At the beginning of December, a Camfed donor pledged to invest $10,000 in keeping 400 girls in school through Camfed’s Safety Net Fund program if we could persuade 5,000 new supporters to join our Facebook Cause by June 1st 2009. We were delighted to see that, with the help of a devoted group of champions, our Cause had attracted 1,000 new supporters in less than a week. In less than two weeks, we were halfway to our target!

Inspired by the energy and motivation behind our Cause, our anonymous donor pledged to put an additional $5,000 toward educating African girls if we reached our goal of 5,000 supporters before December 31st. We reached that target almost two weeks early—on December 20th—and the number of Camfed Cause supporters continues to grow, now past 6,000.

Camfed would like to extend our profound gratitude to everyone who has helped spread the word to friends, family, and colleagues, and to the thousands of new supporters who are now part of Camfed’s mission to make sure that the most disadvantaged children in the world have access to the opportunities unlocked by education. We look forward to continuing to work together with this group to grow our community even more! If you haven’t had a chance to join Camfed’s Cause, visit www.causes.com/camfed.

We were thrilled to wake up this morning and discover a blog post about Camfed on the Huffington Post! In the piece, Robert Tolmach, the CEO of Changing the Present—a terrific online resource for charitable gifts—describes the way that a pair of school shoes can change a girl’s life.

His cleverly titled, “Shoes Aren’t Just for Throwing” explains why sturdy shoes are essential for children walking long distances to attend school in rural Africa—but that they are beyond the financial means of many families. In fact, children in Africa routinely drop out of school for want of a simple pair of shoes.

We’re honored that Robert Tolmach chose to highlight Camfed, and we hope that his post will encourage you to consider keeping a child in school by donating a pair of shoes by visiting Changing the Present.

Camfed was launched in Zimbabwe 15 years ago, so our roots there are deep and our community relationships are well-established. But with the country’s economy in collapse, we are encountering increasing challenges in carrying out our mission there. Thanks to the dedication of our Zimbabwe staff and the resilience of the communities where we work, we have been able to keep our commitment to provide education to the country’s most vulnerable children. But with most of the population struggling to meet their basic survival needs, vulnerable children are becoming the rule rather than the exception.

Camfed’s Director of Operations and Resources, Luxon Shumba, a Zimbabwean national, just returned from a field visit to his home country. He talked to Camfed’s Information and Media Relations Manager, Kimberley Sevcik, about the suffering he observed, and about how Camfed is negotiating the tremendous challenges of working in Zimbabwe.

Kimberley:  Tell me about what you saw on the ground.

Luxon: The situation is really desperate. People are living from hand to mouth.  I don’t understand how they are managing. Goods in the shops are priced in U.S. dollars, but people are earning their salaries in the local currency, which is valueless.  The inflation rate is currently estimated at 231 million percent, and the local currency, which once traded at one U.S. dollar to ten Zimbabwe dollars is now trading at one U.S. dollar to ten billion Zimbabwe dollars!  People simply cannot afford to buy anything

Even growing your own food is a problem.  Last year, some regions of the country were hit by a drought, so farmers were forced to use all of their seed, rather than reserving it to plant this year.  My brothers and sisters are still in Zimbabwe, and all we talk about when we get together for a meal is how they are going to continue to survive.

How is the crisis affecting Camfed’s program in Zimbabwe?

The program is continuing because of the community structures we have in place—committees made up of mothers and fathers and local school officials who are devoted to the welfare of the children. But they are overstressed because they are fighting for their own families’ survival while simultaneously trying to support the community’s most vulnerable children.

Hunger is a fundamental problem. I visited one school in a district called Wedza, and although the children were there, and they were attending classes, they were going to school on empty stomachs. How can you expect a child to concentrate in school when she has not eaten all day? I also spoke with teachers who had not collected their salaries in four months, because the cost of transport into town exceeded their salaries. How much longer can they go on teaching with no compensation?

While visiting Wedza, I met with headmasters of schools and parents and we discussed how we could keep children and teachers coming to school. We’re assessing a number of emergency measures, including offering incentives to teachers, and giving block grants to schools that would allow them to provide food for the children.

The people I met with sent a plea to the outside world for additional support. They are very much hoping that Camfed and the donor community will not be discouraged by the ongoing problems, but will instead continue their support by all means possible.

Was there anything you saw or heard while you were in Zimbabwe that particularly moved you?

Despite the near impossible challenges of operating in Zimbabwe, it is amazing beyond belief to see the commitment of Camfed’s community partners. These people are volunteers, they receive no payment, and they are scarcely able to survive. Even the government officials who work with us from various ministries earn next to nothing. But all of these people believe passionately in the need for education and they continue to serve with resolute commitment.

In countries where access to education is a given, few of us are aware just how precious it is to children who cannot take it for granted. We asked a group of secondary school students in the Wedza district in eastern Zimbabwe why they felt it was important that girls go to school. Their answers reveal a deep desire for knowledge, for respect, and for opportunity. They remind us that education makes all the difference between a life of limitations and one of possibility.

