Picture of old toilets at preschool

Heart-to-Heart Call for Help!

by Fundraisers

Greetings Nhimbe Family! Thank you for your ongoing interest and commitment to making Nhimbe for Progress a reality that gratefully continues to evolve with your support. 

The most recent inclement weather patterns bombarded many parts of Zimbabwe with torrential rains. Over two weeks ago we began hearing of the rains pelting both the high-density suburbs and our own rural Mhondoro. The results of this continual rain are multi-faceted, and unfortunately for Nhimbe, it caused a loss of toilets at the preschool.

The high water table at the preschool means that they began filling with water, making them impossible to use. Our toilets are built by the industry standard, that of the improved Blair rural pit-style toilet, which has been our model since 2002 when we began the preschool. The above photo shows the outside of the toilets.

This type of toilet has a hole in the center, much like the pit toilets we find at our National/State parks camping/hiking locations. The main difference is that, traditionally, the place to sit was considered a luxury, primarily due to poverty. Now, as opportunity and finances allow, people are including a place to sit.

Toilet Floor Picture

Here is a video from Mudavanhu Magaya, our co-director of Nhimbe, sharing his story from the ground.

On closer inspection, we can see that the weather has taken its toll on these toilets, and the walls are compromised as well.  See this slide show giving an up-close-and-personal look at the situation.

toilet wall crack
Toilet Wall Crack
toilet entryway
Toilet Entryway
toilet corner crack
Toilet Corner Crack
toilet ceiling corner
Toilet Ceiling Corner
toilet ceiling corner
Another Toilet Ceiling Corner
toilet ceiling corner with vent
Toilet Ceiling Corner with Vent

There is hope though!  There is a part of the property with a lower water table, and according to the health inspector, we can build a “block” of toilets along the fence line in this other area.  Plus, this will be a newer model of toilet built to a better standard.  Construction needs to start right away! 

Due to receiving a ZCDP (Zimbabwe Community Development Project) grant, we only need to put together the remainder of $2,300, which includes bricks, cement, labor, and relevant materials.  Whatever amount you can contribute is immensely helpful!  Thank you for whatever you can do!

The other ways that we will see changes to Zimbabwe from this downpour are:

  • The heavy rains do cause waterlogged soils (like at Nhimbe) and also nutrient leaching, yellowing of crops, as well as difficulty with weed and fertilizer control.
  • There is a likelihood of more pests invading crops due to the volume of water and an increase in livestock diseases as well.
  • There may be a better harvest this coming fall (March-April) due to enough water, including improved pasturelands.
  • Water-borne illness is more likely to occur due to standing water.
  • The average dam levels are better because of these torrential rains, and this can impact electricity availability in a positive way.
Again, thank you for however you might reach out to our preschoolers in Zimbabwe.  Securing toilets that work is so basic!  Please see this link to donate.
Shipping box

Final Call for Last Minute 2025 Donations!

by Fundraisers

Dear Friends,

Another year has given us the amazing opportunity to help our Zimbabwean neighbors. The United States certainly has many hurdles as well, but I want to ask you to consider joining us in the work that we are doing in Mhondoro. Please check out this link to get a quick overview of this next year’s Focus on behalf of Nhimbe for Progress.

If you haven’t read our annual letter with our proposal for 2026 and a report of 2025 activites, please find it here and also the letter from our president, Jan Six. The residents of these villages are incredibly grateful, as their lives have been gradually changing since we began in 1999. We are speaking of not only the six villages that comprise our core, but also of the surrounding villages which are benefiting from our services.

  • These days, we are reaching into many local schools for the Mhandara Monthly Care (MMC) program, which intercedes on behalf of maturing girls with weekly meetings, music and sewing lessons, monthly care supplies, and a critical component, soap. Ahh, what we take for granted!
  • Additionally, parents will walk their child from wherever they live, through the bush, to benefit from our preschool program where children are prepared for the Zimbabwean school system in a stellar way, while receiving a healthy meal plus early childhood development training.  These young ones are excited about learning, due to our staff and the resources we can provide because of our donors.
  • We continue to do our best to increase clean water availability.  The W.A.T.E.R! program (wells and toilets everyone’s right!) faces huge challenges, being so dependent on weather, soil type, and a larger investment to make a change.  But, we persevere.  A bore hole, which is the superior way to get water, costs 3 times that of a regular well. For 300 families it would cost simply over $300,000.  If you know someone able and willing to help in this way, please share this with them.

