ASAP says farewell to Rose Makhamadze

ASAP staff had the year 2007 end with a double celebration. It was a nice time for the organization when they had the 2007 end of year party on the 14^th of December while anticipating the most waited for day when Rosemary Makahamadze tied the with Clifford Nyamutsambira on the 29^th December. Rosemary has left for Botswana to stay with her husband after her resignation. ASAP staff wishes Rose the best in her marriage and new endeavors.

Please read more about ASAP in our Winter Newlsetter

New Year = New Currency in Zimbabwe

All Zimbabweans know that each day brings new challenges and survival is a test of both will and wit. The end of the year was particularly so, when the currency (the Zimbabwe Dollar) was recalled. This description was sent to us on New Year's Eve from a dear friend - Jenni Westlake.

All $200,000 (our largest denomination) notes have been recalled by the Reserve bank by the 31^st and we are VERY slowly being issued with 250,000, 500,000 and 750,000 dollar notes…..and we have minimal inflation!!!!!! The banks were told to be open all weekend from 8.30am - 6.00pm and all public holidays to help ease the cash crisis but nothing has helped and there are still people sleeping in the pouring rain trying to get some cash out of the banks. I have been trying since the 15^th to get some new money and have not yet had a note!

All this seems to have done is double the price of everything out there….bread is now 1 million dollars a loaf.

Happy New Year to all our friends in Zimbabwe.

Arnold Tsunga Honored Again

U.S. Secretary of State Condolezza Rice on Monday honored a Zimbabwe lawyers' group for fighting government repression in the southern African country.

"In Zimbabwe, civil society remains under siege amid a political and economic crisis caused by the irresponsible policies of the regime," Rice said at an award ceremony to mark International Human Rights Day.

Rice gave the State Department's annual "Freedom Defender Award" to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights. She said the lawyers' group, represented at the ceremony by its president Arnold Tsunga, had taken on the dangerous task of defending those persecuted by Mugabe's government.

"We thank you and your colleagues for your courage," Rice told Tsunga as she handed him the award.

ASAP's Country Director in Zimbabwe, Regai, is Arnold's brother, who is a regular recipient of awards these days! We congratulate Arnold on his work and his much deserved international recognition.

How Bad is it ???

Have you heard that inflation is really bad in Zimbabwe?

How bad is it?

It’s so bad - that the government statistical office can no longer calculate it! Wow, that’s bad. But how can that be?

Inflation is calculated by comparing the average cost of a set basket of goods - the cost of margarine, flour, sugar, milk, maize meal, salt, tomatoes, transportation etc. In Oct 07 inflation was officially recorded at 14,800% in Zimbabwe - so prices go up daily and even hourly.

The government decided to take action and mandated all prices be cut by 50% and held there. Of course there is a relationship between cost of goods and selling price in order to make a reasonable profit. So when this cost cutting was declared, shops could no longer afford to buy goods since they are now required to sell at a loss.

The goods in the shops quickly sold out with the new lower prices but there were no replacement goods being purchased. You can guess how this ends up; yes the shops are all empty now!

Now let’s get back to the cost of that basket of goods... what goods? ... That’s right; there are no goods to put in the basket! There is no way to calculate inflation on an empty basket.

On the positive side - at least everything is reasonably priced!

Books Ready for Distribution

The books have arrived and the fanfare starts on November 21^st! ASAP now has two containers of very useful text and supplementary books in our warehouse in Mutare, Zimbabwe. Some have already been handed out to schools but the official handover to the Ministry of Education will be on the 21^st of November. Then the real work of distribution to the 110 schools we work with begins.

ASAP has also purchased over Z$3.5 billion worth of Mathematics textbooks (published in Zimbabwe) ranging from Grade 1 to 7 for use by schools in the Bridge The Gap (BTG) in Mathematics program.

Most schools where ASAP works are quite poor and may only have 3 to 4 books of a subject for a class of fifty students. It makes it pretty tough to teach not to mention learn! Here you see the joy of getting books on the faces of some teachers at Selbourne Primary School.

These books are the result of a joint Rotary project between the three Fayette County, Georgia Rotary Clubs and the Borrowdale Brooke Club in Harare, Zimbabwe. On the right ASAP Country Director Regai Tsunga hands books to Deputy Head Edward Masaiti.

