Senior students with teachers Ordern Dube (far left), Collin

Tlou (far right) and Mrs Trizor Sithole (third from right).

Salibonani!
We are excited that you are reading our second
newsletter! Since our first newsletter we have had so
many new people encourage and support us so it is
quite possible that you are new to hearing about
Living Foundation and our project in Fort Rixon in
Zimbabwe.
In our first newsletter we gave all the background
story as to how this project started and information
about Zimbabwe, the secondary school that has been
started in Fort Rixon and the ladies sewing group. If
you have missed our first newsletter then please ask
for a copy as it is really helpful to know the
background and we have too much new news to tell
you so dont want to fill space repeating things.
Our school has been named Enkanyisweni meaning

a place where light shines.

Have a go at
pronouncing it it really is quite simple en-kahn-yiswen-ee, said quickly so it all joins into one. We hope
you enjoy our newsletter!
We have had wonderful support when it comes to
fundraising and we are so grateful and feel very
touched by how interested and enthusiastic people
have been. We are very conscious of the trust being
placed in us and we make sure that as much as
possible of what people donate goes directly to the
project. There are things like transfer fees,
government fees, petrol etc. and as much as we dont
like spending money on these things, we wont get
anywhere without them and were sure you
understand that.
We do our best to be responsible and make the
money go as far as it can! All except our teachers are
volunteers. Louise

Sewing Group
The sewing group has been at a bit of a standstill as, until the school has
permission to go ahead, they cannot use the classroom. We must be so careful to
do everything correctly for a better long term result. However, the ladies are very
keen to get back to sewing and there has been a lot of discussion and investigation
going on looking at long term prospects for generating an income. In consultation
with Patience Kuture (our volunteer designer/tailor in Zimbabwe) we have been
looking at possibilities for selling products in Zimbabwe, in Australia and over the
internet.
We are THRILLED to say that we have had donations for sewing machines so that
the ladies will be well set up. It totally changes what it is possible for the ladies to
achieve. We have a group of ladies here in Bridgetown who are being so
supportive in helping the sewing ladies. Louise

Two of our enthusiastic

sewing ladies!

Our school consists of two classes. One is

equivalent to our Year 8 (Form 1) and the other is
the equivalent of our Year 10 (Form 3). Most of
our students are older than one would usually
find in these levels. The reason is that at the end
of primary school, there is little or no opportunity
for students to continue their education in a lot
of rural Africa, not just in Zimbabwe.
Our students, in the main, are young people who
have come in the hope of completing what little
high school education they have already had, or
in the hope of having a high school education for
the first time. Like most mature-aged students in
Australia, they value this second chance.
Our students work hard in sometimes
uncomfortable circumstances with not yet
enough equipment or books. Each month we
endeavour to enrich the school life and are happy
that we can gradually improve their
circumstances.
Ebenezer Farm School, south of Bulawayo, is
offering to take five of our students who will be
selected to attend and live in for an eighteen
month apprenticeship starting next year.

The selected students may be girls or boys, and it

is the chance of a lifetime for five of our young
people to gain expertise and qualifications in
farming for profit. They will also study English
and Marketing amongst other subjects, and be
partnered by Ebenezer to grow their own crops.
The profit will be used to pay back what they owe
for the seed, and the remainder will be their own
money.

Page 2

School Update

These people will become Field Officers and

return to Fort Rixon to teach the community
members what they have learned, that is, to farm
for profit instead of simply eking out a
subsistence lifestyle. How absolutely wonderful!
As the school consists of mainly older teenagers
and young adults, we shall be incorporating life
skills in the curriculum, and teaching,
encouraging and partnering the students in small
businesses of their own.
Our plan was and is always to encourage
independence and to give hope. Thank you for
making this possible!
Next year we envisage having three classes as
they move up a grade. The local community can
now see and believe that we mean business!
Suzanne

LEFT: Students playing soccer.

