Volunteer in action throughout the United States and in Kenya
Sizanani is a Zulu word meaning “to help one another.” This word not only expresses the mission of Sizanani Home Based Care Givers but also expresses the spirit of the organization’s founder, Elizabeth Rapuleng.
Sizanani Home Based Care Givers is a community based organization that was founded and initiated by Elizabeth twelve years ago in South Africa. Elizabeth, a former educator, rallied together women in her community to help her fight the impact of HIV/AIDS in the Soweto district and to combat stigma and discrimination against those affect or infected by the virus.
The women formed Sizanani to provide care to orphan and vulnerable children (OVC) impacted by HIV/AIDS, provide treatment and care for those who are HIV positive and equipping youth with life and work skills preparing them for the future. It is one of the largest child care initiatives in the Soweto Township caring for over 380 children daily, half of which are living with HIV/AIDS. They feed the children three times a day.
Sizanani also provides bed-ridden mothers whilst affording children a safe place and abuse free environment. The organization also emphasizes the involvement of families in the fight against AIDs by ensuring that families especially children get information regarding about AIDS.
The program operates from mobile containers located on a church yard. They run training programs for the community: computer literacy and sewing. SAC is providing funds for the first phase of development in expanding income generating and training activities.
Elizabeth saw a need and set out to find a solution. By reaching out to other women, Elizabeth not only demonstrates what can happen when one woman seeks to make a change in her community but also shows us that a group of women working to make a difference can make an even larger impact. Sizanani has become one of Soweto’s premier OVC programs.
In our third installation for our Women’s History Month feature, we wanted to introduce you to Fatima Maruta of Zimbabwe. She is the founder and a primary caregiver at Rose of Sharon Welfare Organization in Harare. Rose of Sharon provides shelter, food, education and health care to vulnerable children. These are children who are abandoned, dumped on the streets or orphaned with no family to provide care. They are brought to Rose of Sharon by police, social welfare officers and community leaders, at ages ranging from a day old to 18. Some of the children are HIV positive. All of the school age children attend school. Toddlers attend home based nursery school.
In an interview with Bishop Blake and the staff of Save Africa’s Children, Fatima Maruta shared her heart and her passion for all the children of Africa.
Bishop Blake and Fatima Maruta stand on ground that was given to Rose of Sharon to build additional facilities for the children of Rose of Sharon
FATIMA MARUTA: I am the founder of Rose of Sharon Orphanages and Rose of Sharon school for orphans. I[have] about 125 kids.
BISHOP CHARLES E. BLAKE: So how many children stay here?
FM: I’ve got four orphanages. So I’ve got 55.
CEB: Wow. So this is one place and you have three others in other locations?
FM: That’s right.
CEB: Tremendous.
FM: Three quarters of our children are abandoned. That’s why I picked them when [they were] babies.*
*It is important to note here that a few of the children who were dumped could not be identified, therefore did not have a name or a last name. Ms. Maruta gave these children her last name, so that they too could feel as if they had a family.
CEB: That’s the case in many cases all across the continent. I visit many homes that take care of abandoned children.
TWILLA TANYI: What is your wish for these kids?
FM: What I want to tell you first is 3 quarters are abandoned. They [have] nobody on their side. I want to give them a life skill before they leave ROS at the age of 18 so they will be able to fend for themselves. Our aim is 1) to give them Christian education and 2) give them a life skill so that when they leave they will not go back again into the streets but they will be able to raise their own families and help others when they leave our orphanages.
After the interview, Ms. Maruta shared these words of kindness:
“I would like to say thank you to Bishop Blake for the great work that he’s doing, not only in Africa but also to the children that I’m looking after. Today they are nicely dressed in beautiful uniforms that he bought and I’m so grateful. I’d like to say, happy anniversary to Save Africa’s Children.“
We’d like to say THANK YOU to you Ms. Maruta, for the beautiful work you are doing for the orphan children in Harare. You’re work is impacting an entire community and will positively touch future generations!
Juliet Chilengi is one of the many women caregivers we have met in our travels to sub-Saharan Africa. It is women like Juliet working at a grassroots level that is helping affect change on the ground impacting the lives of thousands of orphans.