We remain committed to bringing assistance to these impoverished communities where normal government programs have not been able to reach. Our goal is to uplift the people and improve the substandard living conditions through increasing resources and education. Your fully tax-deductible donation is what makes it work. However this aligns with your higher purposes in life, we thank you for whatever you can do. You do make the difference! Have a wonderfully safe and joy-filled New Year!

Jaiaen and the Ancient Ways board 

P.S. What is this picture?  Today we shipped these donated boxes to Zimbabwe. We have sent a box of hand-selected books for the Community Center library, which serves the preschool and anyone who comes. As in previous years, we also are shipping the comforters, pieced with beautiful colors and patterns, to honor the next six elderly women. (In-kind donations of things is an equally great way to share what you have.) Thank you for your ongoing support!

Portia crop

Crucial Life-Saving Contributions Needed Now!

by Fundraisers

Dear Nhimbe Friends,

An urgent unexpected medical situation has arisen in Zimbabwe for Muda’s family (our Nhimbe for Progress co-director). Some of you may have met him in 2023 when he came to the states, or remember his father, Cosmas Magaya. Muda’s wife of 20 years, Portia, has recently been taken critically ill and is now hospitalized awaiting life-saving surgery. This vital intervention is needed immediately and we are asking for any help you can see your way to offer.

A minimum of $2,000 is needed, to include the first operation of $1,300 with additional costs for consultations, tests and follow-up. A second surgery will be expected in one month. Other family members are contributing as able to both the medical costs and tuition to keep Muda and Portia’s children in school.

Portia has been working for the banking industry for as long as I can remember, and being the mother of their 5 children is also a full-time job! She is a prime example of a hard-working woman who is the backbone of the African family. As of a month ago she was forced to stop working due to her health difficulties progressing rapidly. She was admitted to the hospital May 28 and is scheduled for surgery by specialists as soon as possible. She texts, “The pain has become unbearable. The sooner the procedure is done the better! I’m so frustrated and tired.” Timing is critical because hospitals in Zimbabwe require pre-payment before treatment.

Please feel free to read this “Letter from Zimbabwe” outlining the current deplorable conditions of medical institutions there.

If you are able to donate to her life-saving medical expenses, please click here. Under “Greatest Need” enter “Portia” in the special field. Whatever you can do is greatly appreciated and any amount helps. Your donation makes a huge difference for this family!

Thank you so much for listening and giving me an opportunity to share all of this during this rather emotional time. Some of you have read the Field Reports over the years and heard some of these stories.

Tatenda Chaizvo!

preschool trio of children

Sending You & Yours a Heartfelt Holiday Smile!

by Fundraisers

Are you saying, “2024 went by sooo fast!”?  Most of us are feeling that way.  And, so much was gratefully accomplished! With the plans developing for next year, we can only again say, “Tatenda Chaizvo” (we thank you very much) for all of your support in these endeavors. 

If you missed our annual letter, please click here, which will take you to the blog containing all the links to bring you up to date with the report for 2024 plus the hopes, dreams, and wishes for 2025.

If you have already contributed to our efforts this year, thank you for being on the front edge of the beat, and if not, there is still just enough time to make a fully tax-deductible donation for 2024, or setup a recurring donation of any amount spread over the next year.

The drought continues, and that has become a priority focus. The hunger and poverty that is caused by the lack of water is the current emergency.  Needy families are receiving the drip for the drought hoses and buckets, permaculture training, as well as the deepening of their wells.  Thanks to your help we successfully deepened 23 wells last month, and now have another 20 on the list to address.

Please, always feel free to reach out by phone, text, email and snail mail.  Thank you, and looking forward to meeting up or seeing you next year!

