Be A HERO COMPLETED PROJECT
Sara Rose Children’s Home, Kitwe, Zambia
The orphanage is named after Sara Rose, daughter of Pastor Edward and Barbra Mwansa. Sara died on July 18, 2003, the day after her birth. She was Edward and Barbra’s fourth child who did not live long; one other passed away shortly after birth and two were stillborn. Their experience with infant loss is not uncommon in Zambia.
Sara means ‘mother of all nations.’ In remembrance of their daughter, they chose this appropriate name for the children’s home.
Founders
Pastor Edward Mwansa: executive director
Barbra Mwansa: director
Location and Overview of Situation
We are located in Twibukishe Township, Kitwe. With a population of 800,000, Kitwe is a large urban centre, second in size to the capital city of Lusaka.
HIV/AIDS has left countless Zambian children homeless. Thrown onto the streets by the death of their parents and guardians, these hungry and helpless children are easy prey for sexual abusers and slave masters. If all stakeholders do nothing, crime rates will increase, posing extreme danger to the community. The social fabric of the nation will break down even further and generations to come will be lost.
As an example of the magnitude and urgency of the crisis: in early February 2005, Pastor Edward conducted two funerals in one day at Church on the Rock. A widowed mother had died and left six children alone. A father, whose wife had previously died of AIDS, left nine children. Our church is doing its best to support the 15 boys and girls who were orphaned in that one day. Church members are taking seriously their responsibility to provide loving care and support, food, shelter and education for children in their neighborhood and community.
Former President of Zambia, Dr. Kenneth Kaunda, has warned that HIV infection in our nation has been growing at the rate of four people per second. It is estimated that 3 of every 5 women between 15 and 39 years old are infected. City graveyards are closing because they have no more room for burials.
There is a true saying in Zambia, “If you are not infected, you are affected.” No one is more negatively affected by HIV/AIDS than a child who has lost both mother and father.
These innocent children deserve to be happy, safe and secure through their childhood years.
We will be able to accommodate 80 children; however, this will happen gradually as they obtain sponsorship for them.
We employ:
- For a small salary, eight mothers as caregivers. Four of these mothers live as full-time residents in the home. Four of the eight are widows.
- A professional accountant who serves both the pregnancy centre and the children’s home.
- Two field workers, a caretaker and a community outreach worker.
Few organizations will accept newborn infants, especially when they are suspected or known to be HIV positive. We welcome children from birth into the Sara Rose family and are committed to caring for their practical, emotional and spiritual needs through their entire childhood, no matter their medical condition. We ensure that all incoming children are tested for HIV. If their test is positive, we love them all the more. We train all our caregivers to safely and lovingly handle the HIV positive children.
Our children have experienced great trauma in their young lives: four are HIV positive, one was sexually abused by her father at 4 years old, and one was left on a garbage heap at birth and rescued by a kind woman. In the space of one year, three infants died.
We were renting a small home. On faith, we began construction of a bigger house for orphans and abandoned children.
Kitwe City Council donated the land for the Children’s Foundation. It is a large parcel, 35 by 50 meters (1,750 sq. meters), and providing ample room for eventual development of:
- A chapel (during the week this chapel would be rented for weddings, activities and meetings, generating revenue to support the children’s foundation, as well as providing employment)
- A pottery shop
- A poultry/egg business
- An internet café (a plan that may be realized through Smile Africa)
- Classrooms for in-house education, training and leadership development
An architect on the Foundation board (Assistant Pastor at our church) drew up architectural plans. With funding provided by Be A HERO, along with partners from Australia and World Orphans, we were able to complete this building in the latter part of 2005 and the children moved in April of 2006.
100% of all funds donated for this project were applied directly to the project. Be A HERO does not keep anything for administration. Be A HERO is able to do this because the Hero Partnership and Pillar Program participants designate their donations specifically for administration.
If you would like to invest in further development at the Sara Rose Children’s Home, we accept donations by cheque or by credit card.
If you wish to sponsor one of these children click here.
You will be sent a receipt for income tax purposes early in the following year.
Thank you to all the donors for this project, particularly Maria Marcek and the students and staff at Burnaby North Secondary School.
YOU ARE HEROES!
