Projects

Funding from FOSA supports many programs and projects at the Fairfield Children’s Homes and in the surrounding mission community. These are designed to help the Homes achieve self-sufficiency and sustainability to be able to continue to provide for the children at the Homes.

• Garden of Good Hope Project
• Animal Husbandry
• Project Hope

• Secondary School Alternatives
• Trade School/Skill Center Alternative
• Self Sufficiency Projects - Solar Power

Though the projects have seen various challenges over the years, the value of these projects is significant in the lives of the children and staff of Fairfield Children’s Homes. With the dedication of the Africa University students and very understanding sponsors, we hope that these projects, and others, will grow and yield amazing results, not only in produce, but also in skill and community building for the children.

Current Projects

Garden of Good Hope, Garden Project:

Started many years ago when the Babyfold acquired a plot of land on the mission, the garden project has been a major source of food for the Homes. With the support of many Africa University students, the garden has grown over the years. Through the work of the Fairfield Children’s Homes’ staff and the Africa University students, the garden is an opportunity for the children to learn some responsibility and gardening skills.

Often times on Sunday afternoons, you would see the older children walking to the gardens to work alongside Mr. Dzawanda and carrying a variety of gardening tools. Though Mr. Dzawanda has recently passed away, his legacy lives on in the garden and seeds that he planted and in the lives that he touched. The Garden of Good Hope is a self-sustaining project, with the capacity to provide food for all of the Homes.

In the past year, an accidental fire destroyed most of the garden, but hope and dedication have provided the Homes with caring individuals who are invested in reviving the garden for the children and staff at FCH.

Update:
Through their efforts and with the involvement of the children, the Garden of Good Hope is again providing vegetables for the Homes. At times, surplus vegetables are sold with the funds being used for food and other needs of the Homes.

To make a donation to this project, click here

Animal Husbandry:

After much hard work and dedication from the Fairfield Children’s Homes staff and students from the neighboring university, Africa University, these projects have become a reality. With enough food to feed the children and staff, the extras are sold to offset the cost of the projects. One of the most recent additions to the struggling chicken project was an incubator. It is the hope that this will help to expand the possibilities of this project.

To make a donation to this project, click here

Project HOPE:

Project HOPE is a program that reaches out to the orphaned and vulnerable children in the community villages surrounding Fairfield Children’s Homes in Old Mutare, Zimbabwe. Vulnerable children are those who are malnourished, suffer from HIV/AIDS and other serious health issues, or are not able to receive other basic needs. Project HOPE offers financial assistance to families caring for these children in the form of school fees, medical care, food supplements and clothing/blankets. This enables many of them to stay with relatives in their family home instead of being placed in orphanages. Fairfield Children’s Home administrative staff is in charge of overseeing all HOPE programs and funds to ensure they go to those most in need within the community. By assisting children in this way, it also helps to make sure open spots at Fairfield Children’s Home can be reserved for those who have no remaining relatives.

To make a donation to this project, click here

Future Projects

Part of FOSA’s commitment to the children at the Homes is to provide for their needs through adulthood. This requires that FOSA evaluate and anticipate what those needs will be. FOSA has focused on needs relating to the education and training of the Fairfield children and on the development of self-sufficiency on a sustainable basis for the Homes overall. Some of the current projects being evaluated by FOSA are described below:

Secondary School Alternatives: As many of the Fairfield children are approaching the age for secondary school, the need to address schooling alternatives has become a priority for FCH and FOSA. One likely alternative is boarding school.

Boarding school is very common in Zimbabwe, as the school system is based off the British system and many students live far from school they attend. Many schools in Zimbabwe will distinguish between day scholars and boarders, which depending on many different factors could make or break a child’s opportunity to attend school. Admission to a particular school can be very competitive based on the results of admission tests taken by a student during the 7th grade. Decisions often will be based on the cost of the school.

The alternatives that have been identified are: Hartzell High School located on Old Mutare Mission just down the road from the Homes (where the children attend primary school); the local government school; and a nearby mission school in the region. In order to make the mission school a viable option, the Fairfield children will need to be boarding students given the school’s distance from the Homes. However, the mission school does not have adequate boarding facilities to accommodate many children from the Homes. Thus, Fairfield Children’s Homes and FOSA have begun evaluating the possibility of building a dormitory that would be able to house children from the Homes. This could be part of a larger project. At this time, no definite plans are in place, and FOSA has not made any commitment to support this project should it be launched.

To make a donation to this project, click here

Trade School/Skill Center Alternative: Another factor FCH and FOSA need to consider is an alternative to secondary school. While a majority of the children will continue on in school, some children will have an interest in attending a trade school or skill center and not continuing on to secondary school. FOSA and FCH are looking at alternatives in the area. None is very close. One possibility would be participating with other groups to establish a trade school or skill center in a location closer to the Homes. At this time, no definite plans are in place, and FOSA has not made any commitment to support this project should it be launched.

To make a donation to this project, click here

Self Sufficiency Projects – Solar Power: Under the current economic circumstances in Zimbabwe, delivery of electric power is often uncertain. This causes significant problems with the availability of water to the Homes and the gardens and with the operation of various self-sustaining projects such as a grinder for maize, the chicken incubator and a peanut butter mill. FOSA is aware of the use of solar power in similar circumstances in Zimbabwe and has begun exploring the availability and viability of solar power for the Homes.

To make a donation to this project, click here

As more information on these alternatives becomes available or as these projects are launched, we will update our website.

As we begin to identify other projects, we will add them to this page. Please continue to check the website for ways you can help.