Good Luck to Raymond Mereta

We were please to hear from Raymond Mereta on the ASAP blog today and wish him every success in his decision to focus his expertise in agriculture and food preservation to continue to benefit the African people.
Raymond Mereta, now a Development Studies student in Namibia, was an employee of ASAP in 2003. Raymond helped ASAP develop our ongoing Health and Nutrition Development Initiative Project. The HANDEI project includes growing and using medicinal herbs to help alleviate the symptoms and suffering of those suffering form HIV/AIDS.

ASAP is prepared for Rain and Growth

As ASAP expands our work to assist more communities during these challenging times, existing staff are proud to share their knowledge and skills with new staff members.

Here Mary Dzvifu, ASAP Finance and Administration Manager, provides training to ASAP’s newest office staff member, Assistant Accountant Joe Mbendana.

The newest ASAP project partnerships with Catholic Relief Services and Concern World Wide requires more vehicles and drivers. Preparing for the upcoming rainy season with a new canopy on the ASAP truck, Michael Nemaunga and ASAP’s newest driver, Charles Tumbare, will be able to keep both staff and goods dry during the upcoming season - full of bumper harvests!

ASAP DISPLAYS AT EXPO

ASAP recently participated in a Zimbabwe Women’s Bureau Workshop and Expo at Queens Hall in downtown Mutare. ASAP staff were dispersing information on our Savings and Lending Program which has recently been piloted in the urban Mutare area. In the photo, Collins Mutsvairo, Monitoring and Evaluation Manager, is shown at the ASAP booth promoting ASAP's programs. ASAP’s urban Savings and Lending Program is conducted in partnership with CARE with funding from UNICEF and has proven to be very successful so far.

BOOKS ARRIVE IN MUTARE!

We have heard that teachers are already getting excited as word is quickly spreading to the rural areas about the two containers of school books that arrived in Mutare this week! Many of ASAP's Mutare staff were out there helping to offload thousands of books into ASAP's warehouse for distribution to the schools we work with.
The shipment left the US in early July so it has been a long journey to Mutare. These books are the result of a Literacy Project that ASAP conducted with Rotary Clubs in Fayette County Georgia and this project even won Best Cooperative Projects Award from Rotary International! Many thanks to all the Rotarians in Zimbabwe and Georgia that made this project possible. More updates will follow as books are distributed.

Jeanette Batiste in Malawi for ASAP

We are real excited here at ASAP because Jeanette Batiste will be in Southern Malawi during the month of October to do the groundwork for ASAP’s new Malawi program. Jeanette was a Peace Corps volunteer in Malawi and speaks Chichewa, the local language. She has recently acquired her MSc Environment and Development at the London School of Economics and is now employed at EDGEWOOD HOLDINGS LLC based in Vermont.

Jeanette will be gathering the statistics and local information we will use prepare and conduct a more successful Poverty Alleviation pilot project in Malawi. The Shire Valley, south of Blantyre in Southern Malawi will be the initial target area. This is one of the poorest areas in Malawi. ASAP has been invited by the government to establish a program in Malawi and we expect the it to be underway by early to mid 2008.

Enjoying the week-end in Africa

Labor Day is celebrated with a New Project Launch

ASAP Africa and CARE Zimbabwe launched a new Kufusa Mari (KM) program partnership in the rural district of Mutasa today. The new five year project will help over 17,800 people improve and diversify their income as well as to mobilize savings and manage internal lending activities.

According to Regai Tsunga, ASAP’s Zimbabwe Country Director “ We had a wonderful KM launch at Sadziwa in Mutasa today.

The Deputy Minister for Women's Affairs, Gender and Community Development, Mrs. Damasani, gave a perfect address with full of praises for ASAP. She is a great motivator. She led women into song and dance and encouraged everyone to work hard. She said she wished KM could spread to her native Matebeleland. I90 clients graduated and were awarded with certificates and T shirts. The function was also very well attended by locals and government officials led by the DA for Mutasa Mr. Maronge. There was also entertainment galore with music, dance, drama and poetry.

Mr. Goran Engstrand, the Swedish Ambassador to Zimbabwe, and Steve Vaughan, Country Director CARE were present and also expressed profound satisfaction with our work. They encouraged locals to form KM groups and benefit from the project. The Mutasa Council Chairman, Mr. Gowa welcomed ASAP to his District and hoped that the project would spread quickly to all wards in Mutasa. Both SIDA and CARE remarked that this function was bigger and better than last year's and thanked ASAP for a job well done. All said and done, we are officially in Mutasa with Government and Local Authority blessings. Thanks to Joseph Miti, (ASAP’s KM Project Manager) and all KM staff, ably supported by Admin, for a job well done.”

