Zimbabwe’s ‘Child parents’
Picture it. What words of wisdom would you offer if you were face to face with a 12 year old mother in Zimbabwe? Let’s call her Sa’ida. How would you stop her concluding that, in light of the country’s mayhem, it would be better for her to take her life and, perhaps, that of her baby’s, in order to spare both.
We tried reconstructing the conversation you might have:
You: Can you ask the father of your child to help you parent him?
She: After my parents died from AIDS, I went to our neighbour for help, but he raped me over and over. I am afraid to go back to him.
This is not a surprise. Many NGOs are reporting increased child abuse among children who are left without carers. Studies indicate it could be as high as 30% of children, 3 times higher than any other country on record.
You: Can you find a relative to help you?
She: Two of my uncles also died from AIDS. So did their wives. My older cousins are still alive, but they don’t have jobs.
This too is not a surprise. Current estimates place unemployment at 94% in Zimbabwe.
You: How can you get food?
She: I can look for bread in the garbage in the marketplace. I can’t buy it.
And this is likewise not a surprise. Inflation no longer describes the extraordinary financial situation in Zimbabwe. The government recently issued a 5 billion dollar note. That buys 2 loaves of bread. In some villages people are forced to buy bread with gold because inflation has reached over 80 sextillion. (102)
You: Do you have a place to sleep?
She: I sold our little house and ran from our village. I needed the money to pay the debt for my parents’ funerals and I wanted to escape my neighbour. Now my baby and I sleep under any street shelter we can find.
You: And do you go to school?
She: I tried but, with the baby tied on my back, it was hard to study. He needed feeding and care.
You: So, for the future… Can you see any way to survive?
She: There is one way. Since my neighbour had his way with me, I now know something about adult men. I suppose I could make money on the streets to get food for my baby. For myself, I don’t care if I live or die. But I have to live if he is going to and I need money to care for us both…
In the depth of Zimbabwe’s nightmare, the best news for a girl like Sa’ida would be an offer of a safe house where she, and her baby, could receive food and shelter, along with education and counselling. There are tens of thousands of Sa’idas in Zimbabwe: little ones acting as tiny heads of households, breadwinners and caregivers for siblings or children of their own, particularly when young victims of rape. Their shoulders are too young for such a responsibility, but they have no choice.
We are currently preparing to help precisely such an institution in Zimbabwe. It takes in desperate orphans, in rural areas, and helps equip them for life. It gives them food and shelter, education and emotional support. We are sending computers, office equipment, building materials, sewing machines and more.
In a country where a loaf of bread costs a week’s wages, we will do everything we can to save on costs by sending free items to equip such an institution.
And then, perhaps, little Sa’idas will find that choosing life was the right choice, after all.
You: Can you ask the father of your child to help you parent him?
She: After my parents died from AIDS, I went to our neighbour for help, but he raped me over and over. I am afraid to go back to him.
This is not a surprise. Many NGOs are reporting increased child abuse among children who are left without carers. Studies indicate it could be as high as 30% of children, 3 times higher than any other country on record.
You: Can you find a relative to help you?
She: Two of my uncles also died from AIDS. So did their wives. My older cousins are still alive, but they don’t have jobs.
This too is not a surprise. Current estimates place unemployment at 94% in Zimbabwe.
You: How can you get food?
She: I can look for bread in the garbage in the marketplace. I can’t buy it.
And this is likewise not a surprise. Inflation no longer describes the extraordinary financial situation in Zimbabwe. The government recently issued a 5 billion dollar note. That buys 2 loaves of bread. In some villages people are forced to buy bread with gold because inflation has reached over 80 sextillion. (102)
You: Do you have a place to sleep?
She: I sold our little house and ran from our village. I needed the money to pay the debt for my parents’ funerals and I wanted to escape my neighbour. Now my baby and I sleep under any street shelter we can find.
You: And do you go to school?
She: I tried but, with the baby tied on my back, it was hard to study. He needed feeding and care.
You: So, for the future… Can you see any way to survive?
She: There is one way. Since my neighbour had his way with me, I now know something about adult men. I suppose I could make money on the streets to get food for my baby. For myself, I don’t care if I live or die. But I have to live if he is going to and I need money to care for us both…
In the depth of Zimbabwe’s nightmare, the best news for a girl like Sa’ida would be an offer of a safe house where she, and her baby, could receive food and shelter, along with education and counselling. There are tens of thousands of Sa’idas in Zimbabwe: little ones acting as tiny heads of households, breadwinners and caregivers for siblings or children of their own, particularly when young victims of rape. Their shoulders are too young for such a responsibility, but they have no choice.
We are currently preparing to help precisely such an institution in Zimbabwe. It takes in desperate orphans, in rural areas, and helps equip them for life. It gives them food and shelter, education and emotional support. We are sending computers, office equipment, building materials, sewing machines and more.
In a country where a loaf of bread costs a week’s wages, we will do everything we can to save on costs by sending free items to equip such an institution.
And then, perhaps, little Sa’idas will find that choosing life was the right choice, after all.