Jaiaen

preschool class in a line800

Warm Winter Greetings From the Team Here in Lacomb

by Fundraisers

Annual Letter from Ancient Ways Enclosed!

Warm winter greetings from the team here in Lacomb, and summer greetings from the crew in Mhondoro! We hope this email finds you well and savoring the hunkering down of the holidays. It’s a very busy time of year, so if you don’t have time now, please mark this for reading later, as it is packed with inspiring information!

We continue to feel enormous gratitude for your positively uplifting ongoing support. Your prayers for us as a group and as individuals, along with your encouragement over the years, inspires us, particularly during the challenging times.  Of course, your financial donations and pledges keep us sane as we row through the unknown waters that lie ahead.

I have to admit that I love holding the vision and trusting the process, because that in itself brings juice to the journey and spice to my life!  There is a vulnerability I enjoy in being at sea, and having a sense of direction with one’s internal compass, but sometimes there is no land to be seen.

Please check out our focus for 2025 here, and:

Each year we look forward to the new year in Mhondoro and anticipate great growth in our communication skills, the meeting of our objectives and goals, as well as the simple sense of peace and well-being that comes from bringing comfort to another. 

We also continue to promote our music programs here in Oregon, where we hold weekly classes in Corvallis, garnishing our lives with great friendships and deep bonds, as we study together.  Performing around the valley has become a fond joy over the years, and we look towards the opening of that season come spring, as well as Zimfest 2025, August 7-10, at Central Washington University, in Ellensburg, WA.

Check out www.ancient-ways.org for more details. And, always feel free to call or email. We thank you very much.

Tatenda Chaizvo!  Jaiaen 

Children

An A-maizing Opportunity to Join Us!

by Fundraisers

With the rain here in the Northwest its hard to imagine a drought in Zimbabwe, but it is pushing hard on the residents to put food on the table. Besides the lack of maize, produce, and grains, a scarcity of rains and rising heat in many parts of Zimbabwe (including Hwange National Park, closer to Victoria Falls) has caused a crisis for elephants and other animals. I’m not including any of those links here because it’s just too graphic and heartbreaking.

Our villagers are seeing the challenges, and are currently asking for our help. El Niño is receiving credit for this lack of rainfall since October, reducing maize harvests country-wide by half. Here are some general links from last week:

• AP NEWS
• VOA NEWS and
• SABC NEWS video in a region that looks much like Mhondoro landscape

To translate this to Mhondoro circumstances and our Nhimbe preschool and staff, we look at the cost of a bucket of maize. A bucket has been $6 and suddenly it became $12, and that is expected only to rise over the next year. This is devastating to the average resident. Reaching all of the Nhimbe villagers is outside of our reach, at least for the moment, but addressing the needs of the preschool and staff is within reason.

Our preschool uses 3 buckets a week to feed the 75 or so young ones. We had pre-purchased enough maize in December to get us through last week, and now suddenly we are in an urgent situation to find and buy maize to get us through March of 2025. We are hoping to get a reduced rate of $10/bucket because of buying by the ton. If successful, we will be overbudget, but happily able to feed the children.

Listen in to the children chillin’ on the porch.

124 buckets for the 13 months should have been $744 and instead would be $1,488. This is only the maize, which is the staple. The prices of other foods that go into the children’s varied preschool diet are also on a steep incline.An average family consumes 3 buckets a month. Our initial goal is to buy the 13 staff members 2 of those 3 buckets at a bulk discount so that they can purchase from Nhimbe over the next 13 months at a reduced rate. We are offering the leverage of the bulk purchasing power to them as a group. During the last 2 drought years we purchased thestaff maize, and you helped us cover the bill completely! This is a generous-sounding proposition to tackle for another year.

Once we completely secure the maize it will be 8 tons in 50 kg bags, to store at the Community Center (which is why we have guards) costing $4,800 for both the preschool and staff. Right now, we are waiting to hear confirmation that the money sent last week is finding the seller well-equipped to help us answer the concern.

