, but now we can start to build walls. Our secondary students look forward to having their own dorms, separate from the younger students. These dorms will allow us to attract more boarding students, helping our sustainability.
Thanks to a matching grant, all donations towards completion of the Secondary School dorms (up to $100,000) will be matched!
$ 50 = $ 100
$ 250 = $ 500
$ 500 = $ 1,000
Destiny Primary School Upgrade
Thanks to a generous grant, our primary school is getting a much-needed renovation. When originally built, we used the funds available to build a part masonry/part metal structure. While this building has served its purpose, sound carries between classrooms, and rain on the tin roof makes teaching almost impossible. With our outstanding secondary school now on campus, it's time to upgrade Destiny to the same standard. Improvements will include:
- raising/supporting the roof with columns
- adding full masonry plastered walls
- adding ceiling board
- tiling the concrete floors
- painting the roof
- new doors and windows
- new desks (built by our mission teams--see story above)
City of Hope Executive Director Regina Chacha Named Eastern Mennonite University Alumnus of the Year (click photo to read the story).
Annual Banquet
Saturday, October 20, 2018 5:00 pm
Details to follow via mail, email, & Facebook.