Chinyaradzo Children's Home

Background of the Home

Chinyaradzo Children’s Home, situated in Harare’s high-density suburb Highfield, is an institution that was established in 1962 by Child Protection Society as a place of safety for children in difficult circumstances. Today, Chinyaradzo provides full time residential care for 60 orphans and abandoned children up to 18 years of age. Chinyaradzo was built in a dormitory style according to acceptable childcare standards of many institutions of the 1960s. However, institutionalisation of this kind has shown to have negative effects on the children, such as

• Lack of stimulation, which inhibits the development of a child’s full potential.
• Slow development, that may result in poor achievements thus hinder self-reliance in adulthood.
• Little sense of belonging that may result in lack of confidence.
• Difficulties in integrating with other children in society.
• Subjection to cross-infectious deceases.
• Stigmatisation. 

To address the challenges of institutions stated above, CPS embarked on a project to replace the existing dormitory style with family homes in order to give children in its care the right to live in a family environment. The conversion of the children’s home from dormitories to family houses started at the beginning of 2003 with support from the Firelight Foundation. The broad goal was fulfilling children’s right to live in a family environment. More specific objectives were:

• To renovate existing dormitories into 3 semi-detached houses;
• To regroup the children into families; and
• To train house mothers. 

A total of six family houses, have been set up and all the children at Chinyaradzo are now in the family units. Two of these houses are in the in the nearby Highfield Community. Significant changes are being noted in the lives of these children, their happiness, self-confidence and well-being have increased immensely. The Home is running a reunification and re integration project that is aimed at ensuring that children from the Home are reunited with their families in the community.

Current Projects at the Home

The Home currently is running incoming generating actives aimed at impacting life’s skills to the children as well raising income for the Home. These include:

• Peanut butter project 
• Farming on a two and a half piece of land .In the last rainy season, 20 bags of maize was harvested as well as ten buckets of sweet potatoes. 
• A sewing project that specializes in sewing aprons for a preschools. 

Future plans

Equipping of Resource Center
The Home has a 5 roomed .The aim of the center is to give children an opportunity to have computer literacy, have a library where they can research and do their school work and have a sewing room where children can be taught skills in dress making. A computer room is already in existence but is yet to be equipped .The long term plan is to ensure that children who are part of the community based outreach programme in Highfield also benefit from the center and this will also present an opportunity for the children at center to mix with the outside world.

Development of the 2 acre piece of land next to Chinyaradzo Children's Home
The Home acquired a piece of land and sourced for resources from the British Embassy to put up an irrigation system. Plans are underway to start a horticulture project on the land.