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A UMNS photo by Phileas Jusu United Methodist communicators, attending a training session at Africa University, arrive at nearby Munyarari Primary School.

By Phileas Jusu*

MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS) -- United Methodist mission centers in rural eastern Zimbabwe are helping feed, clothe and educate children, many of whom are living with HIV/AIDS or otherwise come from disadvantaged backgrounds.

A significant ally in the church's work is the Zimbabwe Orphans Endeavor, founded by the Rev. Greg Jenks of Clayton, N.C. Working with the United Methodist Church, ZOE provides school materials and food during school hours to disadvantaged pupils in rural communities.

At Munyarari Primary School in Zimunya, ZOE donated two sewing machines in 2005

and continues to provide uniform materials every year for disadvantaged children who attend the school. The children in need are mainly pupils orphaned by AIDS -- that is, they have lost one or both parents to the disease. The program also assists children of other denominations outside the school.

"People die of AIDS almost on a daily basis," said Gladys Chikowo, head of the uniform project. "It's sad, you know."

A UMNS photo by Phileas Jusu Community volunteers sew school uniforms for children orphaned by AIDS.

About 11 of the children have HIV/AIDS, he said.

The uniform project in the school is implemented by community women volunteers who do the sewing. Pastor Eunice Nduna, the station chairperson of the project, explained that "the volunteers come to work three days a week and have the other days of the week to fend for themselves since we don't pay them."

Volunteer Rachel Nyazire said serving the children has been an enriching experience. "It helps me personally to get more experience. It's also good to help the orphans because they need us in order to survive."

At Mt. Makomwe Primary School in Marange, ZOE funds a feeding program and a tailoring project.

In the primary school, the children are given a local nutrition drink known as mahewu during lunch. Mahewu is a mixture of maize and soy meal, sucrose, malt and fruit acid.

The Rev. Elisha Kabundgaidze, the Marange District superintendent, said the feeding program has helped a lot of the pupils. "Before now, some of them who come from very poor homes starved and could not attend school regularly."

A UMNS photo by Phileas Jusu Mt. Makomwe Primary schoolchildren drink Mahewu, a nutritional beverage.

The Rev. Joseph Chimberengwa, the pastor in charge of the local church, said "some pupils even left other schools to attend our school."

Jane Maone, a teacher in the school, explained that the feeding project started in 2005 and that 549 pupils now benefit from the program -- 60 from the pre-school and 489 from the primary school. Mahewu is served every day at lunch and porridge at irregular intervals.

The ZOE tailoring project close to the primary school has four volunteers headed by Nyasha Marange, who is also the AIDS coordinator for the Marange community. She said the project at the moment caters for 104 girls and 97 boys of the Mt. Makomwe Primary School, many of them orphaned by AIDS. She said her organization, the Greeley Children's Home Sewing Club (named after a popular missionary), was formed to assist orphaned kids through the implementation of various projects, the ZOE project being one of them.

"We intend to include AIDS-orphaned kids from other areas in the Marange District," Marange said.

Speaking on challenges, she said the number of orphaned kids is going up, and this is putting pressure on resources. "There are a lot of deprived children, some of whom don't attend school because their parents cannot afford to," she explained.

The tailoring project also teaches the children how to sew and knit. Such life skills are important, particularly for students at the United Methodist-run high school at Marange, which has about 830 students.

By teaching the children how to sew and knit, the women are enabling the young people to earn a living after they graduate. "Because at the end of the day," said technical adviser and teacher Elizabeth Musimwa, "when they leave this place, they should be able to impart this same knowledge to their neighborhood and to their families."

*Jusu is director of communications for the United Methodist Church's Sierra Leone Annual Conference.

News media contact: Tim Tanton, Nashville, Tenn., (615) 742-5470 or newsdesk@umcom.org.