Children of Zimbabwe Look to the Future

Children abandoned in fields, doorsteps, and churches. Hospitals closing. More than 80,000 people sickened by cholera. The scenes that dot Zimbabwe’s landscape are disheartening, and the statistics that accompany them are enough to make any observer sick. Inflation is at 321 million percent. Zimbabwe’s newly introduced 10-billion dollar bill will barely cover the cost of a loaf of bread. Nearly 3,900 people have already perished in the cholera epidemic sweeping the nation.

CHILDREN IN CRISIS

It is into this mayhem, this nonsensical world, that thousands more Zimbabwean children are being born into. Too many times their parents are incapable of supporting them, and too many times one or both parents will die before their child even grows up. After all, in a country where the average life expectancy is only 44.28 years, no one has a very good chance at a long, full life.

“I think the humanitarian crisis in Zimbabwe is now at an appalling level,” said Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr. Rowan Williams, while calling on fellow Anglicans to pray, fast, and give to help aid the crisis.

Like Dr. Williams, we too believe that individuals around the world can be a part of the solution to Zimbabwe’s tragic crisis, as we provide Zimbabwean children with reasons to hope.

REASONS TO HOPE

The Musha Wevana Children’s Home, a ServLife supported project in Zimbabwe, is home to children whose lives are taking a drastically different course from the tragedy around them. Grace arrived at Musha Wevana when she was eight years old. Both of Grace’s parents died before she reached the age of eight, and she was physically abused by her stepmother. Today, she is in seventh grade, and looking at a future brighter than her past ever was. Her favorite subject in school is math, and she also loves learning about music. In the afternoons, Grace is often found singing with the younger children at the home. Every Sunday, she goes to church with the mothers and the rest of the children from the home.

Grace isn’t alone. Her story echoes the stories of many children who have arrived at Musha Wevana.

The children sponsored by ServLife supporters around the world will be part of shaping a new future for their nation. As Zimbabwe struggles to rise from the ashes of a tragic crisis, let us all seek to bring hope into the lives of its people.

If you would like to be a part of bringing a new era of hope to Zimbabwe, consider sponsoring a child and supporting ServLife’s work in Zimbabwe.