Namumu Orphanage Center
Dear partners in caring for children at Namumu,
The year 2011 was a challenging one for the Namumu Orphanage Center as they faced some big financial and organizational difficulties. With the help of several congregations who are lead partners in the work there, we followed closely and advised as much as we were able, concerned for the well-being of the children at Namumu, those in residence and those attending the community school.
With the help of Mr. Quincy Maonde, Director of the Social Welfare Office for the Siavonga District, a new board has been put in place comprised of community leaders who are committed to helping at Namumu. Mr. Maonde has been helpful in lifting up the need for better leadership, better nutrition for the children and better maintenance for the building and grounds. The Outreach Foundation’s Rev. Bill Warlick was dispatched to Siavonga and met briefly with the newly constituted board in early November 2011.
The board has continued to meet and to address staffing issues that will strengthen the ministry. Mr. Phanuel Simamba was re-engaged by the new board as director; Mr. Clever Simayoba was rehired as Finance and Administration Manager and Mr. Sdembo Zenzo as Accounts Assistant. As stated in their minutes, “The board felt that the Center needed a turnaround strategy in order to improve its financial base. The board and management should work hand in hand to come up with ideas that will help the center develop and become self-sustaining.”
Mrs. Ebralie Mwizerwa, staff Projects Coordinator for The Outreach Foundation, and Rev. William Warlick, Southern Africa Area Coordinator, will be holding an on-site consultation with the new Namumu Board of Directors and staff in April to evaluate how we can continue to strengthen our partnership with Namumu.
We are grateful for the new board’s work to make Namumu a better place to care for the orphans and vulnerable children who live there. The stated goal of Namumu Orphanage Center is to move the children “from desperation to hope.” Their theme verse is James 1:27a, “Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to care for orphans and widows in their distress…”
We ask for your prayers and your continued support for this ministry. We continue to encourage groups to visit Namumu, and we invite you to please let us know of concerns or opportunities that you think Outreach can helpfully address. We cannot do this work without you, our partners. We will send another update to you following the consultation in April.
Below please find a recent note from Phanuel Simamba.
Grace and peace to you,
Rob Weingartner, Executive Director
Dear Friends and Partners,
On behalf of our dear children and staff, I want to thank you for supporting Namumu Orphanage Center financially and materially since its establishment to date. My vocabulary to express our gratitude for your undisputable support is quite limited, except to say thanks for the job well done, while God’s better words of appreciation for your support will be made known to you in the Kingdom of God. We are thankful to God for showing us the direction and a way out of the many challenges we faced in 2011. We are hopeful that we shall manage 2012 with his help.
Namumu Orphanage now has an independent Board of Trustees appointed by the Social Welfare, and the current involvement of the new District Commissioner in the plight of the center leaves us optimistic that 2012 will be a slightly different year, particularly in the involvement of as many local stakeholders as possible in the operations of the orphanage. The board and management commit to work tirelessly to accomplish their goal to increase local stakeholder’s involvement for the operations of the orphanage and its sustainability.
Please, do not relent in your support for the orphanage as our major co-operating partners. We need each other more than before. We need more of our partners who share in the plight of the NOC to visit us for continued relationship and advice.
The new board has met recently, and we are waiting for their report. We will share important policies and advancement as soon as we get the report. For now we wish you a prosperous New Year 2012 and look forward to our mutual collaboration in the work of the children God entrusted to our care. Let’s join together in our prayers for a blessed year!
Thanks,
Phanuel Simamba
Namumu Executive Director