Child-Headed Households
Early on, Prisca and Nancy noticed that in addition to the grandmothers caring for households of orphaned children, there were also households with no adult caregivers at all- households of children, where the oldest sibling was responsible for finding food, clothing, everything. The CHH program provides food staples, clothing and shoes, school fees supplies and uniforms, and other basic necessities, all supported by annual donations from our CHH ‘sponsors.’ These households have always been our most vulnerable families, but they have also been our brightest stars: our top secondary and post- secondary students come from child-headed households, our most compelling, enthusiastic workshop leaders/ role models are child-headed household all-stars. An annual sponsorship for one Child-Headed Household is now $365 (a dollar a day) and it is an absolutely profound way to make a difference in the lives of extremely vulnerable children.
Meet a few of our Child-Headed Households:
ratidzo shumba
We met Ratidzo in 2015- she is an orphan and she has cerebral palsy. When her parents both died, her extended family chose not to care for her. In 2014, an elderly neighbor who had been part of Zienzele took her in. Zienzele has supported Radidzo and her aging caregiver ever since as part of our Child-Headed Household program.
Zienzele made sure Ratidzo was able to attend school, and she did well, despite lack of accommodations for her disability. Anyone that takes the time to know Ratidzo, can see her wonderful potential, but we have had to advocate for her to get her the access to an education that she deserves. For example: she told us early on that she wanted very much to be continue on to secondary school (her dream has always been to become a lawyer), and her teacher told us she had been doing very well, is smart as a whip, and would be a great candidate for Secondary. So we went to the Head of the Berejena Secondary and made the arrangements- Zienzele made sure Ratidzo got her chance!
Today, Ratidzo is a Form One student at Berejena Secondary School, and she is doing great! She still wants to be a lawyer, history is her best subject. Prisca and I spoke with the deputy head of the school about her special needs, to make sure she gets all the support they can provide.
SABINA MUGIYA
Sabina comes from a family with two older sisters and a brother; her mother died when Sabina was three years old- and this was when Zienzele started to support the household (Sabina and her siblings). Sabina distinguished herself in primary school, and with Zienzele support, has continued on to the Secondary level- she is in Form One at Arc Munaka Secondary School, and is doing very well academically. Sabina’s older siblings have now all left home, leaving Sabina with the burden of caring for her alcoholic father and handling all the necessities of their household, by herself.
Sabina is a young person at risk: from her abusive father, from opportunistic relatives, and she is also at risk because she is a young female without adult protection. She plans to become a nurse, and with our support we hope to see her accomplish her goal.
WATSON (PRIDE) CHITEMERE
Watson is sixteen years old, and in Grade Seven at Chamatutu Primary School because his circumstances forced him to miss two years of school. He lives alone and cares for the cattle that were left behind when his father abandoned him. Watson wakes up in the morning, takes his cattle to the Runde River and leaves them there; he then runs to school, literally. Right after school, he returns to the river to collect his cattle and take them home again. Watson is very committed to pursuing an education, with hopes of becoming a doctor. He is persevering and working very hard in the face of difficulties he has no control over.
This Spring, Watson came to our Zienzele Workshops and participated enthusiastically, despite the fact that he is much older than his fellow students. And he took on a leadership role: taking initiative in group sessions, and speaking up and answering questions when others were too shy to do so.
Zienzele provides him with the only support he gets, and that support in turn offers Watson a path to a future where he has more power over his own circumstances. We are excited to see where he goes in life.
the gavhu family
This family is our newest Child-Headed Household. Ratidzo is in Form One, Alpha is in Grade Five, Shepherd is in Grade Two, and Hardlife is in Grade One. These four children live alone, in a crumbling building. When we arrived for our first visit, they had *nothing*—no food, no firewood, nothing. And yet all four children were still attending school— the headmaster of Nemauzhe School was the person who told us about this family, and he had been letting them keep attending school despite their total inability to pay fees. By making sure the Gavhu children could stay in school, the headmaster also could ensure that the children got one meal each day.
There is an important lesson for Zienzele here: the father of this family is alive, but is in the North of the country panning for gold and is never here. The mother took off and remarried, leaving these four children behind. The grandmother (who would traditionally step in as caregiver) has refused to help because of the mother’s actions.
We are seeing a new phenomenon: Child-Headed Households as the result of social factors, not HIV. For Zienzele, the ‘why’ does not matter: these are THE most vulnerable people in the communities we serve, and we are here for them.
Vimbai Chapeta
Vimbai and her sister Nyasha lived with an aunt and uncle after their parents died. Zienzele supported Vimbai and her sister through primary school. In 2015, within a short span of time, Vimbai’s sister died, and Vimbai was forced out of her aunt and uncle’s home. At the time she was a very promising student at Berejena Secondary School, and she was able to live at the school through Form Six. She is currently at Midlands University, studying business management, and plans to open her own business when she graduates.
Vimbai has overcome so many obstacles, with strength and perseverance that she carries forward—her enthusiasm in her education is impressive and she has done a remarkable job setting clear realistic goals for herself, and accomplishing what she sets out to do.
Pamela leading a Zienzele youth workshop in 2022!
pamela mahohoma and tashingo makovere
Pamela lived with her grandmother and younger sister Yvonne, and Zienzele supported their household from the time Pamela was in Grade Seven. With our support, Pamela completed Secondary School through Form Six, with hopes of becoming a nurse. However, her dreams were disrupted by a forced marriage and pregnancy in 2015. She was kept from staying in contact with Zienzele for years— but in 2019, during our visit to Paradza, we found Pamela teaching preschool (Grade Zero) at Paradza Primary! She was happy to see us and told us how much she still hoped to continue her education and introduced us to her seven year old son Tashingo who is in grade two and is a “very smart boy”.
Pamela’s husband was out of the picture, but Pamela was still in a complicated situation with her husband’s family: she needed their permission to attend university. Zienzele helped Pamela negotiate that permission to pursue her dream of a post-secondary degree. Her son, Tashingo, is in Grade Two at Paradza Primary, and Pamela is completing her first year at Great Zimbabwe University majoring in primary education.
Ever since our ‘reunion’ in Paradza, Pamela has excelled as a leader, a teacher, and a mentor to other Zienzele students— she is a fantastic workshop leader, a great listener and a positive influence on our post-secondary students at Zienzele House.