via Zim Diaspora urged to help educate orphans | SW Radio Africa by Nomalanga Moyo on Thursday, March 20, 2014
A UK-based charity worker has urged Zimbabweans in the diaspora to come together and do more to assist those who are still stuck in the rut that is Zimbabwe.
The call was made by Sharon Thompson, Programme Coordinator at London-based charity Zimbabwe’s Children, which helps scores of disadvantaged children and their communities.
“Many people in Zimbabwe are hardworking, intelligent and know what exactly they need to do but need a bit of help to get out of their circumstances,” Thompson said.
For her part Thompson is working with the Batsirai Project which is based in Hatcliffe Extension in Harare and helps orphaned and vulnerable children.
“Our involvement was an offshoot of a larger British Broadcasting Corporation documentary‘Zimbabwe’s Forgotten Children’ which showed the suffering of Zimbabwe’s orphaned children.
“In 2005 a community volunteer approached us asking for help following the destruction of homes in Harare during the government’s Operation Murambatsvina, which also destroyed Batsirai Children’s Home.”
“The orphanage was struggling with the increasing number of children and we worked with the lead volunteer to identify 26 of the worst cases of orphaned and vulnerable children in the Hatcliffe area, who had been out of school for long periods of time and desperately needed support.”
Thompson said although they have managed to offer sponsorship for the children fundraising is always a challenge, hence her call for Zimbabweans to step forward and help.
“We have also helped the guardians of some of the vulnerable children to start income generating projects so that they can be self-sustaining and be able to feed themselves and pay fees for themselves in the long run.”
Thompson said the British public as well as some Zimbabweans and South Africans who watched the BBC documentary have given her charity some financial support.
“But given the challenges in Zimbabwe more is needed and those in the diaspora are better positioned to help,” she said.
COMMENTS
Those earning Mega Salaries must take the lead before reaching out to the Diaspora. Eveerybody in Zim thinks that money grows on trees in the Diaspora but it doesn’t. Use part of the obscene salaries before bothering those who who are sweating hard to put food on the table. If internal resources are used properly, there is no need to take the begging bowl to the Diaspora. Do people ever realise that there is now fatigue in the Diaspora community????
Donor fatigue is the best description. Ever heard of some folks based in Zim, soliciting for funds to buy a gonyeti ! Seriously, how many people in diaspora can afford to donate funds to buy a gonyeti ? This unfortunate mentality among local based Zimbos, is what has led to salarygate where they mistake US for Zimbabwe dollars. Seriouslu how can a ZBC manager earn more than a medical doctor ?
The country has got a lot of money to support its opharned children.The local authorities CEO’S and public corporations CEO’S are busy awarding themselves hefty salaries instead of helping those who are in need in their communities.No one in the Diaspora is eanrnig as those crooks except a few businees people.Please stop insulting those in the diaspora. Its not easy out there.
Yes I think it is a good idea to save the Children. Only that the funds must never be touched by the ZANY guys….or else we will have a problem. Maybe we need to know how the payments are done. The children are innocent victims of ZANY policies. We must also assist our communities before they die of ZANY policies because ZANY guys are professional messers. They mess anything they touch. We are tired of ZANY
I think we should help the vulnerable in our society, but you mast actually be on the ground distributing the aid otherwise the sharks will devour everything.
ZANY ZANY PF. What crime have we committed to have people like that as our leaders. God save the people from these charlatans. Anything they touch turns to dust. ZANY isn’t it?
Zanu has taken advantage of us all. These charity organisations must help all Zimbabweans and give us more details of who really benefits the given donations. We are simply tired of the crooks taking what is not theirs and laughing all the way to the bank.
I totally agree with Muchadura that money earners are really in Zimbabwe, not in the diaspora. I can bet with every pound of any organ that matters on my body that their is not even a single Zimboz in the diaspora earns as much as 50 000 US$ per month as a salary anywhere in the world. People in the diaspora earn normal salaries (of course I mean those who are properly employed, not under-employed) and the overall average salary for properly employed professionals is to my knowledge is not very far from 3 000 US $ per month. This means a person like one Happison Muchechetere (ZBC) can pay a month’s salary to at least 12 highly Zimbo professionals scattered and employed across the global. Yet Muchechetere earns ‘only’ 40 000 US $ per month – which is just peanuts as compared to really-really mega-mega earners in Zim such as Cash$bert who earns in excess of US$200K/month. Unfortunately I could grab a calculate to assist me in determining the number of Zim professionals which individuals like Cash$bert can actually pay their monthly salaries out of their $230K/month. But its clear that over 70 of those poor Zimboz in the diaspora can get their monthly salary from one Cash$bert’s monthly salary and the guy will still keep a lot of ‘change’ after paying 70 professorial salaries.
Anyway, the long & short is: Plse before bothering those poor souls in the diaspora try approaching the Cashberts & the Happisons – who are very much in Zim & making money big time. I am sure they stand ready to plough into the very place from which their getting the moneys from. Ask Mugabe & will tell how patriotic these individuals are – men of spine & vision who do not run away from their country like those in the diaspora. its not me saying this, I m just saying this is obviously what dear leader says