The Sunday Mail
Fatima Bulla-Musakwa
Loving one’s child comes effortlessly for every mother.
However, for some mothers, loving and caring for a child with special needs comes with its fair share of challenges that are incredibly onerous.
It, therefore, takes a special breed of mothers to take in, love and care for children that have been rejected by their families on account of being disabled.
Ms Rachel Ziki, who lives in Stoneridge in Harare, is a real-life illustration of this special breed of mothers. She has devoted her life to caring for physically challenged children who have been rejected by their families.
“Being a mother is a blessing because you bring life into the world,” she told The Sunday Mail.
“For the world to be populated, it is through the mother.
“In spite of all the challenges that come with caring for a child with special needs, it remains a blessing to be a mother of that child.
“I always tell my community that when we neglect children with special needs, we are forfeiting the blessings that come with them.
“I see the greatness of God through them and I feel proud to be their mother.”
Ms Ziki is the founder of Kudakwashe Care Centre, a care home for abandoned and neglected children with physical disabilities.
She turned her small home, which she shares with her two children following the death of her husband, into a safe haven for children with special needs, including those with cerebral palsy and hearing impairments, among other physical challenges. The centre, which was founded in 2015, provides care for 25 children aged between four and 17. Ten of the children stay at the home under the care of five caregivers. The rest receive different forms of support, including payment for their tuition fees. Most of the children have mobility challenges and require assistance with bathing and using the toilet, tasks Ms Ziki and her caregivers undertake without a hint of annoyance.
She uses the little income she gets from running an Early Childhood Development (ECD) school, a chicken project and gardening to sustain her care home.
The Beginning
Some years ago, Ms Ziki befriended some neglected children and those who were failing to attend school in her community.
She then started offering the younger ones free ECD classes at her home.
On occasion, she would offer counselling to her new “friends’” families.
Her husband was not too enamoured by his wife’s newfound passion and was evidently agitated.
He warned her about bringing “strangers” into their home.
They could harm their young family, he often warned.
She was, however, unmoved.
Her steely determination to feed and care for the needy reinforced her resolve.
As her small community initiative grew in leaps and bounds, so did her engagements with parents of these children.
From the engagements, she learnt of horrifying tales of rejection and abandonment suffered by some of the children, prompting her to create community support groups for the families.
This helped fortify her relationships with the children and their parents.
It was during this time that she learnt that some orphaned children with special needs were being rejected by their extended families, condemning them to lives of hardship and poverty.
She then made a decision to provide these children with a home, while attempting to persuade their families to accept them.
“I realised that there was need to protect these children with special needs,” she said.
“So I decided to dedicate my time to ensuring that they received an education and that they were treated like any other child.
“So I never separated them and they engage in similar activities as the able-bodied children.” While for some Ms Ziki’s work may appear like a walk in the park, she and her children have had to sacrifice a lot to provide a safe home for their new family members.
Fortunately, her children supported their mother and embraced their new siblings.
“As a sacrifice, I committed to making my house their house,” she said.
“I made a sacrifice for them to have a roof over their heads to the extent that I told myself this will not be my home anymore even after I die.
“Even my family understands that this home is for these children.
“We pay school fees for the children, build their confidence so that they are able to make something out of their lives.”
She said some parents often return to reclaim their children and commit to loving and caring for them, especially after attending support group sessions, which is testament to the efficacy of her community work.
Sadly, though, other parents bring the children back citing an inability to handle the challenges that come with caring for children with special needs.
Nevertheless, Ms Ziki said Kudakwashe Care Centre was always prepared to embrace the returning children.
Born in a family of ten children as the fourth child, she always wanted to have many children of her own.
When her husband died in 2013, leaving her to care for their two children, she made a decision to adopt more children to fulfill her lifelong desire for a large family.
Four children at her centre will complete their Ordinary Level studies this year and are already weighing options of the career path they will take.
Apart from daily basic commodities, Kudakwashe Care Centre also requires support that includes diapers, sanitary wear, warm clothes and blankets to keep the special family warm this winter season.
She hopes to get support to extend and furnish the building housing the special children.
