2011 H.O.P.E. Update: A letter from Langkloof

H.O.P.E. stands for "Help Other People Endure." Created by a group of teenage girls in Cincinnati, Ohio, H.O.P.E. is helping rebuild the South African village of Langkloof.

It is now seven years since the inception of this wonderful project and we are delighted that it is still flourishing and making a huge difference to the lives of so many children in the Langkloof community.

The centre is always a hub of activity. The creche and preprimary school has grown in leaps and bounds. The number of children has grown steadily over the years. There are currently 74 children attending the creche and pre primary school. Lindiwe Khoza continues to supervise the centre and teach the pre primary class. She is an amazing woman who teaches with passion, discipline,dedication and large amounts of compassion. Her assistants Maria Khonza and Virginia Khosi are equally dedicated and valuable, we are extremely blessed to have them all on our team.

The kitchen is busy from early in the morning. The creche and pre primary school have a hearty breakfast and then they prepare lunch for the approximately 550 children who have lunch there daily everyday of the year. Sadly Joseph Miya, our chef, who has been involved since the very beginning, has retired. We miss him and were extremely sorry to see him go. Fortunately Joseph trained two very capable young men to take over from him and David and Susan are coping very well. Tholiwe is a lovely woman who maintains the cleanliness of the centre and assists with the feeding of the smaller children.

The tunnels and shade cloth gardening are doing well. Apart from a few setbacks from adverse weather conditions and unwelcome blights we continue to grow delicious vegetables. Justin continues to oversee this section of the project. We would certainly not be able to manage without his support and dedication.

The daily maintenance of the centre is ongoing. We have recently acquired a brand new gas stove and hot water urn. During the July school vacation we will be repainting the kitchen, storeroom, dining room and all the classrooms.

Whenever possible we have parties and clothing handouts for the children. The Christmas parties and handing out of presents are always very special occasions.

We continue to support the local High School, Amaphisi, in whatever way we are able to. Corinne Hagen , Etienne both Maths Teachers and 12 of their students from Lawrenceville, Princeton, New Jersey are coming to Little Switzerland resort on the 5th August until the 13th August 2011. During this time they will be teaching Maths, Science and English to the Matric classes at Amaphisi High School in Langkloof. They will also be spending time with the children at the centre. The local teachers and students benefit immensely from these visits. This will be Corinne's fourth visit to Langkloof and many of the teachers and students have got to know her.

The economic recession has hit hard and as always it is the poorest of the poor that suffer the most. As long as we are able Chris and I will continue to do all we can to make sure that these children receive a good balanced nutritious meal each day and that we give them plenty of love and support.

With continued heartfelt thanks and appreciation to all who give of their love and support to make this project possible.

With love from Christopher and Carol Anne Mumby, our wonderful team and all the children of Langkloof.

H.O.P.E. is a non-profit organization started in 2003 by a group of Cincinnati teens. Its core members are Maya Amoils, Jordan Baird, Carly Brightwell, Amanda Cohen, Ellyn Guttman, Megan Levine, Christie Lindner, and Rachel Nussbaum. H.O.P.E.'s goal is to raise money in order to provide Langkloof with living essentials and education. Ultimately, we want to provide Langkloof with the resources necessary to become a self-sustaining community.