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St Joseph's House for Boys
February 2011

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From a resolution of the synod of the Anglican Church adopted in 1936, sprang the ideals and objectives of the non- denominational St. Josephs House for Boys which we know today. Regrettably, many children in the world do not have the privilege of a safe and happy home. Many are orphaned, destitute, abandoned abused, exposed to domestic violence and desperately in need of shelter, food and education. It is the objective of St. Josephs to provide a promising future to these unfortunate Boys.

From modest beginnings in the Deanery in Salisbury, the number of boys accommodated has increased over the years and the House moved twice to larger quarters before being established at its present location in Denbigh Avenue, Belvedere, Harare in April 1953. There are currently 55 Boys who regard the House as home. The prime objective of the Board of Governors and the staff is to see that the boys are assisted in learning and attaining habits of obedience, reverence, discipline, self respect and all that tends to make them good and useful citizens of Zimbabwe in a homely environment.

Funding

The Home functions by way of 12 members of staff, under the guidance and control of a voluntary Board of Governors, who set the principles, deal with matters of discipline and raise funds. Above all the Governors are concerned with the welfare of the children under their care. The children need to be fed, clothed and educated. A social welfare grant is received for some of the children, but this is totally inadequate to feed a child in the current environment in the country. In addition there is need to provide clothing, school fees and the general upkeep of the House. Generous donors, benefactors, legacies, bequests, fund raising activities and years of devoted work and service by many people have enabled the Home to maintain a high standard of care. Special mention should be made of the many friends of St. Josephs who have contributed immensely towards the well being of the Boys.

Achievements to Date

The Home managed to send a number of boys to reputable schools such as Selbourne Routledge Primary School, Belvedere Primary School, Prince Edward, Allan Wilson, St. Johns High School, Emerald Hill, Christ Ministries School. Some of them go to different universities. The aim is to empower the boys to acquire the knowledge and skills they need to use in life.

Key Partners

St. Joseph's House for Boys' key partners include; the Social Welfare, The Child Protection Society, and other Welfare Organizations.

The Home Offers;

• Psychosocial Support skills to the boys
• Educate the boys for empowerment, this is through sending the boys to several schools
• Counseling
• Career guidance

Projects

The Home has projects which are running concurrently. These are;

The Chicken Project

This project is meant to equip the boys with livelihood projects skills. The boys are involved in feeding the chicks. Thus they will be acquiring the entrepreneurial skills through these livelihood projects.

Farming

The Home got a blessing of a leased land of about 3 hectares. The land is fertile. The boys took part and they are taking part in the day to day operations of the field like planting, cultivation and harvesting. Currently there is sugar beans and maize grown in the field.

The Band

The home has a number of talented young boys who play marimba, keyboard and drums (electrical instruments). The boys are being trained by a volunteer called Clancy Gwaze. The boys play marimba in several occasions like weddings, churches dinner parties and concerts. The band is one of the home's income generating projects as through hiring the people and organizations pay a fee for that.

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