Progress Report, Zimbabwe

27 children cared for in the community,
12 at a home in Bulawayo,
20 to be taken in at a home under construction at Chatsworth            Over 1000 children helped into adulthood since 1992.

Leader profiles

Mr C Magaya
Mr D Maturure
Mrs Hapazari

Chatsworth global location

Mr C Magaya is a district Education Authority officer with extensive responsibilities. He is dedicated to the welfare of children and has worked tirelessly to ensure that the disadvantaged children have acess to the same opportunities that everyone else gets. He is well known and highly respected in the whole district.

Mr Dan Maturure is a school teacher in the area. He has extensive knowledge of the area around Chatsworth, having been born 15 km from the site of the orphanage. Dan and his wife have a long history of taking in and looking after disadvantaged children from the area. they currently have four extra children whom they have been looking after for two years.

Mrs Hapazari has many years experience of working with young children. She is highly regarded in her community and has been a volunteer for many years. She is a very practical lady and is often seen showing mothers how to best care for their children and the other children in the community.

History

Area information
Start Date: April 2005 Projected period: Indefinite

Zimbabwe, like any other Southern African country has been adversely affected by disease, poverty and unemployment. The spread of incurable diseases such as those caused by the HIV virus has cause the loss of many young parents, resulting in an intolerable number of orphans. It is not uncommon to find many grand parents with no income, looking after many grand children as best they can. Many children are handed over from one surviving relative to to the next, as the diseases continue to elliminate young parents.

Although many surviving community members do their best to look after as many children as possible, the shortage of employment and the advanced ages of the surviving adults makes it difficult to cope. As a result, many children are underfed, unschooled and are of poor health.

It is estimated that the number of orphans in Zimbabwe is increasing at the rate of between a quarter and half a million a year for an estimated population of eleven million. Since 1992, The Student Support Fund has been working with the schools in the area to ensure that the poorest of these orphans can continue with their school. An average of 30 children per year have been sent to school. The majority of these have been able to complete their general education of 11 years in school. A few have gone on to higher education, locally, in South Africa or even abroad.

The orphanage will cater for the welfare of the very young and very poor from an area of nine villages.Although the area is sparsely populated, the number of destitute orphans is fairly high.

Chatsworth itself has a population of less than 1000, of which the majority are children.

The structure of the first of two buildings comprising the children's home was completed at the beginning of February 2007. It will house up to 12 children when furnished. The second is under construction and will be completed in June 2007. It is of similar size and will also accommodate 12 children.

Objectives
  • Provide children with accommodation and welfare
  • To provide all children with life skills appropriate for their ages
  • To provide education for both children and community adults
  • To provide security and stability through sustainable income generation projects

Although the area has many orphans, we estimate that our projected funding can accommodate adequately up to 20 young children in the short term, increasing in the long term, and school up to 50 per year.
Funding

We encourage local people to be resourceful enough to cater for the plight of their communities. To this end, we encourage local businesses, farmers and individuals, to contribute to the upkeep of the children's home. A number are already taking part in the development of the home. However, the income level of the area is such that most people require help themselves. For that reason, H.E.L.P. Zimbabwe aims to improve the whole community in each village, as a key to the improved welfare of the children. External additional funding is therefore required for the short term.

In due course, each village will be able to generate it's own additional funding from it's own projects. The charity will help source the expertise and logistic administration required for each project. Many volunteers have already taken part and others have expressed their with to take part.

Progress report

By September 2005, The following progress had been made:

  • The council had provided two residential stands in the residential area for the construction of the home
  • locally available materials such building sand,
  • Brick layers started work in April 2005.
  • ACM Enginnering, a local company, will make 10 bunk beds at cost.
  • All other building materials are available from Masvingo, 70 km away.

By September 2006.

  1. Unexpected disruptions caused by shortages of fuel and cement slowed down building.
  2. Uncertainty in the status of charities also caused some delays.
  3. The construction of the children's home was resumed in December 2006
  4. 24 children were helped through school in 2006.
  5. H.E.L.P. International was asked to participate in caring for 12 children aged between 3 and 14 at a children's home in Bulawayo. Two of these children are ill and require specialist care which is currently not availble. The children's home also requires some rennovation and the council has threatened to shut it down even though there is no alternative accommodation for the children.

January 2006

  1. The first of the two buildigs was reported completed in February 2007.
  2. 120 bags of cement are required to start the other buildings. Other materials have already been purchased and are in place.
  3. At the beginning of the academic year in January, 27 children were approved for school assistance.

 

Galleries:

are not yet ready, but will be made available with time

  
   
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