If you are wanting to sponsor a child, there are four ways to get started.  Use our online sponsorship checkout process, you can call Goshen Christian Church and request a child sponsorship brochure (1-574-533-8122), or you can mail your written request to Goshen Christian Church, 2133 Berkey Avenue, Goshen, Indiana 46526, or you can e-mail us at susan.fry@edenchildrensvillage.org and we will send you a brochure.  Once you have read the brochure, you fill out the form on the last section and send it to Goshen Christian Church with your first sponsorship check.  You will receive an acknowledgement of your donation, and you will be assigned a sponsor child.  You will receive a photograph and a biography.  With each "thank you", you will receive an envelope for the next month's donation.  At the end of the year, you will receive a receipt of the year's donations for your tax records.

NEW - ONLINE "Sponsor a Child" option!
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Child sponsorships cost $30.00 US each month.  This covers the direct costs of each child's care -- housing, utilities, food, clothing, medical treatment, personal items, educational expenses, school uniforms, and mother salaries. (If payment is via our Google Checkout Option, we require $32.00 US each month to cover the credit card transaction fees)

Our administrative costs are supported from another fund, which means 100% of your donation towards child sponsorship goes to your sponsor child.  We have worked very hard to make this happen!

 

We will assign you a sponsor child, and we will send you a photograph of your child with a brief biography.  We will also send periodic updates on your sponsor child with updated photographs.

Can I write to my sponsor child?

We encourage sponsors to develop a relationship with their sponsor child.  After all, this is your personal ministry to an AIDS orphan.  The children are greatly encouraged to know that someone so far away loves them enough to care for them.  You can send letters to Eden Children's Village, P.O. Box 166, Mhangura, Zimbabwe,  Attn: Your Child's Name.  If you prefer, you can e-mail your letter to our office, and it will be translated, if necessary, and given to your child.  Your child will in turn respond to your letter.

We are happy for sponsors to come and meet their sponsor child.  One sponsor has said that being able to hug the little girl she sponsors was a life-changing experience.  Keep in mind that you will need a variety of immunizations which need to start 6 months before your departure.  See your local health department for the required immunizations.  Let us know of your intentions, so we can make sure that you will have as much time as possible with your sponsor child.  Keep us informed of your itinerary, and any changes in your plans. 

There are two ways to get a gift for your sponsor child.  One is to send additional funds earmarked for a gift for your child, which you could send with your monthly support.  Those funds are transferred to Zimbabwe so that a gift can be purchased there.  If you wish to mail a gift, mail it to Eden Children's Village, Child's Name, P.O. Box 166, Mhangura, Zimbabwe.  If you intend to mail a gift, e-mail us and let us walk you through some specific steps that will keep us from paying a lot of duty at Customs.

 

Eden Children's Village was founded in 1998.  Americans visiting Zimbabwe met a group of people in Doma, Zimbabwe who were wanting to start an orphan project, but were unable to fund the project on their own.  From that meeting, a partnership was formed to enable Eden Children's Village to come into being.  Funds would be raised in the USA and in Zimbabwe to care for AIDS orphans, and a comprehensive Christian care programme would be developed to benefit local children.  Eden would be registered with the Ministry of Social Welfare, and would adhere to government standards.  All of this was bathed in prayer seeking the will of the Father.  He has blessed this work immensely!

We are located in two communities in northern Zimbabwe, which are 125 miles northwest of the capital city of Harare.  We have cottages in Mhangura and Doma.  We are located in a commercial farming area that is relatively remote. 

We took in Alexandra Mullin in June of 2000.  Alexandra was very proud that she got to be first!  She was a ten-year-old rape victim with full-blown AIDS.  She passed away on March 13th, 2001.  She was also the first child to die with AIDS at Eden.  She is greatly missed...

We applied to become a PVO in September 1998.  Currently we have a pending number PN 12/2000.  The Ministry of Social Welfare places children with us by court order.