Speaking of
Zimbabwe,
we dont!
The situation in Zimbabwe is something
that cannot be openly spoken about in
Zimbabwe and even here it is something
that it is better to leave out of print so
you will find we dont bring this up in
newsletters.
To keep up to date with the situation in
Zimbabwe we suggest a website such as:
http://www.zimbabwesituation.com

The photographs from Fort

Rixon provoked a lot of
questions and discussion.

A morning tea attended by

75 people was held in
Nannup in March. An
incredible thing was how
much support has come out
of this from people
donating cakes, raffle prizes,
money or helping on the
day, to suggesting things we
could do to fundraise,
suggesting things the ladies
in Zimbabwe could make,
offering to hold or help with
fundraising events.

How good these things are

for us as well as those we
are helping they bring us
together and inspire us and
give us hope for what can
be achieved. I think this is
particularly important with
children. With constant
negativity coming across
with news broadcasts, there
is a danger that children
grow up with a sense of
hopelessness. For them to
realize that they can make a
difference and that there
are so many good people
doing so much for others
and
achieving
positive
change is so important.

The Nannup School Choir

came and sang including
some great African songs.
They were so enthusiastic!
A money chain was held in
Nannup on the Saturday of
Easter, and was very
successful too.
A big highlight was a little
girl giving us her $25 Easter
egg money!

SPEAKERS
AVAILABLE

Page 3

Nannup
Happenings!

If you know of a group that

would like a presentation on the
work of Living Foundation,
please let us know.
We would love to tell our story!

(See back page)

Desks (need 22) $85 ea

Chairs (need 100) $24 ea

The Nannup School, under

the guidance of the school
chaplain, is working out a
plan with Enkanyisweni
Christian College to have
the students form an
exchange between them.
This is very exciting! Louise

Garage Sale Fundraiser in Busselton

A few very early birds catching the worm!
This is only half of the goods for sale!

In February, thanks to the many donations of goods and

plants and the generosity of family members allowing us to
use their home as our venue, we held a very successful
garage sale!
I remember looking at the random piles of goods for sale on
the night before, thinking that I would rather just have a little
cry and go home, when reinforcements flowed in to help, and
in what seems like just a short time, all was beautifully
categorised and set out, ready for an early start on the next
day!
My thanks go out to those lovely people! On the day, two of
my granddaughters were there to help and it was all rather
good fun! We raised far more than I expected, and still have
some things left over for the car boot sale planned for
Nannup! Cheers, Suzanne.

Page 4
DONATION COLLECTION TINSdo you have room for one?
We have donation collection tins available that would suit a
high volume cash location. Each tin comes with a basket
full of African Rusks which are free with every donation.
Please email Louise at furniss5@bigpond.com.

We Are Now Official!

Hi everyone! When our last newsletter was written, we
were a group dedicated to improving the lives of the
people in Fort Rixon. With the swell of support and the
increasing amount of work and responsibility, we have
now become an official registered charity!
We are now known as Living Foundation Australia Ltd, a
not-for-profit charitable organisation. In time we shall
apply for tax-deductibility status, but it will take a while
and is by no means guaranteed. Our focus remains the
same as when we started.
We are extremely happy to be official now, and here is a
list of our board members: Louise Furniss, Suzanne
Reynolds, Bob Cameron, Lindsay Reynolds and Marilyn
Royer. On our working team we have Christine Turner and
Kay Savory. Christine works on the newsletter and other
design and advertising tasks. Kay is an ideas
woman (apologies to The Castle) with energy and
practical inspiration. We are all very happy to serve in
these ways.
Because we are now registered and intend to apply for tax
deductibility, we are asking that people become members
of LFA at a cost of $10 per annum. We do need at least 50
to begin with, and all membership funds will be used as
donations for Fort Rixon and other projects as we grow.
Living Foundation Australia Ltd is working in partnership
with Living Foundation in Zimbabwe. This is a trust that we
have set up over there, costing $500 to register. The
trustees are: Tatenda Toera, Elizabeth Toera, Patience
Kuture and Nqobile Mahlangu.
We have found that it is better to have local African
people to handle local government requests and to be
culturally appropriate and sensitive to the local people. It
works much better for them and suits our criterion of all of
this eventually being African-owned and run. Its all
exciting, a bit scary, but fantastic! Suzanne and Louise

