Zimpapers Logo

The Herald, June 9, 1979

FIVE small children at Harare Musika refugee camp, deserted by their mother, are facing a hopelessly uncertain future.

The children, who were brought to the camp two years ago by their mother after their father was killed in the war, are aged between two and 11 years.

Their young aunt, Gladys Leonard, who has two children of her own, and a third on the way and is also looking after her widowed mother, must somehow ensure their survival.

The family, one of the most destitute in the camp, was discovered by social welfare workers on Thursday and were brought to the National Council for the Welfare of Children, Musika Project 2, whose director is Mrs Stella May Sondayi.

Their aunt told a sad story. “My sister’s husband was killed in the war in 1977 and she left her five children in my custody before she went to live with her new husband last month,” she said.

“She used to assist where she could, but now that she is gone, I do not know how we are going to survive.”

Gladys sells vegetables and fruits whenever she gets money to buy them.

Although the children are fed and clothed during the initial three months and are sent to a rehabilitation centre during the day, there is nothing to ensure their future.

“Regrettably,” says Mrs Sondayi, “we can only keep these children for three months after which we must take in a new group.

“The rehabilitation centre provides the children with food, clothes, and pre-school activities while their mothers are taught handicrafts.

“There are many other children living under similar conditions where they just exist with no prospects of a better life.”

LESSONS FOR TODAY

• Children are usually the ones that suffer when their parents split or die, and in both cases the father or mother should ensure that their children are taken care off instead of abdicating their responsibilities to their relatives.
• The issue of families and children who are homeless is a global phenomenon and one that Governments cannot tackle alone. It is one that requires a holistic approach from different stakeholders, especially voluntary organisations.
• In Zimbabwe, the First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa through her Angel of Hope Foundation, has done well by taking the lead in this aspect after taking a lot of street kids off the street and sending them to Chambuta Children’s Home in Chiredzi, where they are not only sheltered, clothed, and fed but are also taught life skills.
• There is need for more rehabilitation centres in towns and cities to cater for orphans and children who run away from home.