The Children’s Home Orphanage was established upon the initiative of a Buddhist monk who devotes his attention to abandoned and homeless children. This initiative withdrew positive endorsement from the First lady of Zimbabwe, Lady Amay Grace Mugabe who then decided to build an orphanage in Mosawe, on the outskirts of Harare.
The First Lady shared this brief explanation while welcoming the Indonesian Ambassador to Zimbabwe, members of the Asian Diplomatic Ladies Group (wives of Ambassador of Indonesia, India, Palestine, Pakistan, and Malaysia), and the Indonesian Embassy in Harare who, by her invitation, visited the Children’s Home Orphanage on 21 December 2011.
The orphanage was built on a 1.200 hectare land and has now finished constructing 11 from the planned 75 houses. Each house will be 412 m2 in size, enough to accommodate 5 bedrooms for approximately 20 children. These children mostly came from hospitals across Zimbabwe when they were still under 3 years old.
The orphanage will feature some facilities, ranging from computer center, hospital, school, small stores to approximately 100 modest lodgings for the school faculties. The blueprint of the orphanage will also include a place for them to plant fruits and vegetables which will suffice the daily needs of these children. Should there be a surplus of crops, they will be sold to the market, and the money shall go to the children’s expenses.
In addition, an irrigation system will be installed in order to increase the land’s fertility. Masowe is indeed a fertile region and one of the agricultural areas in Zimbabwe.
According to the First Lady, funding for the construction of this orphanage alongside its supporting facilities was mostly obtained from the donation made by the Government of China which was allocated for humanitarian activities in Harare.
Nearing to the end of the meeting, the First Lady expressed her admiration for the work ethos of Asian people who always show hard and meticulous work. She also praised the skillful and creative craftsmanship of Indonesian people who managed to produce all sorts of handicrafts which certainly assume an important role in Indonesia’s strong economic growth.
The Ambassador highly appreciated the First Lady’s invitation to visit the Children’s Home and certainly her noble cause of taking care and raising these abandoned children. The visit is expected to further enhance bilateral relations between Indonesia and Zimbabwe, particularly in the humanitarian field. (Source: Indonesian Embassy in Harare/ri)