Orphan Care Center in Mberengwa #2

Recently, we had an opportunity to sit down with Pastor and Mrs. Mabvumba, the Baptist Convention Evangelist, and the ones who are overseeing the establishment of the Orphan Care Center in Mberengwa. They gave us an update about what is happening there.



Mabvumba says there is still much work to be done to prepare the center before it can be approved by social welfare and take on boarders. It is hoped that the facility will be ready to take in orphans as boarders for the new school year beginning in January of 2012. There are 16 huts which were originally built with cement so the walls are strong. But the roof, doors, and windows must be replaced. Presently three huts have been fully refurbished, including painting the inside a white color so that it will reflect light better. Baptists from Zvikombe and Shauro have been working together to accomplish this task.



Pastor Mabvumba says other work to be done includes: solar powered lights so the children can study at night, toilets and bathing areas, a kitchen and eating area, as well as a house for those who will be overseeing the orphans. He is hoping to have bunk beds built so they can put 4 children per hut which would allow for as many as 64 orphans to be able to live on the premises and attend school.

When asked how the orphan care center would choose which orphans would live there, Pastor Mabvumba said they would be relating to families caring for orphans, the village headmen, as well as the headmaster, and teachers of the school to identify the children with the greatest needs. In some cases, it is hoped that with a little additional help to the extended family, the children would be able to continue to live with relatives and continue to attend school. Children who receive assistance from other aid and non-government organizations will not be stay at the center. The children who stay at the orphan care center will have their school fees paid for them and they will not be charged for the rooms in which they stay or the food they eat.



The greatest concern, according to Mabvumba, at this point is getting the right people to run the orphan care center. Ideally it would be good to find a Christian couple who feel called by God to this ministry. A couple who would minister not only to the physical needs of the children, but to their mental and spiritual needs as well. He hopes this will be a place where children come to know the Lord and are discipled so that when they leave (graduate from) school they will be “equipped for every good work”.