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Lawrence Chitumba Cool Lifestyle Writer
They say charity begins at home and we are happy to see that many preschools are taking this saying to heart by having children care for the less fortunate.

Ashmil Nursery School from Belvedere this week invited Cool Lifestyle on a visit to New Start Children’s Home. The children’s centre which is located a few meters along Amalinda Road off the Masvingo highway is home to children whose age ranges from infants to teenagers. Ashmil children and staff took provisions and other goods worth more than $1 000. It was lovely to see children helping other children. At CLS we call that kids loving kids and we just love it! So keep up the good work and invite us along too.

The school head said goods were sourced from the Ashmil Nursery School family which include parents and members of staff during Valentine’s Day. Those willing to give would bring any kind of grocery.

The school has adopted this culture for St Valentine’s Day to make sure that the less fortunate children also get some love. Zimbabwe has more than 1,5 million orphaned children with many of them living in homes. Ashmil Nursery School enrols children as young as six months up to Early Childhood Development (ECD) B and these were the ones who asked their parents to contribute the goodies.

The children at New Start said they were grateful that someone has thought of them and hoped that other children would also show the same care for other less fortunate kids across the country.

Accepting the goods, the director of New Start Children’s Home which also has a clinic and baby centre said as an institution they were elated by the gesture by Ashmil Nursery School for showing concern on the plight of orphans.

“I hope this is not going to be the last time that you visit this place, you must visit again. You should adopt this home as yours.

“It is important that we don’t have separation between the less privileged and the privileged children so that the lord will bless us since he is the giver of the life that we have,” he said

The director also said at the moment the children’s home was in dire need of baby formula as they had just received infants who only survived on the formula. Established in 2005 New Start caters for children from infanthood up to university level. So far 16 children have left to home after becoming self sufficient. One recently graduated with a diploma in nursing and is waiting to be employed.