New Horizon Ministry, founded by Juliet Chilengi, was created to help cater to the basic needs of street children living in Lusaka, Zambia. There is an estimated total of 30,000 children living on the streets of Lusaka. Juliet and New Horizon Ministry has been able to provide resources to over 500 children by providing residential facilities, counseling, food, and educational provisions.
New Horizon Ministry is a program that operates on a self-sustaining project model; that is a project that once initially funded, activity can continue without further investment. Because New Horizon’s goal is to be able to continuously provide food for the children, Juliet decided the start a farm with both vegetation and livestock. Not only has this provided immediate food but now they are able to sell their produce and livestock in order to help meet the financial needs of the organization.
Save Africa’s Children has granted funds for New Horizon for traditional and nontraditional usage. In 2007 SAC provided funds to New Horizon to allow the children to have school supplies and text books. In addition, funds were also donated to help provide water to irrigate the farm. This grant has allowed Juliet to raise 88 pigs. The sales of these resources will help to generate $20,000 for New Horizon.
In 2009, SAC provided another grant that help to increase the capacity of the farm ensuring that the project is self-sustaining and will be able to generate income to continue support the mission of the program. It is Juliet’s plan that the farm not only provide resources for her program but that the children of New Horizon will develop skill sets that they can use in the future to get jobs or have farms of their own.
Juliet demonstrates how when given access to basic resources that real change can happen. Many street children in Lusaka Zambia have a promising future ahead because Juliet saw an issue and had the heart to do something about it.
March is Women’s History Month. In honor of this month, we will highlight different women we have encountered who are making an impact in the lives of orphan and vulnerable children in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Gwendolyn Marie Thomas was an educator, motivator, mentor and activist. She was a phenomenal woman who not only believed in education for people living in the United States but she also recognized the importance of basic education abroad in Africa. In her lifetime, Gwen Thomas empowered individuals both in and out of the classroom. She truly believed that basic education is the foundation in providing hope and a future for children.
Even in her passing, Gwen Thomas’ legacy as a proponent for education and a champion for the less fortunate continues to impact future generations of students. Gwen bequeathed that an education program be established by Save Africa’s Children in her name. The Gwendolyn Marie Thomas Basic Education Program will improve educational opportunities for orphan and vulnerable children during their formative primary school years. This program emphasizes measurable outcomes in several focus areas to make certain that orphan and vulnerable children in Sub-Saharan Africa, and particularly in Cameroon, have a quality education.
Today we honor the memory of Gwen Thomas as a friend to Save Africa’s Children, an advocate for education, and an amazing woman who not only made a difference in the lives of her students in Los Angeles but who continues to impact the lives of students throughout Africa.
Rufaro is Save Africa’s Children’s (SAC) Field Representative for Zimbabwe. She is also the Founder and Director of Child Resource Institute Zimbabwe (CRIZ.) Above all, she is a wonderful wife and mother.
During my time at Save Africa’s Children, I had the opportunity to speak with Rufaro via the phone and e-mail. I have always been in awe of her drive and her passion for the people of Zimbabwe and of Africa as a whole. It was only this past August that I had the pleasure of meeting Rufaro in person and witness her in action and see the results of SAC on the ground.
Twilla Tanyi (TT): How long have you been working with Save Africa’s Children?
Rufaro Sibanda (RS): I have been working with Save Africa’s Children since 2007 (a total of four years).
TT: What motivates you to do this type of work?
RS: The main reasons to why I am motivated to do this work are:
a) My parents. Even though I grew up in different parts of the world (Rufaro has lived in various cities, from California to India) since my parents were diplomats, and I was born in the USA and have US citizenship, my parents raised us to always give back to our community. I grew up knowing what ever job I would do or courses I would take in college would equip me in benefiting the people of Zimbabwe.
b) Secondly, I have lost many people I love to AIDS. I will never forget the death of my aunt Anna, my mother’s sister and how it affected my mother. I had been trying to send ARVs to her from the USA. My mother called me crying saying don’t worry about sending those drugs its too late. It was the first time I had heard my mother crying as she had always been strong. Her sister was a best friend to her. Also, one of my cousins lost her daughter to AIDs.
She was only 13. I remember seeing her in bed wasting away. I said to myself, “ I am sure that little girl would like to play and run around but she cannot. I then dedicated my life to serving the needs of orphaned and vulnerable children in the nation of Zimbabwe.”
