Reality in Zim

A girl looks from a broken window at the Just Children Foundation for orphans in Harare. Photograph: AP

State of decline

20 minutes: Frequency that a child dies of Aids and another is orphaned, according to the United Nations children's agency, Unicef, which estimates that 1.6 million children, almost one in three, are orphans.

3,000: Number of people estimated to die of Aids-related illnesses each week, despite an apparent slight decline recently in the HIV rate.

4.3 million: Number of people receiving food aid after several poor harvests blamed on drought and chaotic land reform.

34: Average life expectancy for women - the lowest in the world. For men it is 37, according to the World Health Organisation. The government says the figures are exaggerated.

3.5 million: Number of Zimbabweans said to have emigrated, mostly to South Africa, Botswana and Britain.


Two weeks from today, we will be flying to Zim. I don't really know what to expect, and right now it's hard to see any reality other than giving presentations and finishing finals before we leave. Besides the consideration that I have four finals in two days, I'm also calculating a million other things in my head... from the hours on the plane, to the number of socks i'll need to pack, to the days i'll have to be with my family before i go, to the money i still need to get there, to the awful statistics such as these listed, to the amount of apparent need in Zim. I cannot wait to be reunited with the Bells, learn more about what I can do and what we'll be doing for the month, and discover what God sees when He looks at the heart of Zimbabwe. What does God have to say about the situation? Where will we find justice? Will we be able to do what we are called to do?


please lift zimbabwe in your prayers tonight.