Thank You !
...testimonies from the Students
I do not know my father and my mother died 6
years ago. My uncle paid for my schooling until 3
years ago when he could no longer afford it. I
have always wanted to be a nurse and thank you
to Living Foundation to giving me the opportunity
to continue with my education.
Zanele Sibanda (Aged 17)
My Dad died in a car accident in 2010 and left me
in the care of my grandmother who is old. Thanks
to Living Foundation for providing the opportunity
to continue with our schooling. I want to be an
engineer when I grow up.
Muza Joseph (Aged 16)
I dropped out of school in 2007 because of
financial problems and have been doing piece jobs
as a builders assistant to try and survive. I am
grateful to Living Foundation for affording me a
second chance with my education. When I grow
up I want to be a chartered accountant.
Vusumuzi Taonezvi (Aged 23)
I have not finished my education because of
financial problems. I have been living by the grace
of God. I would like to thank Living Foundation for
providing me with a chance with my education.
When I grow up I want to be a business lady.
Sithobekile Dumane (Aged 18)
I left my school two years back because of
financial woes. My parents were always fighting
and ended up cancelling their marriage. My Mum
could not afford my tuition and I had to drop out of
school. Thank you Living Foundation. When I
grow up I want to be a lawyer.
Takaza Nhema (Aged 15)

$200pm
Currently, Living Foundation provides
$200 per month for fabric. Our aim is
for the sewing ladies to generate their
own income by tendering for contract
work such as providing school uniforms.

Page 5

Hospital Comfort Bags

School Library

A team of five ladies (including Louise

and myself) plan to go to Bulawayo in
September. One of the things we want
to do (we being Living Foundation) is to
provide new mums in one of the
government
hospitals
with bags
containing such things as talcum powder,
sanitary napkins, tissues, face washers,
toothbrush and toothpaste, a cuddly toy
and a big fat chocolate!

We had a request from Collins, to help him to encourage

a reading culture amongst the students by providing
reading books. One of our team members here has most
generously begun to fulfil this request by selecting,
ordering and paying for books online. These will be
posted from the United States directly to Tatenda Toera
in Bulawayo. Can you imagine the delight on the faces of
Collins and the students when they see all these lovely
books?!

Louise and I visited the hospital last year

and were deeply affected by these
women, especially those with premature
babies, bravely doing their best for their
little ones. Lets bring them some
unexpected joy!
A lovely Busselton lady has offered to
make as many bags as she can! We also
have a young couple in Perth who have
offered to fundraise to provide the funds
needed to fill the bags in Bulawayo when
we get there.
Thanks so much to these wonderful
helpers! Suzanne

If you would like to expand this new library, we would

suggest visiting Better World Books, who post free to
Zimbabwe. The address is www.betterworldbooks.com.
Please choose books that you know will be suitable for
teenagers and that you feel will be enjoyable for these
young people.
You are asked to check with us if you are in any doubt, or
need to make sure you are buying something that we
dont already have. We will let you know the address to
which the books can be posted.
We would like you to choose books that are wholesome,
that is, no extra-marital sex, extreme violence or any
witchcraft. Witchcraft is alive and powerful in Africa,
and exerts a powerful and evil influence wherever it can.
Thank you! Louise and Suzanne

