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Chimanimani Community-based Orphanage - It started as a joke!
Intermediate Technology Development Group (ITDG) Southern Africa
Newsletter Vol 6 No.2, July 2002
by Johnson Siamachira

Fourteen year old Fortunate Mukonza, of Chakohwa ward in Chimanimani district, has experienced a sad life without parents, both of whom succumbed to AIDS-related illnesses. Her life is a picture of strife: on a daily basisi she struggles to get food, shelter and a basic education. Hers is a heavy burden, but she struggles on and smiles at people, sometimes. Fortunate's father died in 1998 after severely struggling to cope with AIDS-related ailments for over five years. Her mother died last year, leaving behind a four-year old child, who himself is ill.

"Our life is like a fairly tale. When our mother passed away, everything became difficult," she says while trying to gather strength and courage to continue recounting her gloomy story. She moves on: "Very few of our relatives recognise our presence. Times are hard."

A typical day for Fortunate, who is doing Grade Six at the local Neshitima Primary School, begins at 4.00 in the morning. "I go to the borehole, prepare a fire and water the garden, then I go to school."

The 14 year-old child, who has missed two years of school, works for 10 hours a day during weekends selling vegetables at the local market, earning about Z$100,00 for her aged grandmother. Clothing? This is just a dream. She is now using her late mother's dresses. However, she does not mind. Life goes on.

"I hope to become a school teacher when I grow up," she says, adding, "God knows my problems and He will look after me." In another part of the district, in Rupise ward, two-year old Matthew Tapera cannot walk unaided. And he can hardly talk, save for the continuous mumblings of "ambuya, ambuya"(grandma, grandma). His fast ageing grandmother, Clara Nduna, is looking after him. Both Matthew's parents died last year, leaving him without clothing and blankets.

However, these scenes may soon be a thing of the past thanks to a community-based orphanage that is fast gaining ground in this vast district. The orphanage has started taking care of AIDS orphans like Fortunate and Matthew's education, as well as health and nutritional needs.

Called the Chimanimani Community-based Orphanage, the programme aims to alleviate poverty among AIDS orphans. Established in 1998 with the facilitation of the Intermediate Technology Development Group-Southern Africa, the focus of the programme is to build the capacity of local people, including the orphans, to construct gardens, rebuild huts and under-take other income-generating projects to ensure sustainability of the projects.

The organisation's Rural Communities Program came up with the idea of strengthening a community-based orphanage in Chimanimani. It is exploring the different ways of working with rural communities to bolster institutional and technological capacity using participatory approaches, and tapping the already-existing potential within these communities.

Programme Manager Absolom Masendeke, says: "We discovered that once the orphans were identified, that the core problem to over-come is poverty. Besides medical and counselling needs to be provided for, there are also basic issues such as food, clothing and shelter that must be met."

The project started as a joke. Beginning with a few women preparing food in their homes and feeding some of the children who had lost their parents to AIDS. The program now boasts of having penetrated ten other wards and has women volunteers who provide the much needed care.

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