The day would not have happened without the support of our main sponsors – G’Tel. Their staff teamed up with the Miracle Missions Staff and made the day what it was!
The weather couldn’t have been more perfect on the morning of Wednesday April 30, with anticipation hanging in the air for the day that lay ahead.
The team from Miracle Missions arrived bright and early to help set up bouncy castles, finalise the arts and crafts stalls, race tracks (which had all been set up the day before) and countless other treats for the children.
We were pleasantly surprised at how many other volunteers arrived throughout the course of the early morning, all raring to go. Signed in we had around 160 helpers, who helped organize the events, interact with the children and pack the food parcels. We could not have managed without them!
The registration of the hundreds of carers (about 190), disabled children (about 285) with a few brothers and sisters in tow, and volunteers began hesitatingly as the children were a little unsure of things, but soon a method was established and everything ran smoothly.
Once the children signed in they were escorted across to the “Hand Painting” table where each child “made their mark”. A large piece of canvas was donated by FahnenFleck and this will be used to highlight some of the homes that visited for the day and bring awareness for those who are disabled.
The ladies manning the table set the tone for the day by gently washing the children’s hands and loving them with big hugs before they set off on the next adventure.
The excitement was visible in every single child’s face, which only escalated when they received a live performance from one of Zimbabwe’s very own rapper performers from MC Ralica – Nyasha. It was immensely heart warming to see all of the carers, volunteers and children in the hall together, clapping and singing along together.
Next, the children moved back outside to the area that they’d all had their eyes on since the minute they arrived – the bouncy castles and slides which came at a heavily discounted price from Kingdom Inflatables.
Activities such as the sack races, dancing and bouncy castles, there were various crafts such as painting and creation of paper crowns, which were proudly worn by most children throughout the day, Paper and card donated by Print Works and Di Negri. DHL donated 100 colouring books – the children loved drawing and colouring.
The glee derived from the bouncy castles and dancing were limitless, and in our opinion these were the biggest successes.
Many children and carers spent long periods of time dancing and singing by the DJ’s station, where music continued to pump all afternoon. Payman Systems supported the day with two sound systems and a fantastic “DJ”.
Despite their various disabilities, the dancing we saw from the children was far better than anything some of us may ever attempt!
It was touching to see literally hundreds of children, all from different backgrounds and different levels of life, come together as one. Jo, one of the volunteers experienced a little Down Syndrome boy, around the age of five, being handed a handful of little sweets. Rather than stuffing them all into his pockets or mouth, he looked around for someone to share his pleasure with – and promptly set his eyes on an albino girl of around the same age. He held half of the sweets out to her, and she clapped her hands and took them, smiling shyly.
This was just one of the many displays of outstanding generosity that was seen throughout the day, and all of the MM Team felt privileged to have been there and experienced them.
The only aspect of the day which proved difficult and didn’t go quite according to plan was the delivery of a meal to every single child, carer and lastly volunteer. We had originally catered for around 400 hundred people in total thinking this would be plenty, with a slight increase in pies for volunteers. Teams getting the “lunch bags” ready for distribution!:
Donated goodies
– 200 orange bags donated by G’Tel
– 400 pies donated by People’s Choice
– 300 yoghurts donated by Dendairy
– 300 Chocolate milks donated by Dendairy
– 300 Bananas – given at discounted price by Food Lovers Market
– 200 pies – Food Lovers Market
– 400 Doughnuts from Food Lovers Market
– 100 Buns donated by Victoria Shelley
– 25 doughnuts from Victoria
– 25 bananas from Victoria
– 320 x 50gr Lindt Gold Bunnies donated by Pro Brands
– 6 Tubs 100 x 5 piece Mini Mento’s donated by Pro Brands
– 500 packets of chips donated by Kusona Trading, Stefan Hair
– 400 bottles of Tinga Mira water donated by Tanganda
– Various juices donated by Innscor Distribution
– Loads of chocolates and sweets – Innscor Distribution & Pick ‘N Pay.
We really do have the best people in the world living in Zimbabwe!
However, it transpired that on the day there were nearly seven hundred hungry mouths to feed. With much hard work and improvisation and without a doubt the help of the Lord, not a single child, carer or volunteer left with an empty stomach and without a smile on their faces.
A grateful thanks to Gateway Primary School who graciously let us use their facilities for the party. Their staff were on hand and they organized security for the day and helped out by making it easy to get into classrooms and toilets and around the school by building some platforms ! And of course no event could be without the aid of our First Aiders – MARS were on standby for any unforeseen problems of which there were none! A professional photographer by the name of Jenny Ansley came along and captured all the special moments to remind us of a wonderful fun filled day!
Special thanks was given by Robert, a representative of G’Tel to all those who attended, supported and volunteered to make this amazing day happen !
The Miracle Missions Team left the school around half past three after cleaning up and ensuring that the venue of Gateway Primary was left exactly as we found it, feeling immensely gratified and content, but without a doubt tired!
Post published in: News