Lorraine
By going to school I am becoming a role model in my village. I am a living example to my brothers and sisters that it can be done. Success is not reserved for the elite class. Anybody can make it big in life including us from the dust. I want everyone from my village to appreciate that it’s not where they came from that makes them prosper but how much effort they put into pursuing their dreams.

Kudzaiishe
I was forced to drop out of school for a term for financial reasons, and during that time, I felt hopeless. When schools opened for second term I was lucky to be selected as a Camfed beneficiary. Since then I have never looked back.

I love going to school because it gives me a chance to meet new people with different ideas about life. Education is an investment that will stay with me throughout my life. It is mine to use as I wish and it can never be taken away.

Priscilla
It is important for me to go to school because it will me put me in a position to invest in the next generation–meaning that if I become an educated mother, I am more likely to send my children to school.

Kudzai
Education is important because it puts girls on equal footing with boys. Education is the foundation for development and prosperity. When a woman is educated she can become empowered, independent and responsible. Surely with all these qualities she can find herself a job and look after herself and her family.

Charity
It is important for a girl to get an education because nowadays life without education is not life. With an education, I’ll be able to prepare for my future. I’ll be able to select the profession that I want. I am in love with the subject of commerce, but my dream is to become a pilot.

Ever since Camfed started to assist me, I have had the feeling of belonging. Knowing that everything is catered by Camfed—school fees, books and uniforms—gives me the energy to work even harder.

Envioleta
After I finished primary school, my parents could no longer afford my school fees. I spent eight months at home herding cattle and goats instead of going to school like any other child.

I’m very relieved to be back at school. I want to get an education so that I can be enlightened on my rights as a woman. I have sadly realized that the reason why most women are abused in all facets of life is because they are ignorant of their rights.

Melody
If a girl goes to school, she has an opportunity to identify her strengths and choose her path.  Education is a form of emancipation.

Vimbai
Going to school is the only way I can qualify for a professional job, and the only way to elevate my status so I am recognized in society. With an education, I will avoid being a burden to other people.

If I was not in school right now, I imagine I would be married. That’s another good thing about education–educated women marry many years later than women with no education. They marry after they have had a chance to accomplish their dreams.

I met Mrs. Simbisai  M.*. . . earlier this year in Harare. She had traveled from her village 258 miles away, to attend a home-based care training workshop organized by Camfed for Mother Support Groups throughout rural Zimbabwe.  Mother Support Groups engage in income-generating activities such as gardening and soap-making in order to provide girls with all the small things they need to be able to attend school. They are made up of women who have seen the tremendous benefits of educating girls, and who are committed to doing their part to contribute to the mission.

When I first encountered Mrs. M., she struck me as an ordinary mother from rural Zimbabwe: a modest woman with cracked hands and greying hair. She wore tennis shoes with her skirt, and a wig that she had borrowed especially to come to the city. She is quiet and observant, but she has one of the most majestic spirits I have ever encountered.

About 13 years ago, Mrs M. learned of a three-year old in her village named Nobetter, who had lost both of her parents. Because Nobetter did not have nearby relatives, she took Nobetter into her home, although she already had four children of her own. Since that day, she has raised Nobetter.

Four years later, Mrs. M. adopted another orphan–an18-month-old named Patience, who lost her father to AIDS. Her mother was critically ill, and unable to care for her. Like Nobetter, Patience did not have any family in the village, so once again, Mrs. M. stepped in to be her guardian.

Nobetter is now 16 years old, and Patience is 11, and they are still with Mrs. M. She and her husband are subsistence farmers, and they struggle to make ends meet.   “It’s not like I am rich,” she says. “It’s the love that I have for these innocent children that pushes me to care for them.”

In addition to their four biological children, they have three grandchildren who live with them as well.  The family of 11 share a one-bedroom house and two round huts. At times, Mrs. M.’s husband has questioned the wisdom of her decision to adopt two children. “At one point my husband asked me where I was going to get the money to look after these girls,” Mrs. M. says. “I told him that they would feed on what I would be feeding on. Thank God he now understands me and he is very supportive.”

Mrs. M. is highly respected in her community as a woman who gives assistance to the disadvantaged. Another woman at the meeting told me that she wished she had a heart as big as Mrs. M.’s.

But what is most remarkable about Mrs. M.’s story is that in Zimbabwe, it is not an exception. Although everyone is worried about feeding their own families, among the communities where Camfed works, Mother Support Groups, Father Support Groups, teachers, and teacher-mentors still have the welfare of others in their hearts. Like Mrs. M. they continue to sacrifice, to find ways to find ways to help children through these times of crisis.

*Note: Mrs. M.’s full name has been omitted to protect her identity

Camfed is doing a Facebook Challenge to raise money to send girls in Africa to school!

Join this cause - http://www.causes.com/camfed/ and a Camfed donor has agreed to send a girl to elementary school FOR ONE MONTH.

Then, for every friend you get to join the cause, the donor will donate enough for another month. Convince 12 friends, and you’ll help fund an elementary school student’s education for a whole year.

We need your help to reach our goal of 5,000 supporters so please, join today: http://www.causes.com/camfed/