Schools Working to Improve Lives in Rural Zimbabwe

ASAP Africa is thrilled to announce the receipt of two generous donations from schools with students looking to change lives. Students in the seventh grade at Einstein Middle School in Shoreline, Washington raised close to $500 for Zimbabwean school children through events including a community walk, bake sale, and car wash. We are very appreciative of the selflessness they showed and their willingness to aid in the sustainability process.
Our other recent donation came from the opposite side of the country, where two kindhearted seniors at Lakeland High School in Jermyn, Pennsylvania, are working toward a cause. Sam Parry and Sarah Liparulo have, so far, raised over $500 through coffee sales for ASAP and are not nearly finished fund raising. These two students decided to aid ASAP and work toward the goal of self-reliance in rural Zimbabwe as a senior project. We are so happy that these schools have chosen ASAP as their cause and hope this will inspire similar measures from others.



Sarah Liparulo and Samantha Parry working for ASAP in Jermyn, Pennsylvania

Zimbabwe Prime Minister Morgan Tsvangairai

After the Zimbabwe power-sharing deal was sealed last Thursday, Tsvangirai said there was need to immediately address the food shortages and attract foreign aid.

“The first priority is to unlock food accessibility,” Tsvangirai said amid loud guffaws. He said there was need to begin filling up the empty shop shelves, fill hospitals with doctors, teachers and ensure a rejuvenated public service. He said he envisaged a new Zimbabwe that was part of the family of nations.

Tsvangirai acknowledged that it was not the best deal and said he had made “painful concessions”.“I signed this deal because it represents the best opportunity to rebuild a prosperous place. I signed this deal because my belief in a new Zimbabwe runs deeper than the scars I bear from the struggle. I signed this deal because my hope for the future is stronger than the grief I feel for the past excesses.”Tsvangirai quoted Mugabe’s 1980 acceptance speech amid loud cheers. He said hatred belonged to the past and called for national healing.

Extracted from The Zimbabwe Times

Zimbabwe's political rivals reach power-sharing deal: Mbeki

President Robert Mugabe and opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai have reached a power-sharing deal to end political crisis, South African mediator Thabo Mbeki announced Thursday."An agreement has been reached on all items on the agenda ... all of them endorsed the document tonight, signed it," the South African president, who chaired the negotiations between the political rivals, told a press conference.Details of the deal were not released and Mbeki said the agreement would only be made public after a formal signing ceremony scheduled for next Monday at 10 am.

How much was that?

On August 1st 2008 the currency in Zimbabwe, the Zimbabwe Dollar (ZWD) was adjusted to keep up with skyrocketing inflation and 10 zeros were removed from the currency.

Coins that were taken out of circulation in 2001 are once again legal tender. On July 31st an item costing 10,000,000,000 could be purchased for only 1 ZWD. Here in the USA, the recently released 10 Billion ZWD note was selling for over 40 on EBay!