We offer a variety of types of care to suit a child's needs.  We offer full-time residential care to orphaned children who need assistance throughout childhood.  We do Community-Based Care with extended families that are having trouble coping with extra orphaned children in the family.  We have an emergency care ministry called the Shepherd's Cup for children in medical emergencies.  We have a Terminal Care Ministry for children who have AIDS, and we try to prepare them spiritually and emotionally for death, while providing the highest level of medical care available.   We have Youth Homes for our teens where they learn independent living skills in a supervised setting.

There are many programmes for AIDS orphans in Africa that do little more than feed and clothe children and march them off to school.  Often they are lost in a crowd in a large dormitory with a single matron overseeing them.  We feel very strongly that this approach is deficient.  We feel that a family model is much better, and that children are much better prepared to live normal lives if they have significant adults in their lives that really have time to nurture and mentor them.  They also need emotional support in the devastating losses they have suffered as their biological family has died.  For that reason, our child to staff ratio in full-time residential care is 4:1.  This allows us to provide high quality care.

When we first came to Zimbabwe, we started asking other childcare organisations what worked in the Shona culture, and what did not, and we took their advice to heart. Without exception, every organisation told us that hiring couples eventually led to sexual abuse in their cottages.  We recognise that the Biblical model for the family is a father and a mother raising their children.  But we are also aware that adding potential sexual abuse to all the other overwhelming problems orphaned children face on a daily basis was unthinkable.  So, our family model at Eden is this:  each cottage has a Mother and an Auntie, who provide the bulk of the hands-on care for each child.  We also have three Village Fathers who are fully involved in the lives of the children, but do not live in the cottages.  This approach seems to work particularly well in this culture.  Once our children are teenagers (somewhere between 13 -15, depending on their emotional maturity), they go on to our Youth Homes, where they learn independent living skills in a supervised setting.

 

We want to minister to AIDS orphans as whole individuals, as God has made them.  We want to develop the body, the soul, and the spirit.  If we ignore any of these three components, then we feel we are denying the way that God has created human beings.  We see AIDS orphans as infinitely valuable to God's Kingdom.  Every life is significant in the Kingdom economy, and we strive to maintain our awareness of each individual's worth.  Each child is a treasure to be restored, renewed, revitalized and prepared for life not only in Zimbabwe, but in God's Kingdom in eternity.  For this reason, we want our children to have a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as Saviour, a deep relationship with God the Father, and the counsel and comfort of the Holy Spirit.

Our vision for children is that they have a right to know their Father and their Saviour.  They have the right to all their basic physical needs.  They have the right to an education commensurate with their abilities.  They have the right to have the emotional support and mentoring of adult individuals who can bring all of their abilities to their God-given potential.  They have the right to be loved, and they have the right to feel secure.

Eden Children's Village exists to serve AIDS orphans by providing spiritual, physical, emotional, medical, and educational support in a Christian family setting.

 

Optimal nutrition is one of our best tools in treating children with HIV.  They also get vitamin and mineral supplements as well.  Our doctor will often keep an HIV positive child on an antibiotic long-term to reduce the number and severity of infections.  We are aggressive in treating any kind of illness with a child with HIV or AIDS, as simple infections often become life-threatening.

At this time, we do not have access to anti-retroviral drugs.  When they become available in Zimbabwe, we will make every effort to acquire the drugs for our children.

We try to be honest with children with the progression of their illness.  We let them know that they are not alone, that Jesus is right there with them every moment of their illness.  We give them as much emotional support as we can, and we give them permission to be angry and to grieve for their loss.  We try to make sure they feel confident, safe, and secure throughout their illness.  They know that Jesus will be waiting for them as they take that last breath, and that He is taking them to a beautiful place where they will never again be sick, tired, hungry, or scared.

We try to keep them at home as much as possible to be supported emotionally during their illness.  If they are at home, they are with their Eden family, their toys, pets, and other favourite things.  Their medical care is closely supervised by Judith Ervine, SRN, and by Dr. Batsirai Chiureki, MD. at Makonde Christian Hospital.  We make sure that they have adequate pain control and stay hydrated.

