Pray today for the almost 1 million orphans living in Zimbabwe. Pray that no little ones will be left uncared for and in harms way, and that God will provide more orphanages to meet the growing need. Thank God today for those individuals who have devoted their lives to caring for these little children.

Psalm 82:3-4
Give justice to the weak and the fatherless; maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute. Rescue the weak and the needy; deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

Johnny Fernandes grew up in Zimbabwe. He has now started an organization called “A Wall for Social Consciousness“, which benefits the children at Hatcliffe orphanage. Here is an excerpt from an article he wrote, after a visit back to the orphanage in Zimbabwe.

AIDS. Starvation. Violence. Triple-digit inflation. I close my eyes, trying to conjure up pleasant memories of my formative years spent in this beautiful land of beautiful people. I remember running around barefoot, playing soccer from sunrise to sunset during school holidays. I remember sitting up in the mango trees with my cousin Theo, enjoying juicy sweetness. I remember the blazing sun and elephants, hippos and mosquitoes. I remember my parents‚ home, always open to friends and family, filled with noise and laughter. I remember toothy grins and friendly faces. I remember the greeting on the streets, “Yes shamwari” [”Yes friend”].

I smile now, temporarily forgetting all my troubles. I know what makes any visit home so special the sense of togetherness, of camaraderie, the feeling that we all share in each other’s joys and sorrows, the feeling of being constantly surrounded by good friends and neighbours. I dig up some photos that I took in Hatcliffe, and I‚m instantly transported back to the red earth of my Mars. My planet has life.

Green grasses and sprouting shrubs, strutting chickens, and thorny Acacia trees. I hear the garbled words of 60 children all speaking at once, and the united shrieks of delight as my camera flash goes off.

I see Takunda, the signs of his Downs Syndrome blurred by the joy of being embraced by adoring arms. Such love, such caring, surely is not learned. It is an innate quality nurtured by vigilant grandmothers and aunts, shared meals around the fire, and wise tales of baboons and magic. It is a quality that grows alongside mealie stalks and spinach plants, a quality that grows with each trip to the water well and each pass of the football.

I will see my children‚ tomorrow. I will run with them and chase chickens again, and when we’re tired we‚ll sit together and drink bright green Cream Soda from metal cups. I will listen to them sing songs and watch them do somersaults, but I won’t say goodbye.

These children are stars, waiting to be launched into the heavens. Their energy is boundless and their resilience well tested. And now they need my help!

I am fortunate to have shared in a small part of their lives, to have laughed with them and to have learnt from them humility, appreciation, sacrifice and the real meaning of community.