Children

If you are able to assist us in speaking to the needs of the preschool students and staff, everyone would be tremendously grateful. Besides offsetting the preschool purchasing (only $500 more costly than expected if we buy in bulk) you have the power to help the staff. With your donations:

  • we could eliminate the need for them to purchase the maize at all, if entirely gifted
  • they buy at an even more reduced rate
  • or they could be given some maize intermittently.

We are also researching whether we can locate some of the special drip hoses to set up more growing power for all concerned. Maize growing season is next November and we pray for rains. These drip hoses would be for produce of various sorts to help carry them through these hard times using their wells. For sure, they can grow more greens than currently is plausible. They are heading into winter, which will be cold and dry.

Whatever we might be able to do can carry a big impact. A drought on the edge of famine hits deep. Besides just plain going hungry, and the complete discomfort of that, malnutrition is actually a leading cause of death, and also how various diseases get a foothold in the first place.

The government isn’t set up to be able to reach the population with adequate help. The aid workers visited a month or so ago, requiring everyone to attend the meeting, and gave 4 people from each village something to take home (like beans and oil). 4 people?! A small village like Magaya’s used to be 30 families, and 130 families made up the largest village in Nhimbe, to give you an idea of what that means. Clearly the government is also feeling this pinch, and is quite overwhelmed.

Check out how well they are reciting!

Thank you so much for your continued support! We are doing our best to walk this path conservatively since the need is so great, and it’s only the beginning…we need to get through to 2025 harvest time next April when green mealies (green maize) can be roasted and enjoyed. Please always feel free to call or write with questions. 

Preschool Grads 2023 proud

Warm Wishes for Your New Year!

by Fundraisers

Thank you for your continuing support helping us here at Ancient Ways to help them, the residents around and about Nhimbe for Progress in Mhondoro, Zimbabwe. We are headed into our 30th year as Ancient Ways and our 25th year sponsoring Nhimbe for Progress. We offer a rich variety of opportunities and resources to the local village residents, which is all due to you and your commitment to assist us in achieving our goals.

If you haven’t seen the annual report and letters, please make time to read about the latest from the villages. Your tax-deductible donations can still be sent until the 31st. If you aren’t affected by the IRS regulations, your contribution is welcome any time! We have a big year ahead and are so grateful for all the ways you do support our work. Please check out our website loaded with options.

The first dedicated Nhimbe program was sponsoring children’s tuition – 21 students on my first trip in 2000 and now 25 years later, we have sponsored thousands of children to attend school.

The first dedicated Nhimbe building program was to build a preschool and operate it in such a way that no child will ever be turned away. There it sat for the longest time without windows or a roof, but just a great desire to bring forth good things. It was Cosmas’ mom, Matilda, who would make the mahewu every night for the morning’s hearty breakfast drink that got the creche program off the ground. She was a treasure.

For over 20 years, the daily meal, with expanded horizons in learning opportunities, plus clean clear abundant water to name a few, all benefit these children directly and the entire community indirectly. Here is a short video giving a little perspective coming out of graduating another 25 children in December of 2023.

Preschool Grads 2023 proud

Aunties, maybe siblings, parents, and teachers are all present and accounted for to make this a big day.  Here is a great example of all of how the graduation is the child’s first step into the academic world, wearing their graduation gown and receiving their diploma.

Preschool Grads 2023 attendees

We build a special temporary tent to house the visitors on this big day. School officials and the councilors for the local government are both in attendance. In addition to the child and her father, we see Simon, who is Cosmas’ “cousin brother” and the headman of the Magaya Village, plus Febby Shava, who is our preschool head as well as one of the preschool teachers.

Preschool Grads 2023 food
Preschool Grads 2023 prizes

The first picture above shares most everything except the chickens that were purchased for the rest of the meal. I see rice, maputi, which is puffed maize snack much like popcorn, a tangerine type of oranges, and an orange soda drink to supplement the main dish. We aren’t lavish with the graduation ceremony, but spent $100 for all of the diplomas, the prizes, and the food for all attendees. The other picture shows the prizes that are given to the graduates. The main obvious gift is what is called an exercise book, which is a standard tablet that is a requirement for going to school.

Normally our preschoolers are so stoic in their graduation picture but this one we caught them relaxed! We look forward to their continued education and success.