Each child's medical condition is different, and we respond to their particular situation individually.  We seek the opinion of our medical professionals, and make the determination from their input.  Some children do spend their last weeks in the hospital, but only when it is not in their best interest to stay in the home environment.

Caring for children who are dying is emotionally and physically exhausting.  Particularly with toddlers, the death process is devastating.  We take time to mourn with our children who are dying, and mourn for them after they are gone.  Our Lord gives us just enough grace to get through each day.  He generously gives these precious little ones the grace they need to get through their illness.  These little ones are an inspiration, facing death with courage and dignity that is far beyond their years.

 

At this writing, we have 4 children we know are HIV positive, out of 26 who have been tested.  Our doctor is in the process of having every one of the children in our care tested so that we can better manage their health with faster intervention.

Our children receive good medical care, and they seldom get the respiratory infections that kill in a matter of days.  Most often, our children develop candidiasis  throughout their digestive systems (usually along with multiple low-grade infections), which first causes chronic diarhea.  Then the child eventually cannot swallow solid food.  Eventually they cannot swallow liquids.  Over a period of two to four months, they gradually starve to the point that there is organ system failure and death.  The tragedy for us is that there is little we can do for them, other than control their pain and keep them hydrated.  We could never describe adequately in words how impossible it is to witness this slow and painful process.  It is completely devastating!  It is monstrous to watch helplessly as a child's life slips away.

Generally, children born with HIV die before they are five.  In our experience, the vast majority die before their third birthday.  Often there are developmental problems complicating their compromised immune systems, and they never really thrive and develop normally.

If we have a child that is more than ten years of age, and they are HIV positive, this generally indicates that they are victims of sexual abuse.  This is an indicator for us to pursue not only aggressive medical treatment, but counselling as well.  Some of these children have been living with untreated venereal diseases, and have some major medical problems associated with rape.  The greatest damage is to their value and worth as human beings, and they often feel worthless, used, and discarded.

We do not worry about contracting HIV from our children.  We work closely with our health professionals at Makonde Christian Hospital to make sure all of our staff are confident in their knowledge of HIV transmission and control.  Thankfully, HIV is fragile outside the body, and our staff use bleach water as well as rubber gloves when handling bodily fluids.  We are actually much more at risk of contracting tuberculosis or hepatitis, and we do everything we can to prevent disease transmission within our cottages.  We use disinfectants every time we clean, and make sure our homes are always kept very clean.

 

Approximately two thirds of our funds come from Independent Christian Churches and Churches of Christ in the USA.  The remainder of our support comes from churches and individuals in 23 other denominations in 27 states, as well as within Zimbabwe.  We have also had donations from Great Britain, Holland, and South Africa.  God has been very good to us!  Eden Children's Village is a wonderful example of how God's people can work together in a crisis for the good of God's Kingdom. 

Child Sponsorship is the lifeblood of Eden Children's Village, and this fund covers our operating expenses directly associated with orphan care.  We also have a General Operating Fund which is used for administrative expenses.  There is a Capital Development Fund, which is set up for construction projects as we develop our campus and expand the services we offer the local community. 

Yes!  Goshen Christian Church is a registered 501c-3 not-for-profit corporation in the USA.  Your donations are tax deductible as allowed by the Internal Revenue Service.  You will receive a donation receipt for your donations throughout the year at the end of the year for tax purposes.

 

We do not have a formal internship programme as such, but we do work with students who are needing university credits through an internship.  We coordinate with the intern's university to make sure all requirements for the credits meet the educational institution's standards.  We are quite happy to assist in this way.  Potential interns need to e-mail us to request an Application for Internship at:  kevin.fry@edenchildrensvillage.org.

We tailor intern's duties to meet their need for experience of a particular type, according to their field of study.  We can be very flexible in constructing a programme uniquely suited to the student's requirements.

Most students have a 6-10 week window of opportunity to meet their internship requirements.  We can assess each student's situation, and work with the student's schedule.

University credit for an internship must first be negotiated with the student's educational institution, and then we work on the internship programme from there.  We correspond with academic advisors to construct an internship that is beneficial to the student, and also beneficial to Eden Children's Village.  Our intention is to make certain that all requirements are met.

