GWERU — Twelve-year-old Quiet Komboni from the high-density suburb of Mkoba 12 in the Midlands city of Gweru wants to be a lawyer when he grows up while his young brothers Kudzai (9) and Spencer (7) have ambitions of their own too. Kudzai has set his sights on becoming a pilot and Spencer who loves going to church says he wants to be a pastor.

Like many young people growing up, the siblings have huge dreams and aspirations but they may not be able to fulfill them.

Kudzai and Quiet were last in school in 2008 when their mother was still alive, while Spencer has never been to class.

“My father passed away in 2004 and my mother passed away in 2008.

“I haven’t been in school since then,” explains Quiet shyly.

“I love school. I want to go back but all my three big sisters don’t have money to take my brothers and I back to school. . . sometimes we even don’t have food.”

When Quiet’s mother passed away two years ago, the three were left in the care of an elder sister Nyasha (23).

In the absence of a breadwinner, life has been tough for the family.

Nyasha who has shouldered most of the burden also has two children of her own that she has to support.

Nyasha’s two sisters too have children to look after. All 10 of them share the two rooms they rent for US$40 a month.

“Life is tough. Taking care of one big family has been difficult,” Nyasha told journalists during a recent media tour organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) to assess the situation of women and children in rural Zimbabwe.

“I only get money from plaiting people’s hair. My sisters have also learnt to plait hair but we barely make ends meet, it’s not everyday that people come to get their hair plaited. ”

But Nyasha’s biggest regret is not being able to send her brothers to school.

She says although they can access free education through programmes such as the Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) she has no money to pay the extra incentives demanded by teachers and for uniforms that are mandatory.

“My brother Quiet is supposed to be in Grade VII,” said Nyasha.

“He was very bright at school and it breaks my heart that we are unable to send him to school.
“Kudzai is supposed to be in Grade II. He is also bright.

“My sister Rosemary wrote her O’Levels last year but she has not collected her results.

“We all know she passed because she is very intelligent but she doesn’t want to collect her results.

“She told me it’s a waste of money because she knows there is no money for her to proceed with her education. This really breaks my heart.”

According to Unicef, Nyasha and her siblings are not alone in this predicament.

Their plight represents that of thousands of other orphans in Zimbabwe who are struggling to make ends meet on a daily basis.

They can neither go to school nor afford a decent meal. The Kombonis are among the growing number of child-headed households across the country and most of them lost their parents to HIV/Aids.

An estimated 1,3 million Zimbabwean children are orphaned and vulnerable. About 100 000 of them live on their own while others live with their extended families.

With over 2 000 HIV/Aids-related deaths every week, child rights experts warn the orphan crisis is far from over.

“One in four children in Zimbabwe are orphaned and vulnerable and an estimated 100 000 children live in child-headed households with no breadwinners, adult supervision and external support,” said Unicef spokesperson, Tsitsi Singizi.

“Sadly, this means a growing number of children are likely to miss out on school, have limited access to health services, food and other crucial basic services.”

Singizi adds that beyond the obvious lack of material needs, many orphans and vulnerable children are also exposed to exploitation and abuse.

The plight of the Kombonis has also alarmed the Midlands Aids Service Organisation for Orphans and Vulnerable Children.

“We have young girls in this family who have no adult supervision and who are poor and for us this is a recipe for disaster,” said Fortune Mazarura, the organisation’s coordinator.

“This family needs support and protection as soon as yesterday.

“The young boys must be assisted to quickly get back to school before they turn to the streets for survival because, then we will have another bigger problem.”

Last year, Unicef revived the government-led BEAM which is supposed to be a social protection mechanism that has the potential to reach nearly 600 000 vulnerable children.

However, many orphans do not have access to these critical services as they cannot afford to pay the incentives for teachers demanded in most urban schools.

Most orphaned children also fail to buy the mandatory school uniforms and stationary and as a result fail to utilise programmes like BEAM.

“BEAM is a programme that can have national impact and provide the requisite social protection to the most vulnerable children in Zimbabwe,” said Singizi.

Until a lasting solution is found, children like Quiet, Kudzai and Spencer may have to put their dreams on hold.

BY BERTHA SHOKO

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