St. Faith's Mission - Jairos Jiri Orphanage for children with disabilities

St. Faith’s Mission is a rural mission located in Rusape, Zimbabwe, about a 2 ½ hr drive from the capital of Harare. St. Faiths was established many, many years ago and is one of the oldest missions in Zimbabwe. The mission owns 200 acres of land and uses the majority of this land as farm land to help support the mission.

The priest responsible for the mission is Reverend Webster Simbabure. The mission consists of the church at St. Faith’s, as well as 11 other satellite churches. In addition to the church, the mission is made up of an all boys secondary school (Form 1 to A levels), as well as an orphanage for disabled children. It is the orphanage which Zimbabwe Gecko Society has targeted to help support.

The orphanage currently supports 42 children, ranging from babies to 15 year olds. All the children have a disability. The disabilities include blindness, various physical impairments, quadriplegics, hearing impairment or mental disabilities. There is currently 10 staff at the orphanage, several of whom also have disabilities. The staff has various areas of specialty. The children attend the local public school and school fees and uniforms are covered by the orphanage. Once the children reach the age of 15, the children are merged into the community.

The orphanage is supported by the mission as well as Jairos Jiri – an organization that advances the interests of people with disabilities. The orphanage has been given 12 acres on the mission property to use for a garden which helps provide food for the children and staff. The main challenge currently is raising money to ensure sufficient food for the children, cover medical care expenses, and pay staff salaries.