Good News from Peter And the Brook of Hope Home Zambia Team
Peter is the Program Manager for Brook of Hope Home in Zambia (BHHZ). He oversees our tutoring program, including hiring and supervising teachers and making sure the children receive the educational support they need.
He also manages our meal program and conducts monthly visits to the families through the outreach program. He meets with our students’ caregivers, listening to their needs, and delivers a bag of food to help offer support to their families when possible.
Peter serves as the lead mentor for our street youth, building relationships, offering guidance, and encouraging these young people to believe that their circumstances do not have to determine their future.
Today we are happy to share with you some updates that Peter has prepared about what’s been happening in BHHZ this summer.
A Heartfelt Thank You
As we enter a new month, the entire BHHZ family wants to express our deepest gratitude for your incredible generosity throughout July and into August. Your faithful partnership makes a direct, life-changing impact on the children we serve every single day.
Because of your continued support, our children receive:
- Nutritious Meals – A warm, healthy meal every Saturday to keep them nourished and energized.
- School Readiness – Essential school supplies including proper uniforms, sturdy shoes, backpacks, and books so they can attend school with dignity and confidence.
- Family support – Their family gets a bag of mealie meal(corn meal) which is our staple food monthly(at the moment we only provide for 5 families per month).
We are truly blessed to have you standing alongside us, and we look forward to continuing this vital work together in the months ahead.
Saturday Tutoring & The Launch of Our Sewing Program
Our Saturday tutoring sessions went exceptionally well this past month, with the children showing great enthusiasm and dedication to their studies.
We had a wonderful session with the children this week. Several Grade 7 students brought in their mock examination results, and we are proud to share that they performed very well. We are encouraging them to keep up this dedication for their final exams when the next school term opens.
To help them build on this progress, our teachers are identifying the specific subjects where the children struggled and working directly with them to strengthen those areas. Despite schools being closed for holidays, attendance today was good.
The youth with the sewing materials, they are absolutely loving this program and look forward to it every week!
We are thrilled to announce the official launch of our Sewing Program! This new initiative is designed to teach our children practical, lifelong skills while addressing a critical health and education barrier for our girls. Through this program, girls will learn to make washable sanitary pads so they never have to miss school during their periods. Check out the video below to see the program in action!
Video description: Today, we took time to conduct a hands-on sewing session with a group of keen and interested children. We began by going over the correct way to safely plug in the electric machine, along with a few foundational tips a professional tailor shared when he recently came to inspect our equipment. From there, we moved straight into learning measurements. Peter assigned each child a specific measurement of fabric to cut, and they went on to make simple bags after Chafwa helped demonstrate how to sew using the electric machine. Although Peter initially thought it would take them a lot of time to learn, many of them picked it up quickly without struggling. It was a wonderful experience, and seeing how excited and genuinely interested some of them became was truly inspiring.
Because many parents in our community tend to discourage their children from learning practical skills, Peter made a point to explain how valuable a skill like tailoring really is. Having a practical trade can provide a sustainable source of livelihood and even allow someone to employ others in the community. He also shared examples of local tailors turned fashion designers who are thriving today, showing how big this industry has grown in Zambia. They shouldn’t view tailoring as just a fallback option because someone didn’t perform well in school or something confined to sitting at the market, but rather as an empowering career path that can transform their lives and uplift their families.
Learn More & Get Involved:
If you would like to support our new sewing initiative or any of our ongoing programs, please reach out brookofhopehome@gmail.com. Your support helps keep these programs fully equipped and growing!
Street Youth Program & Prayer Request
Our work with the street youth continues to move forward steadily the two boys currently enrolled in school are doing wonderfully and remain deeply focused on their studies. We continue to meet and mentor the other three boys in town, building relationships and supporting their daily needs.
Unfortunately, we were unable to conduct our street youth outreach last Friday and Saturday due to safety concerns in the area. There was a heavy police presence as political parties gathered during the transportation of election ballot papers from Lusaka to Kabwe in town. Clashes broke out and political parties started throwing stones at each other which prompted the police to use teargas and gunshots to separate them resulting in several injuries.
The safety of our team and the youth is our priority at this critical time. We are monitoring the situation closely and hope to meet with the street youth next week either Tuesday or during our regular Friday/Saturday schedule provided conditions are safe after the elections.
Recent photo of some of the older students studying outside together.
Please join us in prayer for the street youth this month. We ask that God grant us wisdom, discernment, and the right resources to guide, protect, and lift these boys into brighter futures.
Please also pray for peaceful elections this Thursday, August 13th. The local atmosphere remains tense. Our centre is located directly opposite Kabwe Secondary School, which serves as one of the polling stations. Voters begin queuing as early as 3:00 AM, drawing massive crowds and political groups throughout the day, creating a high risk of conflict.
Please pray with us for:
- That the elections proceed peacefully without violence.
- For the safety of our team, community, street youth, and children.
- For the physical protection of our centre and property.
Thank you once again for your love, prayers, and financial partnership. You are truly helping us build hope, one child at a time.
Donate. Pray. Share.
With gratitude,
Peter Musentekwa
President of BHH Zambia
Oh behalf of the BHHZ Team