Catholic Releif Services Partners with ASAP Africa to help Children affected by HIV/AIDS

42,000 children will benefit from the new Out of School Adolescents Support Project. ASAP Africa has partnered with Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and four other consortium partners on a new project to identify and address the needs of out of school adolescents in Zimbabwe affected by HIV/AIDS. The OSA-SP project will work to improve the economic, food security, health and psychosocial well being of 42,000 out-of-school children in Zimbabwe. Currently, more than 60% of the targeted adolescents have lost one or both parents to HIV and AIDS. Many youth are dropping out of school due to the economic hardships. Without parental guidance, these children lack understanding of HIV and AIDS, sexuality and need relevant vocational skills that will enable each one to earn a basic living.

SPECIAL OLYMPICS FUND RAISING KICK OFF AT ASAP'S ROASTERY

The Fayette County Special Olympics held their fund raising kickoff at The On Safari Coffee Roastery in Peachtree City, Georgia Monday night 27 August. The Sailing Team, The Star Hitters and The All Stars were represented and the excitement grew as everyone realized how easy it is to sell Gourmet Coffee for fund raising.

This venue gave them the opportunity to better understand what they will be selling and you could sense the growing competition building between the three groups. Keep in mind that other groups are welcome to hold their fund raising campaign kick off at The Roastery at no cost as long as the date is open.

On Safari Coffee Initiative is an income generating project of ASAP so Coffee for YOUR Cause is a win-win for everyone. The fund raising group earns $5 on every bag of coffee sold and the best part is that each organization gets its own custom label for the coffee they sell. We look forward to even more groups who want to partner with ASAP to reach their fund raising goals.

Words of Wisdom

A recent email from ASAP’s new Country Director, Regai Tsunga, contained some words of wisdom that are worth passing on. “When looking at a large and complicated task, one should approach it as you would go about eating an elephant – one bite at a time.”

Yes, some good advice for those of us working together towards our goal of 'A World Without Poverty'.

OPEN HOUSE THIS SATURDAY

HELPING NON-PROFITS – ASAP!

With no up-front costs, organizations can easily raise needed funds to meet their goals. A Self-help Assistance Program (ASAP), now offers church groups, schools and civic organizations an exciting new and valuable fundraising service through coffee.

ASAP President Tom Arsenault, describes the new program - “Coffee as fuel for Development.” On Safari Coffee Initiative, (previously On Safari Trading Co.) is now an income generating project of ASAP. “Our primary focus is helping other non-profits conduct successful fundraising campaigns, as we work to fund our own operating costs.”

There will be a fundraising open house, featuring coffee roasting demonstrations and sample tasting at the On Safari Roastery this Saturday August 25^th, from 9:00 until 12:00 noon. Everyone is welcome especially church or school groups interested in easy and profitable fundraising.”

On Safari Fresh roasted coffee is very easy to sell as most people use coffee. The organization selling the coffee earns $5.00 profit on each bag of coffee sold. Once the group sells 200 bags of coffee, their customers can reorder on the On Safari web site and $1 for every bag sold on-line will go to the organization for an entire year. This keeps the funds coming in for your organization for a full year with no extra effort beyond the original campaign. To date, CIVS, Civitan, YMCA Cape Anne, have already reached Hall of Fame status.

The address is 189 Fulton Ct., (off Huddleston Rd. near Best Buy) Peachtree City. For more information contact On Safari at 770-632-7357 or 770-632-7451

Or email: mary@onsafaritrading.com

ASAP WINS AWARD!

ASAP has won the “Best Cooperative Projects Award” from Rotary International in partnership with the Peachtree City Rotary Club for ASAP’s Zimbabwe Book Drive Literacy project. Two containers of books left Georgia in early July and arrived in Durban, South Africa on August 3^rd. They had to be reloaded into a rail car for the continuing journey to ASAP’s warehouse in Mutare, Zimbabwe.

The books are mainly mathematics and science books, with about 10% novels and miscellaneous reading books. These will be distributed amongst the 111 schools that ASAP currently works with in the Bridge The Gap Mathematics Project.

Members of the Peachtree City Rotary Club helped to load one container at ASAP’s US office. With their help, the container was loaded and locked in less than 2 hours!

Our BTG field officers are eagerly awaiting these books because they are so badly needed at the schools where ASAP is working. ASAP is proud to work with Rotary in this project. In fact, the Borrowdale Brooke Rotary Club in Harare, Zimbabwe, is helping on the Zimbabwe side of the project.

