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HARARE, Aug. 12 (Xinhua) -- Touched by the plight of Zimbabwe's orphaned children in one of Harare's impoverished suburbs, a group of Chinese mothers have sprung into action to better the lives of these children.
Hossana Love In Africa Children's Home in Hatcliffe, a high density suburb in northern Harare, is a new orphanage built with support from Chinese mothers and businesses operating in Zimbabwe.
It is among a string of orphanages that have been assisted by the Chinese community in Zimbabwe as they move to offer a helping hand to the needy.
Previously playing and learning at a ramshackle tent at church premises, the lives of the disadvantaged children at the orphanage have been drastically transformed after the Chinese built a modern house and put a playground for them.
The house, currently accommodating 12 children drawn from the surrounding community, has been well furnished for the comfort of the children by the Chinese Embassy in Harare with support from other Chinese companies.
"From April we visited more than 10 orphanages in Zimbabwe to see which ones we could assist and the conditions we saw at all the orphanages were bad," said Li Manjuan from Love in Africa, a group of caring and vibrant Chinese mothers who have partnered with Chinese businesses to assist the vulnerable children in Zimbabwe since 2014.
"But when we visited this place, we were deeply touched by the level of suffering and we instantly decided to assist the orphanage," Li said.
Since its formation, the charity organization has been supporting six children's homes in Zimbabwe.
Li said plans were afoot to construct more buildings to cater for pre-school and accommodate more disadvantaged children, as well as equip them with life skills to become self-reliant.
"We plan to initiate a series of training programs to ensure the orphanage becomes self-reliant. We will assist them to grow vegetables like mushrooms and we will assist them to sell the produce to Chinese restaurants and the Chinese community," said Li who was speaking at the opening of the Hossana Love In Africa Children's Home.
She said they will invite teachers from China to come and teach the children Chinese culture including martial arts.
"We are also going to make arrangements for every Chinese family in Zimbabwe to adopt a child at this orphanage so they can assist with school fees and other things. We are going to expand this place and make it bigger," she added.
Li said the Chinese mothers and businesses were being driven by their deep love and care for Zimbabwean children in offering this support.
Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe Huang Ping said the support to the disadvantaged children reflected strong, friendly and warm ties between the peoples of China and Zimbabwe.
"The project opens up a brighter future for the children. It provides a sound environment most positive for the growth, well-being and protection of 12 children and more in the future," he said.
The ambassador commended the Chinese community in Zimbabwe for the support they have given to the disadvantaged children in Zimbabwe over the years.
Harare Metropolitan Province Resident Minister Miriam Chikukwa hailed the Chinese mothers and businesses for building the orphanage, saying the gesture complemented government efforts to better the lives of vulnerable children.
"Your efforts will go a long way in giving the disadvantaged children among us, the love, comfort and peace of mind that they deserve at this early stage of their development," she said.
The orphanage's administrator Abel Chivambo applauded the Chinese for the assistance, noting that the support would help them to increase the number of children they are supporting to around 50.
"With support from the Chinese we are going to construct a pre-school and a dining hall in the next two weeks and we hope to increase the number of children that we support in the near future," he said. Enditem
