Livestock for 300 Orphan Families in Zimbabwe

Today, our team based at Morning Star Camp in Matopos Zimbabwe had the opportunity to call on Mrs. Ndlovu at her homestead in Bunyonyweni Village. 

Mrs Ndlovu, who is a beneficiary of both the AFCA Goat and AFCA LooLove Projects, has had an extremely difficult last few years. The death of her husband in 2018 plus the tragic passing of her eldest daughter and son in law 2 years ago has left her alone and the only provider for her 4 grandchildren. She is an extremely hard working grandma (Gogo as they are called here in Zimbabwe) and has managed to fend for her little family by growing and selling vegetables as well as sewing clothing for sale and doing mending for people to earn a "dollar here and there".  She sews using a hand operated machine given to her by her mother who purchased it as new in 1961!!!!......it's 64 years old..... amazing.

After receiving training in animal husbandry from AFCA president, Dave Yaovich, in the summer of 2024, Mrs. Ndlovu received 3 pregnant female goats from the AFCA goat initiative. She has grown her herd to 6 animals now and they all look healthy and strong. She has managed to get enough milk from the goats to feed her 18 month old granddaughter. Her grandson who is 8  years old, looks after the animals when returning from school and makes sure they are safely locked up at night.

Gogo explained that the goat manure has really helped her vegetables to grow and that an unexpected advantage to having goats is that they keep the grass and bushes surrounding the homestead cropped short so that it is easier to spot snakes and other pests making it a safer area in which the children can play.

The family also registered for a latrine with the local village leadership and after consideration and vetting by AFCA they were one of 5 beneficiaries in Bunyonyweni Village to have a toilet built for them. Mrs Ndlovu was ecstatic when she recounted how she felt the day the building team arrived to start the building process. "It was my dream coming true," she gushed excitedly "and after only 5 days there it was in my yard as if it had always been there......I could not believe it."  She says it is so much safer now for the children with the new latrine only a few metres from their sleeping hut and that it is spacious enough inside for them to use it as a wash and bathing room as well so, "it takes care of two main daily problems that we used to have."

SIYABONGA KALHULU AFCA (thank you so much AFCA) were her parting words to us.

The team here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS thanks you for supporting this project and the work we do for the children in Africa.  If you would like to learn even more about what we do or how you can meet some of the children you have helped, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org. 

AFCA has established three active livelihood support projects at Morning Star Camp which is location the Matopos District of Matabeleland South Province in Zimbabwe. These initiatives, although very different in nature and implementation, have one common goal to support and augment the household budgets of selected families made vulnerable by the impact of HIV/Aids.

Zimbabwean's, particularly the rural folk, really know how to stretch their dollar especially when things get difficult such as in years of drought or famine. Communities have over decades developed various coping strategies and are some of the most self reliant people you will ever come across.  However, when a pandemic such as HIV/Aids or COVID comes along that tears through the fabric of their society and cultural practices then even these tough, hardy folk need a helping hand to make ends meet.

And this is what the AFCA initiatives are designed to to....they are not a hand out but rather offer a hand up and in doing so go a long way to restoring family dignity and community spirit and strength. It's amazing how a small intervention can just tip the scales for them and boost them from being desperate and toiling in vain to being able to stand up and fend for themselves again.  Never underestimate the power of giving someone HOPE.

The goat project equips families with a basic knowledge of goat rearing and provides them with a small nucleous herd of three female goats from which they can establish their own micro business and revenue stream. The income earned is generally used to pay school fees and buy school uniforms, buy food items that are not grown in their small gardens or saved for "a rainy day". This initiative has had some remarkable results......for instance how about Edna from Silobi Village who is a widow caring for two children. She nurtured her 3 female goats from AFCA and within 4 years had grown her herd to 44 animals. WOW. 

And now meet Sandy from Ntunja Village who is the newest beneficiary of the goat program. She received her training and 3 goats just a few weeks ago and her herd has grown to 5 with the birth of two strong healthy kids. She is absolutely ecstatic and says AFCA has given her and her family HOPE that they will be able to build a better future for themselves. Sandy also sells vegetables from her tiny garden and makes wonderful traditional grass brooms which are also for sale. The goats will provide milk and in a few seasons she will be able to sell or barter some.

Meet Dennis who has earned a total of $308 from his bee hive since he was selected to be a part of the AFCA beekeeping project. Dennis lives in Silothe village very near Morning Star and he days he "utterly loves his bees".  His " honey money" as he calls it augments the $40 per month that he normally earns from cutting and selling firewood and working as a contract labourer during planting and harvesting seasons. He also keeps some delicious honey back for household use.

Cindy also really enjoys being part of the beekeeping Project and has reported that her family has found a new respect for bees since they started earning money from selling the honey.  "My vegetables and crops are also doing much better now that my bee box is in the garden. God made bees to help us" she said. Her family have just received another $60 from honey harvested last week and this money will be used to clear the 2025 school fees bill for her grandson.

In honour of the late Chris Ferguson who was a long standing AFCA partner in Zimbabwe, AFCA pioneered an indigenous tree nursery at Morning. Although by its very nature this is a long term project, three years in we are already making an impact in the surrounding communities and have distributed more than 3000 tree saplings to date to schools, clinics and individual families.  The vision of this initiative is

• to provide indigenous medicinal and fruit trees to vulnerable families, schools and clinics.

• provide trees whose pods and branches can be used as livestock feed in times of need.

• replenish tree populations in areas where over harvesting has damaged the environment and led to soil erosion and land degradation.

• provide a possible source of income for families that can harvest and sell fruit.

• provide support for the beekeeping project by growing trees with fruit and flowers for the bees to pollinate.

The team here at the American Foundation for Children with AIDS thanks you for supporting these projects and the work we do for the children in Africa.  If you would like to learn even more about what we do or how you can meet some of the children you have helped, please contact Tanya Weaver at tweaver@AFCAids.org.