Detour

I don’t have any deep thoughts today. I just saw this sign as I was driving home and had to laugh. After bumping along over pot-hole-ridden dirt roads for a few hours and seeing another car approximately… never, the concept of a lane, let alone a lane closing, struck me as pretty funny.

Meet ASAP's New Country Director, Regai Tsunga

“The past is our inheritance, the present is our reality, and the future is our challenge.” A sign bearing this quote and the names of several Kufusa Mari Savings Clubs hangs in the corner of Regai Tsunga’s office. He keeps the sign as a reminder of the community’s hopes for positive change in the future. As ASAP’s Country Director, Regai frequently has the opportunity to meet and talk with those who are directly benefiting from ASAP’s projects. He is eager to share stories of the joy and success he has witnessed.

“One woman shared that she had not eaten meat for several years, but once she participated in the KM project she was able to buy beef. Imagine! Everyone in the family celebrated the consumption of beef! Having decent meals should be something so ordinary, but it was something they had only imagined in the past,” Regai relates empathetically. Other women involved in the project used the money to meet basic needs, earning enough to pay for school fees, farming implements, or even shelter. For Regai, these stories are sustaining; “In this organization results matter a lot, so you are really focused in everything that you do. It’s a big inspiration to see the results of your efforts. No wonder we put in so many extra hours!”

Regai is himself a native Zimbabwean and is no stranger to the problems currently facing his country. As both someone working to alleviate suffering and someone who is experiencing the same problems as the rest of his neighbors, Regai has evident motivation to make ASAP’s programs successful. Regai and his wife Jane have three children. Their commitment to their children’s future happiness is clear, “We must ensure that we leave something for our children for which they can thank us. I feel that the children deserve much better. I can’t remember the last time I bought a pair of shoes for my own children. I would love to save for my children’s futures, but I can’t save money because inflation is eroding its value too quickly. I had saved something like 80,000 in the early eighties and used it to buy a house, but if I had continued to save that amount until today, I would be able to buy only a kilogram of beef. In effect, we are working only for today- nothing for our kids, nothing for our future. This is a very great concern.”

In the midst of such difficult issues, Regai celebrates the progress ASAP Africa is making and the sustainability of the projects. Regai explains, “The goal is for the community to perpetuate the project after ASAP’s exit. In the case of Kufusa Mari, we train cluster facilitators who are resident in the community with the internal savings and loan methodology. Long after we leave, the cluster facilitator is there to train her community. Eighty-five percent of the groups formed in 2003 were still functioning in 2005— two years after we had left! In fact, those groups had trained second and even third generation groups. That’s the beauty of our projects; the community is involved through and through and becomes empowered.”

When asked how ordinary Americans could help Zimbabwe, Regai responded, “Ordinary Americans should know that we are also only ordinary Zimbabweans. Here at ASAP, we are trying to alleviate suffering of ordinary people and need any help anyone can provide, whether prayer, words of encouragement, or donations. All our interventions uplift the standard of life for ordinary people. They are already making an effort to help themselves, we just provide the resources they need to do it.”

There are Many Gaps to Bridge

“So what is your favorite part of school?”
“Writing the tests that ASAP brings us.”

When fifth grader Hardlife Dirorimwe answered my question in this way, I thought he was just trying to give the scary American woman the answer she wanted. As I was walking home with Bridge the Gap Project Manager Collins Mutsvairo, I joked that I had never met a child whose favorite part of school was taking tests.

“No,” he corrected me, “his favorite part of school isn’t taking tests, it’s writing the diagnostic tests that ASAP brings.”

Apparently, taking ASAP’s tests is something that excites many of the rural students. Why? Because it’s the only time each student gets a piece of paper and a pencil all to him or herself. Even more exciting, the paper has the questions printed right on it!

Usually, three or four students share a writing utensil and a notebook of newsprint. Textbooks are even scarcer. As many as ten students can be forced to share the same book in some subjects. Teaching aids like maps, protractors, rulers, and charts are all but non-existent. Further complicating matters, inflation has raised school fees out of reach of many students and teacher pay has become low enough to make teachers wonder if they should come to work at all.

In light of so many difficulties, ASAP’s education programs provide a ray of hope. Bridge the Gap adds much needed energy and enthusiasm to math education through quiz competitions, after school math clubs, and teacher training workshops. Kufusa Mari Junior attacks a different, but equally important issue by helping students form savings clubs and raise money for their school fees. ASAP field officers are deeply engaged in the schools they serve and work hard to supplement the existing educational system. With programs like these, ASAP is giving the most marginalized students a chance to succeed.