My Samsung zoom is not working, rendering the camera useless!

I shot a lot of photos last October 5 in my flight home to Bacolod. In the evening I discovere the following message after recharging the batteries:

The zoom did not operate normally.
Insert the battery again and turn the camera on.
If the camera does not operate nomally, 
do not put excessive pressure on it and
contact the service center.

I can still view stored photos in my camera SD card. I will try to have my camera repaired at the Samsung Service Center. But I will go back to Manila in November. Meanwhile I still have my old Panasonic VG-100 camera s my main camera. Money is tight, and I may not be able to use a bigger lens camera.