Khayelihle Ngwenya
Several weeks ago, I received this email from Collins, our schoolteacher:
Madam Suzanne,
How are you? I just want to inform you that one of our year 10
students (Khayelihle Ngwenya) has lost her granny. She was her
guardian. There are high possibilities that she might have to
relocate to go and live with other people elsewhere outside
Fort Rixon. As a class, we have cancelled our lessons for this
afternoon to go and offer our condolences to the mourning family
as a way of showing solidarity. I will update you on our activity
later on. God bless, Collins.
Our team was deeply saddened by this news, as it led to Khayelihle having to move away from Fort Rixon to live
with another relative. As Khayelihle is already 19 years old, it is unlikely that she will now have an opportunity to
further her studies. If prayer is part of your life, please pray for her. What is heart-warming in this story is the
fact that from far away we can share in this familys grief and Khayelihles loss. What I love is that all of her
classmates and her teacher supported her by offering condolences and later attending her Grannys funeral.
They also gave her $10 as a gift to offer their practical help. We are becoming part of a family we have not yet
met, and to me that is so wonderful, even in sad times like this, and perhaps especially in these times.
PS: I cant get Collins to call me Suzanne, as much as I try!

These two young women have progressed in their

studies and have begun to prepare a vegetable
garden to raise money as a small business
enterprise. As their produce matures, our school
will purchase some of it to use in our school lunch
programme which we anticipate will commence in
second term. This way we will see Beauty and
Nomagugu gain some independence from our
current support for them, and Living Foundation
will then be able to re-direct some of that support
to someone else or into another project.
Beauty and Nomagugu first approached our
Zimbabwe team leader, Tatenda Toera, for a
chance to study. They both have a young child
and are living with family in extremely poor
circumstances. One of them told Tatenda that she
would do anything for another chance at a good
life for her and her child. She had a job at the tiny
local tuck shop, which she has given up in order to
spend that time at school.
She and Nomagugu both wish to become teachers
or nurses. We are supporting them as much as we
can at the moment, to ensure that they and their
little ones stay safe and well, and so that they have
the best chance possible of succeeding in their
dream.
We are extremely proud of them both. Suzanne

Page 6

Beauty and Nomagugu (Right)

Beauty and Nomagugu preparing a vegetable

patch at the school. The produce will be used to
prepare a lunchtime meal for the students
often their only meal of the day.

We want to feed the students at lunchtime.

Cost = 50cents per child, per day

$100

per week

Vintage and interesting fashions for fashion parade

(on loan or donation)
Models, all shapes and sizes
Stall holdersbridal, make-up, accessories etc. for our

ECLECTIC
FASHION FAIR
5-6th October 2013
at the Busselton Youth Centre
Do you have good quality vintage, evening, bridal, fashion, childrens
wear, bags and accessories you can donate for sale? (Those beautiful
trousers that you know are not going to unshrink themselves despite
being given several years to mend their ways?)

Please email Kay at kaysavory@westnet.com.au

I was born 23 years ago in Bulawayo. I am the first born in a family of three. I am single. I
did my elementary and secondary schooling in Bulawayo and my high school in Gwanda a
town 124 km outside Bulawayo. I recently attained my Diploma in Education at The
Hillside Teachers' College and got the opportunity to work for Living Foundation as a full
time tutor at the Learning Center. I teach two classes ie the grades 8 and 10. My vision for
the Center is to see it grow to be one of the highly recognized learning institutions in the
country.

Personal
Profiles

Page 7

Collin Tlou

BELOW: Our teacher Collin Tlou

(right) with assistant teachers,
Ordern Dube (left) and Mrs
Trizor Sithole (centre).

Ordern Dube
I am 22 years old. I am the first born in a family of six. I am single. I did my primary and
secondary education at Siganda village in Inyathi. I finished my primary education in 2004
and my secondary schooling in 2008. I enrolled for my tertiary education at the United
College of Education (U.C.E) in 2009 and attained a Diploma in Education three years later.
I am currently the Grade 6 tutor at Inyozani Primary School and helping the kids at the
Learning Center part time respectively. I am the mathematics tutor at the Learning Center.

