Dear Friends,
As we approach the Thanksgiving holiday, I’m reflecting upon the many blessings we’ve experienced over the past year at MATTER. We have so much to be thankful for – beginning with YOU, our faithful partners, donors and volunteers. Together, we impacted nearly three million lives this year with improved healthcare, nutrition, education, and economic opportunities.
Here are some of the highlights:
In January, the first two graduates of the MATTER Career Readiness Institute in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe, were hired by Jamf as remote coders. Since then, fourteen more graduates have been hired for remote work by Jamf, Mains’l and Tradition Capital Bank.
This technology education initiative is a game-changer, especially for Zimbabwe’s youth and young women, creating unprecedented opportunities and economic stability.
In May, my four-year assignment in Zimbabwe came to an end, marked by the opening of a permanent office in Victoria Falls. This decision is rooted in MATTER’s strong commitment to Africa, where we see enormous potential. While MATTER is open to working on any continent, we have a goal to invest resources where the opportunity is the greatest, and all indicators are pointing to Africa.
In 2024, The Jeannie Burns Buckner Maternal and Pediatric Hospital, continued its reach into the community of Binga by hosting quarterly medical outreach trips where doctors and nurses from outside of the area bring medicines and expertise to solve chronic and emerging health issues in this underserved community, often treating upwards of 600 patients in a three-day period.
With our work in Zimbabwe deepening, we’ve also come to see it as an incubator for developing sustainable community programs that could expand across the continent. One standout project is the Chaya initiative. Initially designed to boost health and nutrition, it’s now creating economic growth for Zimbabwean families.
In October, we opened a state-of-the-art processing center outside Victoria Falls. Here, the farming co-ops can process their surplus Chaya to create marketable products. This sustainable model, driven by resilient women farmers, has potential beyond Zimbabwe, demonstrating how nutrition and income can go hand in hand.
Also in October, the third annual Business as Mission (BAM) conference was held in Victoria Falls. The largest BAM conference to date, it brought together leading small business entrepreneurs from across Zimbabwe. They strategized on ways to integrate faith, values, and business. The Shamwari Lending Association, an initiative born out of the first BAM conference in 2022, is now helping reshape Zimbabwe’s business landscape by opening new doors of opportunity for driven entrepreneurs.
MATTERbox and MATTER 360 were instrumental in making this year’s achievements possible. MATTER 360 diverted nearly 8 million pounds of medical supplies from landfills. 83% were repurposed for medical projects around the world and remarketed to fund MATTER’s operations.
The MATTERbox team sold over 5,000 Volunteer Kits and partnered with nearly 50 corporate sponsors and 8,000 volunteers to distribute over 150,000 beneficial meals to communities across America. Our largest MATTERbox packing event to date was held in October at Austin High School in Minnesota.
In collaboration with Hormel Foods, 1,600 students packed 24,000 snack packs—over 9,000 pounds of food—for their school and community.
There is so much more I could highlight; I feel like I’m just scratching the surface of the impact that was made this year. But the important thing is to let you know that in whatever way you supported MATTER this year, your efforts made a huge difference in peoples’ lives. We could not do this work without you. Thank you!
Have a blessed Thanksgiving!
Quenton Marty
MATTER President