Here is wishing you a relaxing and prosperous new year! Thank you again for your continued support – please see our 2024 Focus page that summarizes how you do make the difference! Tatenda Chaizvo! We thank you very much!

Kutsinhira - Ziriwo

HOLIDAYS HELLO!

by Fundraisers

Can You Make Time to Check-in Here?

Warm winter greetings where ever you are! We know that you are busy, and the world appears to be moving too fast to take it all in. Please, if you can, just take a minute to see what’s inside, and if now isn’t the moment, mark this as important, and come back later? Thanks much! 

This blog is really all about you. Your telling of our story is a deep breath, and without it, we can’t really penetrate the illusion that appears to be in the driver’s seat. Sorry if this sounds too far out, but to hold a vision and breathe life into it, we have to suspend our disbelief, which, when it’s hammering us with physical limitations, one can slide into being less than optimistic. Your time, your attention, your contributions all make the difference.

We continue to feel enormous gratitude for your ongoing support in so many ways…your encouraging words, your prayers, and of course, your donations are all positively uplifting! This annual opportunity is when we get to share what makes us tick, and we appreciate however you get involved! HERE is our focus for 2024:

We are super excited to watch the programs and services blossom in Mhondoro. We know that after traveling this road with our partners in rural Zimbabwe for 25 years, we have experienced what they face day to day, and tough times may be in front of us. But, even with everything going on in the world, we all continue to remain strong and resilient in spirit. Check out www.ancient-ways.org for more details. And, always feel free to call or email. We thank you very much – Tatenda Chaizvo!

P.S. Do you have a small amount of time to volunteer? Are you interested in working with photos and have a little tech skill? Please reach out if so! We have a special job looking for you.

book-bl

When The River Wakes Up & Other Newsworthy Events!

by FundraisersPerformances

Fall Greetings – Hoping you are having a wonderful harvest in both your goals for this year, as well as in your garden, orchard, freezer, or what-have-you. Here, it is THE time to feel squirrel impulses and get ready for winter…food, firewood, and pulling out the first of the scarves. 

We have an exciting addition to our Marketplace! Alyson Quinn has written a delightful book: When the River Wakes Up, and has donated copies to Ancient Ways. If you have a heart for Zimbabwean culture and history, it’s a must read. Are you part of a book club, or could otherwise bring this book from our Marketplace into your life or local community? The soft cover is a great way to share a good read from a female author, offering some depth in perspective, while at the same time, supporting our work there. We are covering the shipping!

Malídoma Patríce Somé, PhD, well-known traditional elder and author, recommends this book on Alyson’s website. As does our own Joyce O’Halloran, retired math professor, llama-raiser extraordinaire, and serious long-time Zimfest volunteer: “When the River Wakes Up opens with a child’s-eye view of the wonders of nature along with confusion stemming from racism in 1970’s Zimbabwe. With a beautifully flowing narrative, Alyson Quinn paints vivid pictures of family dynamics, African animals, and Zimbabwe’s transition to independence. We are guided through the maturation of a young girl who is coming to terms with the clash between Western beliefs and African mysticism.” 

Besides making this book available, we are bringing the village crafts to the First Christian Church (FCC) Craft Fair in Corvallis, as well as more African rocks. Much of our inventory left the warehouse for Zimfest and didn’t return but we still have some incredible hand-made items to share. The FCC Craft Fair borders the Fall Festival and runs over the same weekend of September 23rd-24th, with the FCC organizational proceeds going to support non-profits doing great work in the community. The Ancient Ways booth will be there only for 9-23.

Additionally on that Saturday, we look forward to bringing you the beautiful and uplifting music from Zimbabwe on marimba. Tamuka will be performing from 10 to 11 am and again from 11:45 to 12:15 at FCC, while the main stage for the Fall Festival is quiet. Our beginning group Mavambo, which started in June, will be playing in the last set – this is their first performance with Ancient Ways and we are all super excited!

Local music opportunities – Please come and say hello!

