Do you remember your childhood dreams? Did you want to be an astronaut and walk on the moon? Did you dream of standing up on stage and entertaining thousands of people as they chanted your name? Or maybe you wanted to be a doctor and save lives. In some cases, people actually get to live their childhood dreams, like our CEO, David Yohane.
Growing up in Zimbabwe, David’s dream was to move to North America and run his own business. With the support of family and friends, David was able to attain the education he needed to make his childhood dream a reality. Unfortunately, due to the AIDS pandemic in Africa, many children in Zimbabwe no longer have the support and access education that we often need to achieve our dreams.
Nearly 1.3 million children have been orphaned by AIDS in Zimbabwe. A large number of these children have been “lucky” as they have been able to go and live with a grandparent but for some, it has meant becoming a parent overnight. It is estimated by the National Aids Council that nearly 50,000 households in Zimbabwe are headed by children who have lost their parents to AIDS. Now instead of dreaming of becoming an astronaut, or moving to the west, these children and their siblings spend their days dreaming about the food, clothing, and water that they wish they had.
Recognizing the help these orphans needed, Bethel Church in Zimbabwe opened a small school for nine orphans in 2017. Unlike most schools in the country, orphans are allowed to attend for free and they are provided with free meals and a uniform. The school continues to grow and in 2020, they hope to increase enrollment to 80 children.
During a recent trip to Zimbabwe, David visited the Bethel School and was surprised to see the happiness and joy that these orphans still felt. With the support of the teachers at the school, these children are once again dreaming about what they want to be when they grew up and some, like David, still dreamt of coming to North America to run a business and live an even better life.
Seeing how these children who barely have anything are still able to dream and be happy with the support of the Bethel School, David and his newly created team of volunteers have pledged to raise enough money, $5,000, for the Bethel school to reinstate their recently canceled meal program and help the school expand its enrollment.
If you believe in equality and the power of education to change a person’s life, please visit David’s Go Fund Me Page and make a donation to the orphan children of the Bethel school.
Here are some of the ways your donation will help the students at Bethel:
$3.00 – Purchase a single meal for a student
$5.00 – Buy shoes for a student
$10.00 – Buy a uniform for a student
$50.00 – Pay a teacher’s wage for a month