October 2013 Zimpeto Child Reintegration Program Update

The vision of our program is to maintain contact with existing family members of our children, with a view to one day enabling the family to receive the children back into their family. Some children don’t have family to reintegrate them, so we have to be resourceful in finding alternative solutions. In 2013 we have reintegrated a number of youth and children into different situations.

Two young men were reintegrated with their older brothers who have also grown up in the centre. When we reintegrated two older brothers, we built them a modest two room house. This year we extended the house to enable the remaining two brothers to live together.

Two girls who were taught to sew by Betty Blanchette are now doing sewing in their homes and helping their families this way.

We are currently building a house on the land of a woman who for the past 2 years has worked selling goods in the market while we cared for her children. She needed the time to work so that she could buy the land and build a house! Three young children will be reunited with their mother at the end of October 2013.

The process involves a number of steps, focussing on empowering families and young men and women to be self-sustaining members of the community. Funds donated to the reintegration department are essential to make this program happen and are used in the following ways:

•    Establishing both initial and continuing home visits with the reintegration team
•    Maintaining the reintegration car for off road use
•    Construction of houses
•    Purchasing household goods to set up the houses
•    Provision of a basic food box fortnightly for one year
•    Training the young men and women (the young men are currently training to cut hair)

Thank you for your continued care and support.  

[Photo is of the successful reintegration of the girl on the far left into the home of her father and step-mother. Her step-mother, brothers and sisters all accepted her - and after 2 years at home with them, all is well!!!]

“Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” James 1:27.