Good luck

Good luck and safe travels Rob.

Carpe Diem.

Run BigBoySlim Run !

My good friend Craig S. ran his first marathon this morning in Cape Town, South Africa. With an awesome time of 4hrs 7mins. Well done Craig and a very special thank you from all your friends at Zimkids.

From Craig: “ I pushed on through the pain for Zimkids. Couldn’t let them down.”

From Craig’s brother Dean: “ He nearly stopped at one point cos he thought he was gonna have heart attack. But he pushed through for the Kids.”

From Craig’s dad Hylton: “ 4hrs 7mins in freezing, shit weather.”

From Craig’s mom Lee: “ So proud of our son Craig who completed his first marathon run in Cape Town this morning. ;) x x.”

Carpe Diem.

Nice ?

Nicer ?

Nicerer ?

Nicest ?

Carpe Diem.

Getting old is actually OK now

Carpe Diem.

A truly fine young man

And who I am proud to call a good friend. Thank you Craig.

Please read:

"To my family and friends,

As most of you are aware, in January 2011 I took up road running as part of my weight loss regime. Little did I know that 18 months later, running will have become an integral part of my day-to-day life and that I would at long last be preparing for my 1^st full marathon (Cape Town Marathon) to be held on 23 September in which I will run 42.2km/26.2 miles around Cape Town.

Given that distance running is a fairly lonely sport, one often has time to think and reflect. On my longer training runs around beautiful Cape Town, I often consider how fortunate I have been from a financial and health perspective. I have a loving and supportive family and many wonderful friends. There are however those who have not been as fortunate. I would therefore like to use this milestone in my life and running “career” to raise funds and awareness for a charity which is close to my heart, Zimkids.

As most of you are aware I spent the better part of my childhood in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. For those who have not visited Zimbabwe, the people ,who have endured so much over the last couple of decades, are still incredibly humble, gentle and grateful for all that they have. It is this that I admire and for whom I would like to raise awareness through Zimkids.

In a country where 20% of the children are orphans and 94% of the adults are unemployed, Zimkids provides a safety net for 200 of Zimbabwe’s neediest orphans and teaches them the skills necessary to build better futures for themselves and their community.

I understand that many of you have commitments to your own charities which you support however, I am asking that as I intend to push myself physically to reach this milestone, for you to push yourself too and kindly consider making a contribution (no matter how big or small) to this very worthy cause which I support. The link to donate is as follows http://www.globalgiving.com/projects/zimkids-feeds-zimbabwean-orphans-body-and-soul/ and can also be accessed through the Zimkids website http://www.zimkids.com/new/. All donations will be completely anonymous. Should you wish to make the donation in my honour, please feel free to do so.

With gratitude,

Craig

ps check out Zimkids on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/Zimkids”

Carpe Diem.

Truly inspirational

The Paralympics. Thank you !

Carpe Diem.

Planes, Japanese and RUSH

What an action packed day.

Picked up my good friend Bwian (Brian), from BWI airport and we drove on to IAD airport to the Air & Space Museum. For two pilots, it was simply amazing.

Then on to the RUSH concert at a nearby venue. Backstage passes and all. Not before partaking in a wonderful Japanese dinner.

Carpe Diem.

Zimkids update

By Dennis Gaboury - Founder, Chair, Board of Trustees

As you might have noticed, we updated our GlobalGiving project page to reflect that Zimkids now has a new home.  We are happily and productively operating out of our new building. We worked 7 days a week for the last few months to open on July 31st. We’ve entered a whole new era – thanks to so many of you.  You can see the project in a 2 minute slideshow by going tohttps://www.vimeo.com/47694837.

Now that we have land, along with a greenhouse and drip irrigation system, we can produce much of the food the orphans we serve require – along with training in modern agricultural techniques using little water or fertilizer. Our goal, after all, has never been to foster dependency. While we will continue to provide them with staple foods, we are encouraging them to work with our staff to grow the vegetables and – later -fruit that will add such critical nutrition to their starch-heavy diet. Our donations for kale will be used for seed or soy protein.  We are ending beef distribution because meat inspection is now untrustworthy because of corruption.

