A child-headed family find hope with SOS Children Zimbabwe

Child-headed households are an increasingly common occurrence in Zimbabwe. Here is the story of one such family and how they came to live in SOS Children's Village Bindura.

Edward and his three young brothers, Sibanda, Takawira and Thomas found themselves alone after their mother died in 2007. Initially, their father returned to the family but soon after his return, both he and the youngest child, Thomas, passed away. This meant Edward, who was then aged just ten, was left to look after his two brothers who were eight and nearly five. Before he passed away, his father had told the boys and neighbours that there were no other family who would be able to care for them.

Members of their immediate community of Bindura, tried to care for the boys as much as they could, but the community itself was struggling. Food was very scarce, there was little work and because of the situation at the time in Zimbabwe meant the community had no security about where they were staying and their living conditions were very poor. However, members of the community did manage to highlight the plight of the three boys to a lady who was volunteering with a home based care programme which was working in the area. This service brought some food and any necessary medications to the small family. Unfortunately, caring for his little brothers and the destitution of the family meant that Edward was unable to attend school.

The lady from the home based care service referred the family to the Social Services department and, after consideration, they approached SOS Children's Village Bindura to see if the little family could be placed there. The three boys were welcomed into house mbizi, which means zebra in Shona, by SOS mother Patricia Nembire at the end of last year. Under Patricia's care, they have found a close family environment in which to recover and rediscover a loving family situation. Patricia says that right from the beginning the boys were well behaved and polite. "The boys mix easily with others. They are very responsible boys and Edward enjoys helping me in the garden."

One of the things that has made Edward the happiest is being able to re-start school at the SOS Primary School which is near to the Village. His teacher, Angeline Gombakomba, says of Edward, "he is very responsible in his outlook and tries to be the 'big brother' of the class. If I have to leave the classroom for a moment, it is always Edward who offers to monitor the others." "I'm very happy to be in a home with my two brothers and SOS family members - I'm happy to be back at school after so long!" Edward says. He is also able to spend more time in the garden and playing football with his new found friends. All three of the brothers seem to be flourishing in their new family.

Read more about how SOS Children is supporting AIDS orphans and child-headed families.

*For privacy reasons, we have changed the names of the boys.