Chishawasha Orphanage
On our last day in Africa, Judith took us out to the Chishawasha Children's Home of Zambia, where she has been volunteering for some time. It's a wonderful orphanage, set up by a woman from Arizona, who was inspired by an article she read about street children in Lusaka. Determined to make a difference, she traveled to Lusaka and met with many locals there about her ideas. She convinced a local tribeleader to donate the land outside the city for the orphanage, and she raised money from America and elsewhere to start the building.
The orphanage now has eight individual "homes" that house up to eight children apiece. Each home has one or two "mothers" who run the household like a regular family. Kids have chores, get help with homework, and everybody sits down together for meals.
Judith introduced us to Phillip, the onsite manager. In spite of a raging toothache, Phillip was welcoming and friendly and showed us all around the place.
The orphanage includes a compete school that educates kids from kindergarten to eighth grade. They hope to add a high school someday. Judith's daughter, Zenzi, is helping to set up a library as part of her own school project.
| Did you know...
Twenty-five percent of the population in Lusaka has AIDS/HIV. With such a high adult mortality rate, approximately 50% of the Lusaka's population are children (under 15), and a great number of them are orphans. |
As part of our "spread Bananagrams" project, we went into several of the classrooms and presented a gift of a Bananagrams game. Each time we entered a class, the kids would all stand at their desks and say in unison "Good morning, Uncle Phillip. Good morning, visitors."
Many of these children have lost their parents to AIDS. Some have lived through horrific experiences. But here at the orphanage, they find a safe refuge and are treated with love and respect. This orphanage is a true god-send to Lusaka.