We’ve been able to improve our educational programs substantially. In addition to paying school fees, we will be offering tutoring in our own resource center, a library and a fantastic computer center that will allow the children to enter the 21^st century in style. Our old Council of Elders, who “graduated” into Seniors, and who built our center and who will now be referred to as Staff will receive ongoing training in first aid, counseling, management, accounts which in a year’s time they will pass on to our next generation of Seniors.

Our staff members are receiving basic first aid and minor medical training so that they can work with our physicians.

We’re also expanding the on-the-job vocational training we gave to the Seniors with training in metalwork (take a look at the phenomenal metal shields that hold up our computer desks – we’re already offering similar ones for sale!) And our center is entirely powered by solar energy!

With our new space, we have been able to broaden our recreational activities to include netball, which is popular with the girls, an obstacle course which under the guidance of Foster Dingani, one of our exceptional Seniors, will build the obstacle course as a carpentry training program for the older children, and board games for rainy days, in addition to our old programs in performing arts, visual arts, and soccer. If you take a peak at the slide show you will see the murals on the walls that surround the Center, you’ll see the work of our amazing new art teacher, Shaka, who is currently working with the children to design and paint murals on the inside of the walls.

Finally, we’re making a serious push on special training for our girls, who are growing up in a society where rape is an epidemic, families press for early marriage to gain access to cash (since the husband needs to pay for the privilege of marriage), sanitary napkins are expensive, and obedience is prized. Two of our trainees who built the new center are young women, and they are taking the lead in designing programs to help teach the younger women and girls the lesson that they have learned about protecting themselves, the value of saying NO, and standing up for their rights. They will be bolstered by a nurse who will teach them about family planning and reproductive health.

You can visit our facebook page at www.facebook.com/zimkids or our website, currently being updated to see photos of the project. Our website is currently being updated.

Stay tuned, please. We have already been widely recognized as one of the most innovative orphan projects in Africa, and we’re just getting going to show what can be accomplished by a center built by orphans and run by orphans for orphans.

I am in the States until I return to Zimbabwe in December and have lots of frequent flyer miles if you or your organization would like to host Zimkids for fundraising events.  Wherever possible we can set up skype video conferences with our kids and yours bridging the miles and bringing the smiles to opposite sides of the globe!

In the mean time……..

Mike is back at school in his senior year of mechanical engineering. He also has a part time internship (paid) that he is quite excited about. His pet ball python “Nyoka” continues to grow.

Rob leaves for the UK towards the end of September. She is really excited about completing her Masters in Sports Psychology. In the meantime she is still enjoying coaching and playing soccer.

Max continues to plug along at 15+ years. He is almost completely blind, deaf and a bit incontinent. But, nonetheless, he is loved dearly. Rob is definitely “alpha” now with me relegated to “omega” !

Aunt E is fine. Playing and watching as much tennis as she can.

As for me………who cares. Not really. Traveling as much as I can and loving it.

Carpe Diem.

A visit with the “Warden”

I had my port flush, bloodwork and Dr. check up today. Here is how things went:

The port flushed beautifully. Just like a brand new commode from Home Depot :-)

The bloodwork and vitals were all fine. Allow me to dispel some myths. There are no blood markers or blood tests for lung cancer. When I say all is fine it means all the standard blood stuff (white cells, red cells etc.) are normal. I have however, put on 3 more pounds. My BMI (body mass index) is slowly creeping up. I know. Stop eating like a pig !

My meeting with Dr. S went well. We have set up my next scans for September 26th and doctor’s appointment for September 28th. Depending on how the scans look a determination will be made then as to whether we need to restart chemo or continue on my well deserved break. I know what I prefer.

Carpe Diem.