Every fall semester, a group of students study abroad in Zambia and work with the Namwianga Mission. For many students, returning from Zambia can be a hard transition back to life at Harding. In 2007, a group coming back from Harding in Zambia (HIZ) decided to make this transition easier by introducing the concept of Hearts After HIZ, a fundraiser hosted in the spring by the HIZ students. The fundraiser benefits The Haven at the Namwianga Mission, a children’s home in Zambia.

Sophomore Kaitlin Uchida said The Haven’s goal is to provide children with care during the very important early stages of life and then to help them transition back into their home villages with one of their relatives.

Meagan Hawley, The Haven medical advocate, said Hearts After HIZ always seems to produce funds at just the right time to fit whatever it is that The Haven needs.

“We are so grateful for the donations we receive from this fundraiser, but are equally grateful for all the love it represents, and the heart behind it all,” Hawley said.

In past years, the fundraiser has produced enough money for playground equipment as well as special medical needs that some of the children have. Aside from its financial benefits, Hearts After HIZ provides students a way to stay connected to Namwianga. Hawley, a long time missionary to Zambia, said she understands the hole that can be felt after leaving people and places that one has grown to love. She said she believes the students need an event like Hearts After HIZ.

“I think Hearts After HIZ allows students to continue to bridge that gap between being back in their old world again while providing them a fun and meaningful avenue to do something to partner with the new community they’ve come to know and love so

dearly,” Hawley said.

Sophomore Ashley Laman and the rest of the 2014 HIZ group put together the 2015 Hearts After HIZ fundraiser last Thursday, Feb. 26. The group began meeting at the beginning of the semester to decide what they would sell, how they would design their shirts and how they would set the fundraiser up. They also met on two different days to make crafts to sell.

“While in Zambia in the fall I grew to love the children at The Haven so it made me happy to be involved with something that’s supporting those kids I love,” Laman said.

The group is still working to count the funds that were raised at this year’s fundraiser, but Laman believes that even with all the work done at the fundraiser, prayer is still the most powerful tool.

“We’re so thankful for all who supported (Namwianga) monetarily through Hearts After Hiz, but the most important thing to do to help Namwianga is pray,” Laman said.