The buildings of the King George VI Centre
are now over fifty years old. The maintenance and repairs are
always necessary, especially after heavy rains. This remains an
annual expense. Major problems are the roofs of the classrooms
where the wood is seriously damaged by termites.
The roofs of the buildings and the gutters
of the Centre often leak, which in turn leads to damage to the
ceilings. These are constantly repaired, but this cannot
compensate for the heavy rains that fall every year. The gutters
need to be replaced, to guarantee a long lifetime.
The sanitary facilities are also to be
replaced. Often, parts of the toilets and flushing systems
become worn out. As a result, a large amount of water is wasted.
In 2007, in collaboration with the Catholic Church of Boskoop
and Reeuwijk, and with a additional help from the Dutch
“Vastenaktie”, 15,000 Euros were available to spend on the
maintenance of buildings. The amount was supplemented with 5000
Euros by the ‘Bijzondere Gezondheidszorg’ (Special Healthcare
Foundation) so that the total amount came to 20,000 Euros, as
was budgeted.
In 2006, computers were donated to the
King George VI Centre. For children with disabilities, computers
are more than just a tool. Computers can help children with
disabilities in their participation in society; to gain
knowledge, and to learn how to do a specific job. The children
can therefore be economically independent. In the King George VI
Memorial School, the computers are managed and maintained by an
IT teacher in the computer lab. For homework the children have
access to two computers in the study which the children use
collectively.
In 2005 and 2006, many people have
contributed to our special campaign for a new school bus for
KGVI, including mytylschool” De Ruimte”.
The King George VI Centre has chosen to
purchase a pick-up instead of a wheelchair bus, and to modify
it. The last bus was old and in very poor condition. Children
were placed in it while in their wheelchair because the bus had
no special facilities for wheelchairs. This resulted in
dangerous situations when the bus drove: children’s wheelchairs
had to be kept in place by other passengers.
In the autumn JKZ organized an emergency
action: due to the massive inflation the Centre was almost
forced to send home half of the children by the beginning of
2006. The goal to acquire 17.000 Euros by the end of 2005 was
achieved. This meant that no children from the school and the
Centre had to leave in 2006: "With the good news from Jabulani
Kids we were able to take back all the children and also take in
12 of the more desperate children on our waiting list. Without
the added support none of this would have been possible", the
director of KGVI wrote.
Part of the money was also paid to all
staff as a little bonus for their hard work in 2005. They
constantly have to enter into loans for everyday expenses.
Throughout the year, everyone had struggled immensely with their
finances.
The positive twist at the end of the year
was that there was also enthusiasm for a number of workshops.
There was a teambuilding workshop for housefathers and
housemothers, and a leadership workshop for the heads of
departments. Both workshops went very well, and everyone was
full of inspiration and good intentions. The director of the
Centre wrote: “I can't tell you how good it is to be able to
make plans again instead of just worrying about where the next
million will come from. So as you can see we are back in very
positive form. Your support has really revitalized us all!”
In 2005, with funding from foundation
Jabulani Kids Zimbabwe, we invested in the winter preparation of
a few units. The old living room of one of the units, Famous
Five, was very large.
This was built on the model of an old boarding school, and
therefore it was very cold in the winter. Now this living room
is modified and Famous Five have a smaller, cozy, but warmer
room. The housing unit of the youngest children, Sunshine, was
equipped with a carpet on which they now play. Before the carpet
the floor was too cold and too hard to play on. Children can now
leave their wheelchairs and crawl around on the carpet and play
together.
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Since 2005, the Centre offers shelter to
orphans who have nowhere to go during the school holidays. HIV /
AIDS disrupt many families in Zimbabwe, and also at KGVI there
are constantly more children who have lost one or both parents.
The orphans can now stay in one of the units under the
supervision of a ‘home parent’.
In 2005, four staff followed training in
counseling: two staff members of the therapy department, a
teacher for hearing impaired children and the physically
disabled secretary of the Centre. All four are now holding
regular counseling sessions.
The staff of the King George VI is trained
constantly. Trainings are offered among others in the areas of
management, public relations and administration.
In early 2004, the new music room was
completed. This is now used daily. A new carpet has been placed
in the room so that the children can sit comfortably and the
acoustics of the room is better.
There is one piano and all marimbas of the
previous school band, Liyana. The children's choir the
‘Linderakkertjes’ from Nijmegen contributed to this project.
Prudence, the singer of Liyana, gives music lessons. In the
afternoon there are marimba lessons, and sometimes a
professional music teacher is asked to give lessons. With the
result: "He has formed a sort of band with piano, keyboard,
marimba, drums and shakers. So the music room is always rocking
with sound!” (director KGVI).
When at the beginning of the year new
children arrive, some need a new wheelchair. The Centre buys
wheelchairs locally from the organization LoReWo (Local
Rehabilitation Workshop), based in Bulawayo. LoReWo obtains used
wheelchairs from Norway. The wheelchair must always be specially
adapted to the individual needs of the children. Further, high
quality pillows are needed so the children can sit comfortably
and focus on school work. Emmaus Bilthoven contributed, among
other things, to this and other tools for "Independent Living"
for the children.
In 2002, foundation Jabulani Kids Zimbabwe
raised funds for the construction of an orchard in the grounds
of the Centre. This orchard is partly supported by NCDO.
The irrigation of the orchard is done with
the wastewater from Centre. In order to get this water, a sewage
pump was installed together with a drain.
The orchard is a great success: “The irrigation for the orchard is now well established and is watering all the fruit trees. The trees are growing well and we have been able to pick some pawpaws (papaya) from the trees. The other fruit will take much longer to produce. We have other plants growing around the trees: for instance pumpkins for the children to eat.