“Porridge, Beans and Motherly Love”

As a coordinator of one of the Shingirirai Trust’s Early Childhood Learning Development (ECLD) program centers, Anesu is well known for her optimism and strong Christian faith. Even so, the political and social upheavals of 2008 in Zimbabwe tested both these qualities to the limit.

‘In June 2008, all NGOs (non-governmental organisations) were closed down without any warning. We couldn’t operate for weeks. The worst thing was not being able to give the children decent food – porridge, sadza, vegetables and beans, food they couldn’t get at home. One little boy died of hunger. It was a very dark time.’

Worse was to come: ‘When we re-opened after some weeks many donors stopped funding the Trust because bank accounts had been blocked, and in some cases money had been taken from them. Everything changed in the centers – we had severe shortages of food and teaching materials. Sometimes the children just had sadza and bitter cabbage for every meal. They cried, they just didn’t understand why the good food had stopped.‘

Fortunately there have been positive changes since then, bank accounts are again secure and the children are receiving both nutritionally enhanced porridge and tasty, well-balanced meals.

Anesu identifies strongly with the orphans and vulnerable children aged three to six years that the Shingirirai Trust nurtures through its ECLD (Early Child Learning Development) program. She herself grew up in a middle-class family of nine in Bulawayo, south-western Zimbabwe, in a four-roomed house with electricity. Their home was open to all the children in the neighborhood who came to watch the family TV and listen and dance to the music programs.

But in the early 80s her granny living in Tsholotsho (near Victoria Falls) arrived home with seven children under the age of ten, all orphaned by the strife going on at that time.

‘Even as a child myself, that situation really broke my heart,’ says Anesu. ‘I felt as if I was one of the victims.’

Now, like the other Shingirirai Women, Anesu is passionate about progressing the work of the Trust, ‘no matter what’. She is a committed supporter of the ECLD program, which teaches the young children a range of vital learning and social skills through structured educational play activities.

‘At our centers the children get the motherly and tender love and guidance they need to grow as much as they need food,’ she says. ‘That is why I couldn’t lose hope. I just prayed to God for the strength to overcome the situation, and today our work goes on.’

We invite you to join forces with Anesu and the Shingirirai Women as they work to regenerate their community in the face of enormous daily challenges. Your support of €10 each month for a year, a single payment of €120, or whatever amount you feel able to give, will help Anesu to supervise the feeding and teaching of younger children in our centers for another year.

Thank You.

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