Sipho Ndlovu* was abandoned and dumped on the streets of Bulawayo by her mother shortly after birth 12 years ago. She was picked up by a Good Samaritan who took her to the Department of Social Welfare in the city.
By Moses Mugugunyeki
Today Ndlovu (12) is among 55 orphans and after vulnerable children sheltered at Mustard Seed Communities in Bulawayo’s Woodville area. The centre was established in July 2002 to take care of children affected by HIV and Aids. Ndlovu is among abandoned children who were taken to the centre by the Department of Social Welfare.
“This is the only place that I know and that I call my home,” Ndlovu told The Standard Style in Bulawayo recently. Ndlovu said she feels at home at the centre, especially under the custody of their “mother” Margret Sithamimezi — the matron of Freedom Home.
She described Sithamimezi, as a loving and caring mother. Freedom Home is one of the three residential care facilities at Mustard Seed Communities.
“Our mother is consistent, caring, soft and understanding. She gives attention to all of us and unites us as a family,” Ndlovu said.
Apart from taking care of children affected by HIV and Aids, Mustard Seed Communities has developed a lot of programmes serving children and families in and around Bulawayo. The centre also runs residential care facilities for children with disabilities.
“We maintain four nutrition programmes, feeding over 500 children a day. We also run three pre-schools, a training centre called Potter’s House, farming programmes, a chapel and a health clinic,” said the centre’s administrator Takawira Promise Singade.
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“We want to provide these children with the opportunity to live their lives under proper care and ensure that they have access to the best possible social, physical, medical and educational services,” he said.
The three residential care facilities at the centre are Freedom Home and Generosity, which house children affected or orphaned by HIV and Aids, as well as Joel’s Place, which provides a family setting for children living with disabilities.
Joel’s Place was named after one of the first children with disabilities that came to the centre.
All the three residences are manned by a “mother”.
“We try to provide a family setting for the children and that is why each home has a ‘mother’. Even for those living with disabilities, we go an extra mile to provide a home that suits them,” said Singade.
Singade said Mustard Seed Communities’ programmes were guided by three pillars.
“Our programmes are guided by three pillars; caring, where we provide residency to people living with disabilities; sharing, which involves nutrition and education programmes, as well as training, where we empower children with sustainable agricultural or vocational skills,” he said.
He said the idea behind Mustard Seed Communities was to serve and uplift communities as told in the biblical parable of the mustard seed.
Gogo MaMpofu, who is a caregiver at Joel’s Place where she works with four other caregivers, said they look after 18 children living with disabilities.
“Of the 18 children that we have in this home, 14 are on wheelchairs. We feed and bath them. We make sure that those on antiretroviral treatment take their medication on time,” she said.
She said most of the children living in the home despite being disabled, attend school.
“Most of them are in school. I am only left with a few during the day,” she said.
Apart from providing shelter to orphaned and vulnerable children, Mustard Seed Communities runs three nursery schools under the banner Little Angel’s Learning Centre, which serves 200 children through the provision of basic education and meals.
“We believe that every child has the right to an education. We offer basic pre-school education to children under the age of five in order to prepare them for entrance into the first grade at formal schools,” said Constance Ncube, another administrator at the centre.
“The children attend morning prayers with staff and actively participate in singing and spiritual activities. Little Angels Learning Centres are located here in Bulawayo in Woodville, Sauerstown and Cabatsha where we also run nutrition programmes.”
Mustard Seed Communities was established in 1978 as a home for of children with disabilities who are abandoned on the streets of Jamaica. Today, Mustard Seed Communities provides lifelong care to over 600 children and adults with disabilities, children affected by HIV and Aids, as well as young mothers in crisis across Jamaica, Nicaragua, Dominican Republic, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
*Not her real name