TT: Is there a story of a child or caregiver that touched your heart.
RS: There is a child in our Early Childhood Development program at Marirangwe primary school. This school is funded by Save Africa’s Children. Her name is Millicent. The parents had a dispute where the father ended up destroying property. The mother became so depressed that she ended up being mentally disturbed and ascribed medication for mentally challenged people.
It was detected by the CRIZ field representatives that her mother was administering her medication to her daughter. This was as a result of the daughter coming to school drowsy and sleepy on several occasions.
I was really saddened that a child could go through such a painful experience. However I really was relieved that the teachers working at the preschool were so concerned about the child that they went to her house did some investigations. The matter was taken on to the social welfare department and now the child is living a safer environment.
TT: Living in Zimbabwe, you get to see the fruits of SAC’s labor. How do you think SAC is making an impact on the ground?
RS: Save Africa’s Children has been very fruitful in Zimbabwe. In the nation of Zimbabwe where funding is limited, it is difficult to get funding for grassroots organization led ordinary people from the community. Most of the funding usually goes to what we term the ‘”usual suspects’’. These are more established NGOs, who rarely interface with the day to day challenges of caring for orphaned and vulnerable children. SAC has empowered local organizations to cater to the needs of their community.
Some of the results are: 1. Classrooms have been built where schools could not get support from the government to build proper structures ideal for children to learn 2. HIV positive children abandoned by their families have been able to get support to go to school and continue their education 3. Orphanages have been capacitated to build self-sustaining programs, to purchase land and provide better care for the children in their homes. All this would not be possible without support from SAC.
TT: What would you tell those who support SAC?
RS: I would like to thank all of those who support SAC. SAC ensures that those populations not reached through traditional donors are supported. SAC really empowers the community to serve the needs of their vulnerable population. Please continue to support SAC in serving the needs of the most vulnerable population in Africa, the children of Africa.
This slideshow requires JavaScript.
The following post was written by Paul Turner, President of Save Africa’s Children. Mr. Turner was a Global Advocate Volunteer with Global Ministries of The Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and United Church of Christ (UCC) in South Africa and Swaziland. He is a staunch advocate for social and economic justice, pro-democracy causes and community empowerment.
Paul Turner
The sex scandal at Penn State University involving the cover up of child rape and molestation continues to dominate the news. President Obama said this is a soul-searching moment for how we should protect children. I have no doubt than new and more stringent laws will be passed in Pennsylvania and other states, to make it a serious crime not to report acts of sexual misconduct involving adults and children.
Yet, Jerry Sandusky, the former coach accused of having sex with young boys in the showers at Penn State, could have easily travelled to Africa or Asia to sexually exploit poor and unprotected children. In fact, sexual violence against children is a global epidemic. In 2002, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 150 million girls and 75 million boys worldwide experience sexual violence before the age of 18.
Ambassador Eric Goosby, U.S. Global AIDS Coordinator, says the consequences of the sexual violence epidemic in children increases the risk of contracting HIV, as well as mental health problems that affect social behaviors , education opportunity, emotional well-being, and overall quality of life. One study in Tanzania reveals that 27.9 percent of girls and 13.4 percent of boys experience at least one incident of sexual violence before the age of 18. One in four girls reported their first sexual experience was forced.
A new global call to action is needed to protect children. Save Africa’s Children is joining with UNICEF and other NGOs to expand child protection efforts. For our part, Save Africa’s Children has long promoted the need to psychosocial support training to equip child care providers with the methods and tools necessary to combat mental, emotional and psychological distress children experience. Since there is a lack of trained counselors in many African countries, Save Africa’s Children partnered with the Chicago School of Professional Psychology to train orphan care providers in Zambia to identify and treat trauma.
Helping children overcome the stigma and debilitating impact of sexual violence so they can lead a productive life is vital, but we also have to prevent sexual violence in the first place. Men need to be held accountable for their actions. New international laws must be established to keep known, and unknown, pedophiles from travelling abroad to exploit vulnerable children. This is a human rights campaign whose time has come. The Penn State scandal demonstrates that even idyllic university towns are not immune to the sexual violence epidemic. Let us all commit to protecting children everywhere.
Disclaimer: The views in opinion pieces for this blog do not necessarily reflect the views of Save Africa’s Children.
saveafricaschildren