FRIENDS OF MATTHEW RUSIKE CHILDREN'S HOME

The HOME

The Matthew Rusike Children’s Home, part of the Methodist Church in Zimbabwe, provides a protected and loving home for 143 children. You can see some of the drawings and thoughts from the children.

The children range from 3 to 18 years of age. Many have been abandoned, ill treated or have lost parents due to AIDs. They all need consistent love and care to recover from their early experiences. The Home works very hard to find members of the child's family who will foster the child. The Home then helps the family by providing school fees and uniforms or other support. If fostering isn't possible then the family are encouraged to have the child stay with them during school holidays. During the Christmas holidays 2007 only 9 children stayed at the home in Epworth.

The UK charity, Action for Children, has supported the Home for many years. Their work is now expanding to include training and support for other MRCH projects in other communities.

Action for Children representative, Barry Barnes with MRCH Superintendent, Astonishment Mapurisa and many of the children at MRCH.

The Home is having a huge and positive impact on the lives of the children it cares for. Here are just two stories from the Home...

My Life by Eurelia 15yrs (2000)

“No one looked upon me, I was useless for now my life was in a a horrible situation. This started as all my parents passed away. The earth was unfair. My life suddenly changed as I was taken to Matthew Rusike Children's Home and it was now in my hands. I cannot believe that I am orphan as I now have brothers and sisters and parents. For there was a sudden change to my life.”

Life before Matthew Rusike by Bevinda 14yrs

“I was living with my mother and father and in 1997 they all die in consecutive months. Then I started with my four young sisters. I am the first born and my young sisters names are Edina, Anna, Yvonne and our little sister Gladys. She now living at Chinyaradzo Children’s Home. We came here because of that, our little sister Gladys became sick. Her sickness was bad. We went with her to the hospital and she admitted there. I started to stay with her in the hospital for four weeks. The nurses started to laugh at me and says you are a little child but to have a child. I said to them that she is my mother’s child and they say where is your mother. I say all my parents are passed away in 1997 in the same year. The nurses notice that I was saying the truth and they fell pity on me. They ask who is your guardian and I said I am the guardian of all the children. I am the owner, they eat, they have bath, they are wearing smart clothes. Where I get the money for it and all things wanted in the house is at the account left by mother and father before death of them. The church I was going, they helped us for money and food and the neighbours all fell pity on us. The our nurses go to social welfare department, they also fell pity for us and started to look place for us in children’ home. This is how I came to Matthew Rusike.”

Education

Take a look at more photos of the children around the Home. There are also lots of photos of the children learning new skills.

It is important that all children receive an education. At MRCH most of the children go to local schools, which must be paid for. Some children receive sponsorship to go away to boarding schools to do O and A level courses. To go to school all children must have uniform and shoes.

At the Home they can also learn tailoring, carpentry and basic computer skills. Each family unit has it’s own garden in which the children learn to grow vegetables and then learn to cook them in their own kitchen. They also like to grow flowers in the front garden when they can get the seeds.

Women from the local community are also able to learn to use the dressmaking facilities.

Who made me where I am? by Trabby

“...The Home also taught some skills, which are lifetime skills like gardening, hospitality, computing, pig-rearing and fowl-rearing. Above all, Matthew Rusike introduced me to God where I can surrender the problems which are difficult for the Home to solve. Therefore Matthew Rusike is my parent.”

Environment

Take a look at more photos in particular of the children and staff working and playing around the Home.

The buildings are all being refurbished. You can read more about the progress that is being made. A great deal of effort is also being put into landscaping the Home with both flower areas and vegetable patches. There is a significant on-going refurbishment programme.

The children help with the gardening, growing both vegetables and flowers. The Home also now have poly tunnels to make food growing easier and more productive. It isn't always easy to grow crops, maize often has to be planted between the boulders.

All the children help with the chores – shoe cleaning, washing and ironing, bed making, helping in the kitchen. They learn to look after the chickens, pigs.

Recreation

Here some of the girls are dancing, take a look at more photos of the children playing around the Home.

It is not all work at the Home. The children also have lots of time to play. Unfortunately much of the equipment and toys at the Home are broken. Despite this the children continue to use many of these. But they also love to play football, to sing, dance or play marimba. The rhythms are lively and, with many repeats, pieces can last for ten minutes or more.

In addition, local people bring in their tools and expertise to teach children stone carving, painting, tie and dye.

Family Groups and their homes

Take a look at more photos of the children in their family groups and the new homes as they are being refurbished.

The two old dormitories have been adapted. The boys dormitory is now single rooms for the older children to live independently. In addition there are 6 new family group homes, sponsored by Action for Children, each housing 10 -12 children and a house parent. These were officially opened in September 2007 after the last one was completed and the others had been lived in for months. However they are still needing more furnishings. There has been a great deal of progress made over the last couple of years. The is also a crèche at the Home and this provides stimulation for the younger children and for some pre-school children from the local community. The crèche is extremely run down and a new project is urgently underway to address this.

The new homes are being landscaped with flowers and trees at the front and planted with vegetables at the back.

In addition there are a number of rooms in Independence units where up to 10 young people can live and look after themselves. Here the older teenagers each have a small room where they can learn to be more independent before they leave the Home. These young adults are not asked to leave the Home until they have a job.

Now that the children are living in family groups in housing units, staffing has been reorganised, new staff employed and there are now over 25 care staff, study mentors, and a nurse. There are also 3 tailors to make school uniforms and further maintenance and administration staff. Around 45 in all.

There are 20-25 staff, most of whom live on the site. Of these 14 are Care staff. The staff are all encouraged to attend training courses.

There is also now a clinic on site. The MCZ pays the salary of a qualified nurse who, as well as running the clinic for the Home and local community, also advises the projects in Bulawayo, Gweru and Mzinyathi on health matters. It is very difficult to keep qualified nurses because a better living can easily be found overseas. This clinic desperately needs equipment and medicines.

MRCH in the Wider Community

Take a look at more photos of the community work, in particular the new residential unit for AIDs orphans.

In Zimbabwe, many children have lost parents as a result of AIDs and are being cared for by grandparents or older siblings. MRCH helps to support these families with food, school fees or uniforms and shoes. MRCH, through the MCZ childcare department, is now influencing the communities in Gweru, Bulawayo and Mzinyathi in their care of these children.

In Mzinyathi, the people of 6 local villages have joined forces and built a small residential unit to care for local AIDs orphans. Action for Children is committed to paying the salaries of a person to develop services here and in a similar situation in Bulawayo for 3 years.

A Grandmother with 12 grandchildren and no other adults to help her, is supported by MRCH.

Some families are cared for by older siblings where parents have died, MRCH supports these families too.

How you can help

There has been no Government help for the Home since 2002. The Friends of MRCH now contribute approximately 80% of the daily running costs of the Home.

Registered charity 1120944