The Need

No clean water.  No electricity to pump water from the underground wells.

No food.  Grocery stores are empty.  Children are starving to death.

No medical care.  No doctors, no electricity, no medicine.

No hope.

Here at the intersection of a devastated economy and a corrupt government, the precious people of Zimbabwe are starving to death everyday.  I don't know the statistical numbers about how many are dying, but I do know that I can't imagine the horror of watching my own children thirst or starve to death. In current conditions, we are finding that caretakers are beginning to take their own lives simply because they cannot deal with watching the children die from starvation.

Our goal at the Wells of Life project is to provide life for those in Zimbabwe through donations, which are carefully distributed on the ground by personal friends of ours.  To find out more about our distribution process, click here.   We are proud to report that in 2008, Wells of Life has been a part of providing food for over 6500 people for a month!  AND one of our first wells in Harare struck fresh water earlier this year!

Every good thing in the world begins with a small step. This blog may not be much, but it is our attempt to let the world know what we can do together. I believe that there are people in this world who have resources to share and give, but desire to give to a worthy cause where they can be sure that their resource will not be wasted or divided up among "administrative costs." This is it! 100% of donations will go directly toward bringing hope and life to the people of Zimbabwe.

You may be wondering "What can I do that will make an impact halfway around the world?" Here are some areas where you can help!

--Link this blog to your website!  more exposure = more opportunity!
--Donate Blog Design skills!--we would like to make our blog more professional looking so that it appears as credible as the people behind it are.
--Donate money to help us provide food and fresh, clean water for the dying!--Just $10 will provide food for one family for an entire month!  EVERY CENT of your donation will help someone in Zimbabwe fill their empty and swollen bellies with food and clean water.

Please contact Julie Hamilton at julie@hiscreations.com or 951.660.3464 to find out more about how to make a tax deductible donation to the Wells of Life project.

It seems impossible, but it is true that YOU can make a difference in the life of a child on the other side of the world who is hungry and thirsty every single day.  Imagine the true story of one single widow who is attempting to care for her eight young grandchildren because all of her sons and daughters have died.  Then, we come to the house bringing gifts of beans, maize, candles, soap.  She's overwhelmed with the previously unattainable hope that the children can eat another meal.  With tears of joy, she is inexpressibly grateful for those who have blessed her life in such a way and YOU are a part of it!  We can do this together. Please consider partnering with us!

Sincerely, Julie and Damion Hamilton

PS. Please scroll down or click on the labels on the right side to check on the progress of this project!

Update on Zimbabwe

Well, once again my heart is breaking for Zimbabwe.  Because of the broken down sanitation services and the devastation and lack in the hospitals, there has been an outbreak of Cholera, which is projected to affect at least 1.4 million people by conservative estimates.  There are very few doctors left in the country, so it is reported that hospital floors are covered with patients lying in their own infected feces and vomit because there is no where to place them.  There is nothing that the people on the ground there can do because the government is refusing assistance from the outside world.  How long must the people suffer for the governments choices?  It's easy to believe the first hand reports that are reaching us that care takers are now committing suicide as they watch their children starve to death.  Our friends are starving.

Please, if the thought of these conditions moves your heart, please help us purchase food for the swollen bellies and tablets to cleanse the water.  The ordinary people like you and I have no options.

$10 will feed one family for a month.  100% of your donation goes directly to the families of Zimbabwe.  Please contact me at julie@hiscreations.com if you would like more information.

Zimbabwe Update

I realized that I never posted the FINAL information from our July trip on this blog!

For all of those who have helped donate $ to feed the orphans/displaced people of Zimbabwe, we are thrilled to announce the fruits of your labor (and donations). In July, our team was able to distribute:

-31 TONS of corn

-1698 lbs of beans

-748 candles

-225 gallons of cooking oil

-447 bars of soap

-1102 lbs of sugar

-868 lbs of salt

-447 boxes of matches
in 4 different locations! In summary, between Wells of Life donations and other private donations, just this amount of corn is feeding 3, 832 people for a month. The report is that some of the elderly people were so hungry that they were eating the ground corn meal straight from the bag and mothers were crying and smiling because now they could "go home and feed our children." The people were so hungry that both elderly and children were picking up whatever remnants of food had fallen to the ground long after the food was distributed. If you would like to make a difference by helping us to feed the hungry in Zimbabwe, remember that you can feed 4 people for a month with $10. 100% of your donation goes directly towards the purchase of food. Please contact us if you would like to help!

Update on Zimbabwe Food Orphan Support and Food Distribution

Just a quick update about the Zimbabwe food distribution. Thank you to everyone who donated their precious dollars to help our team buy food for those who are starving in Zimbabwe. I heard a quick report yesterday that the team has felt safe in Zim and has had no trouble. Over the weekend, they were able to do the first of several food giveaways and this time, they provided a month's worth of food to over 400 families, with the main focus on feeding those who are caring for the many orphans and displaced children there. We are so grateful to have this opportunity and will be extending this program on a permanent basis in the coming months. If you are interested in donating, as always, please contact me at julie@Hiscreations.com

Lastly, you might remember that we were trying to implement an education program there. Their educational system would obviously be the best option for the students, however most of the teachers have left the country to find work and feed their families. In Zimbabwe, the teachers are paid approx $60 US dollars per month whereas the neighboring countries are paying $800 per month. Seeing the devastating effect of the children actually losing hope in their future and dreams (they know that education is the only way to a better life) prompted several of us teachers to get together to write curriculum for a once-weekly supplemental program for students K - High School in Zim. There are courses in everything from Art History to Higher Mathematics. I wrote the curriculum for the upper level remedial reading. It was extremely challenging because here's the question that we all faced..how do you teach someone to read or write (or do math) when they have no paper to write on and hardly any books to read? Answer: We used a lot of alternative methods which hopefully are supported by their strong oral tradition and culture, as well as lots of manipulatives which could include anything found...rocks, sticks, etc! Anyway, I understand that the program was presented successfully over the length of an entire day to about 40 adults who are excited about moving forward with the future of the children.

Just wanted to give you an update and say thank you again for all of your support and love that is going across the miles!

For His glory,
Julie

Fresh Clean Water at last!

As you might know, in late fall of 07, we began constructing and drilling wells in Harare and Bulawayo. We have a great report to share with you! As this time when the lack of public sanitation is causing so many people to fall ill from being forced to drink contaminated and dirty water, we have struck fresh clean water in Harare! This is great news for the people in the surrounding areas!! I have not gotten the statistics on how many people this well is providing for on a daily basis, but I cannot wait to find out!

Also, we are in Phase II of establishing the orphan/caregiver program so please check back soon to find out more about what you can do to fill a child's empty tummy.

Remember that just $30 will feed one "family" (made up of mostly orphans and widows) for one month and you can fill that need. %100 of your money will be used to supply food to a hungry family.

To fill the need by making a tax deductible donation, please contact me at julie@hiscreations.com