Trizor Sithole
I am 50 years old. I am a single mother with two daughters. My elder
daughter is at tertiary level and my younger one is in grade 11. I did my primary
education at Mtshede Primary School in Bulawayo and later
proceeded to Usher Girls High for my secondary level. After my secondary level, I then
enrolled for my tertiary education at Gwanda Zintec where l obtained my Certificate in
Education in 1981. I am currently the school Head of Inyozani Primary School. I am also
the Commerce tutor at the Learning Center. My hope and vision is to see the Learning
Center producing people who can support themselves.

Classroom News from Busselton!

Hi, my name is Bob Cameron. I am a school teacher both by a calling from God and because I LOVE it! I taught for 19 years in the
government school system and have now taught for about 16 years at Cornerstone Christian College in Busselton, Western Australia. I
had the thrill of joining with a group of like minded parents back in 1986 when Cornerstone began with 17 students from grades 1-5.
There are now over 500 students attending.
The early pioneering days were filled with lots of hard work and zeal, but the rewards were out of this world! When the opportunity
came to help partner with a fellow teacher in Zimbabwe and commence a Secondary school over there, I jumped at the chance as it
took me back to my own early pioneering days. I have been able to get to know Collins a little via email and skype, but I feel that our
hearts are together on so many things.
It is never easy commencing an educational education that is really under resourced. There are always so many things that would help
to make the work easier. But despite these drawbacks, there is joy in the hearts of students who now have some sort of hope
- hope to perhaps get a good education and break the unemployment/ poverty trap
- hope in the form of an eternal love in Jesus Christ
- hope for better things for the community
Collins and I continue to build our partnership. I enjoy sharing with him and hope to one day meet him personally. In the meantime,
we will build our long distance digital relationship
This year at Cornerstone, I have a year 5/6 class of students and they are right behind Living Foundation.
They regularly pray for the school in Fort Rixon and we have a money tin on my desk that is used for
donations. I am constantly amazed at the generosity of these students as they often bring in their own
pocket money and donate small change.
We also have a main fund raising project happening a JOKE book. The kids (and their teacher) love humour
and the jokes reflect their love of life and fun. We are selling the joke books for $2.50 and we are quite
excited about this fun project. We already have in mind a theme for the next joke book a Bible fun book!
We also hope to host a quiz night next term with an African flavour. The emphasis will be on fun and a
celebration of all things African.

If you would like to purchase one of Bobs joke books, please email him: bobcameron6280@hotmail.com

Page 8

100%

of all donations
received are
distributed across
the various project expenses. All running
costs to date have been provided by our
volunteers who also provide their time and
expertise without cost to the project.
In Zimbabwe, teachers
are paid an average of
$4 per houror less if they
are unqualified.

A little can do much to

help these beautiful
people become selfsufficient!

Our wish list and what things cost !

Desks (need 22) $85ea Chairs (need 100) $24ea
School lunches$100 per week (50c/day/student)
Dongle (modem) for teachers laptop$38
Solar panels$75-$120 (depending on size)
Blackboard$155

Projector$650

Data Bundle$20 Internet airtime$?

Computer printer$? (price to come)
Dressmaking scissors$20 ea
Hand-driven sewing machines$85

Some on-going running expenses:

Toll gate fees$1 each way to/from Fort Rixon
Fuel (spent since Nov 2012$710)

Senior students and their temporary desks.

Thanks to the generosity of our supporters, we are changing lives and

making progress in our mission to help the people of Fort Rixon.

Thank You !
If you require further information or do
not wish to receive these newsletters
please contact:
Louise Furnissfurniss5@bigpond.com
Suzanne Reynoldscleomacsr@gmail.com

BANK ACCOUNT DETAILS

Harvey & PartnersAccountants
Trust Fund Account
BSB: 086-565 ACCOUNT: 684478784
Transaction Description: Fort Rixon
Please send an email to
cleomacsr@gmail.com
to let us know of your deposit so we can
provide you with a receipt and thank you
personally for your donation.