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Zoe works through a grassroots network of local churches in Zimbabwe, giving food, care and attention to children orphaned as a result of AIDS.
Father to the fatherless
Zoe, a partner of Tearfund. works through a grassroots network of local churches. Christian volunteers distribute the food that Zoe supplies to them. The volunteers visit each home at least once a week, so they can build good relationships with the children. This practical support is vital in a country where soaring inflation and poor harvests put basic food like maize-meal out of reach even of employable adults.
God’s family
Widowed ladies who have been helped by Zoe often start coming to church as a result. They then visit other families in the community that are in need.
One pastor working with Zoe writes, ‘Our church has grown numerically as a result of the feeding programme. The community saw God’s love in the churches because the church had become a father to the fatherless'.
Life restored
‘The orphans would go to school with happy faces…as a result so many orphans have received life that was nearly lost,’ says a Zoe staff member, describing the effects of food distributions on school life.
A pastor working with Zoe writes, ‘Our orphans are now getting on well at school because they eat every morning. The orphans are healthy. They are able to cope with many disasters.'
With thanks
Often the children cannot earn money or grow crops because they have to go to school. Many of them have younger brothers and sisters to care for. One of the children who received food from Zoe writes, ‘Before the feeding programme started, everything at home was very difficult. We could not make ends meet. The feeding brought peace and harmony at home. ‘May the Lord bless you. We love you and appreciate your love, both I and my young brothers and sisters.’
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