  • September 23rd, 10-11 and 11:45-12:15 pm FCC Craft Fair, 6th and Madison in Corvallis
  • September 30th, 10 – 12pm, Scio Saturday Market’s last call, at the fairgrounds
  • October 7th, noon to 2 pm, Silverton Sidewalk Shindig – new location in this annual event where all of Silverton is engaged in diverse music genres all day and night, in a variety of venues TBA
  • New beginning classes are starting Mondays at 5:30-7 pm at FCC, with existing beginning marimba on Tuesdays, same time. Call with questions!
  • An opening for an experienced player with Tamuka is a possibility. Reach out if you are interested.

Thank you for your continued support and interest in our work in Zimbabwe. Over 1,500 villagers and historically thousands of children (this year alone well over 500 to include MMC and preschool) have been given opportunities that have otherwise not existed before. We are pleased to be part of helping to uplift the rural residents, and giving these particular kids more resources and new horizons!

In much appreciation and baskets of gratitude!

Mudavanhu “Muda” Magaya Picture

Exciting Local Upcoming Events!

by FundraisersPerformances

Thank you ever so much for your very immediate response to our focused initiative keeping the Nhimbe Community Center in good repair! There is enormous gratitude here, and there, for your continued support. We soo appreciate it. Now, its winter there and extremely cold this year. Nhimbe is well prepared for the next summer rains and pray they are plenty for the crops and not the torrential type.

Locally, the next two weeks are packed with a Zimbabwean focus. Over the last two weeks we have played three times in our communities, from Scio to Silverton and Philomath, sharing this incredibly uplifting music and are now heading into three more performances in the next two weeks, and more, more, more of this spirit with many people from everywhere coming to Corvallis to share in the genre!

  • This Saturday night, Tamuka Marimba and Chipindura Marimba are playing the evening until dark at Makindu’s fundraiser, a non-profit founded in Brownsville (much like Scio/Lacomb where Ancient Ways was born). They work in Kenya and I originally heard of them the same year that Cosmas first came to the states, and now destiny has put our lives together July 29th.
  • Sunday the 30th from 6 pm to 8 pm, you will find Diki Diki Marimba playing at Common Fields in Corvallis, a great food truck pod, and a nice fresh space to enjoy family and friends. Come join us!
  • Zimfest, stirs the air using OSU in Corvallis as its base this year August 3rd through 6th. What a delight to have this festival locally! Do put it on your schedule to share in the Zimbabwean music and dance performances, workshops both about culture and music (for all levels of interest and experience), as well as a marketplace where the music is free all day. Evening concerts are on a donation basis and are outside this year! You will find Ancient Ways as a vendor with hand-crafts from the villages, as well as offering amazing rocks, minerals, crystals and stones (what’s the difference?) in collaboration with Yes, Africa Rocks!
  • Additionally, Mudavanhu (Muda) Magaya, Cosmas’ son and Nhimbe’s co-director, has come to the US on tour visiting a few universities into November and will be teaching and playing at Zimfest. Come see him on Saturday night’s stage!
  • August 11th is a venue for the elderly, where Tashinga Marimba will be part of an annual summer barbeque for Regency Park Place. Not likely that you will attend but if you are looking for care for parents or friends, always ask them about their entertainment! We really enjoy our elderly audiences and play many of these kinds of opportunities.
  • Last but not least, Muda will be offering music along with Diki Diki, and giving a presentation at the First Christian Church on August 12th at 3 pm. This will be an opportunity to hear him share about the Shona culture and his experiences living in Zimbabwe as both a city dweller and living in the rural area, which is the norm for the modern Zimbabwean staying in touch with their roots. He has been running Nhimbe since his father passed away due to Covid in 2020. Please call with questions.
  • While here at the farm after Zimfest, Muda is also available if you are interested in learning mbira, the authentic instrument. An mbira is provided during the lesson to check it out. This would be from August 7th to 14th. After that he will be in Eugene at Kutsinhira if that works better for your schedule.

As always, we appreciate your interest and enthusiasm, bringing awareness to Zimbabwe however you are inclined. Thank you for sharing our story!

Please make sure and introduce yourself when you see us anywhere…we look forward to meeting in person!