If you are interested in volunteering at Eden Children's Village, please let us know what you are interested in doing, how long you think you want to stay, and what you want to accomplish while you are here.  Potential volunteers need to e-mail us to request an Application for Internship at:  kevin.fry@edenchildrensvillage.org.

 

 

We are currently farming 180 hectares (about 350 acres) in Doma.  We grow corn (maize), soybeans, sunflowers, onions, potatoes, and sugarbeans.  We also have a dairy operation that produces around 22 gallons of milk each day.  We have a layer operation that produces about 350 eggs each day.  We also raise broiler chickens and broiler rabbits.  We raise our own beef.  We produce nearly 30 types of vegetables and 17 types of tropical fruit, over a metric tonne per month.

Food security has become a huge issue in Zimbabwe in the last two years, and we have worked hard to become as self-sufficient as possible.  In doing so, we have been able to develop some vocational education programmes for our youth, and at the same time provide the security we need to operate efficiently and minimize risk for the children in our care.

Permaculture is the science of growing fruit and vegetables in mixed plant communities (rather than monoculture), using aromatic herbs for insect deterrence.  Pesticides and fertilizers are made on-site.  Plant varieties are grown that are open-pollinated to allow seed saving.  We have started our permaculture project in response to a shortage of seed and fertilizer.

The Seed Bank is another component of food security.  We are growing more cultivated varieties of vegetables that are open-pollinated, whose seed can be saved from crop to crop.  We are still in the process of developing our seed bank.  We are seeking out indigenous food plants for intensive cultivation.

 

Our children attend public schools in Zimbabwe.  This is by design, as we want our children to be integrated in their local community.  It would be a disservice to our children if they grow up in their own little universe with no contact with their peers and adults in the community.

The university system in Zimbabwe provides many opportunities for our children to go on to tertiary education.  The University of Zimbabwe is located in Harare.  Bulawayo Polytechnic University is in Bulawayo.  Africa University is in Mutare, and is a Methodist institution.  UNISA (The University of South Africa) offers distance learning in Zimbabwe as well.  There are numerous other options for university education, trade school, or vocational education in the smaller cities in Zimbabwe.

Many of our children are far behind in school, and need extra help in the form of tutoring.  They often miss several years of their education while each of their parents die from AIDS.  We have more and more children coming to us who have never been to school, and they may be ten to twelve years old. We are committed to provide tutoring as it is needed.  We will soon build a classroom building that will be used to tutor children who are far behind in school, and to intensively teach children who have never been to school, in order to bring them closer to the grade level they should be in, to then place them in public school with children near their own age.

We are fortunate to have access to excellent Christian counselling in our area.  We have access to counsellors in the Ministry of Education as well as the Christian Counselling Centre in Harare.  This is particularly important for children who have been traumatized by their parent's deaths, or have been sexually abused.

 

We recognize that not all of our children will go on for university education, and we are working to create a vocational programme that will give our children life skills that will allow them to support themselves as adults.  We have about two years before our first orphans are ready for vocational education, and we hope to have everything in place for them at that time.  In the mean time, our teens work over their school holidays to learn how to work, to try various vocations, to make money, and learn how to handle the money.  We are developing the following vocations:  commercial agriculture, horticulture, silviculture, permaculture, animal husbandry (beef, dairy, layers, broilers, and rabbits).  mechanics, welding, furniture repair, construction, commercial sewing, commercial knitting, upholstery, and quilting.

At this time we are not certifying our programme with the Ministry of Education, as this has the potential to slow our progress.  We will seek certification at some point in the future.  Our youth will receive certificates detailing all the skills and procedures they are proficient in, and they will present these certificates to their potential employers.  Those employers will have the option to contact us to verify each child's level of proficiency in each skill area.

 

Our mothers are well trained.  We send our mothers to SOS Villages in Harare for training in the physical, medical, educational, and emotional care of children, and they work to achieve a certification that is nationally recognised.  (SOS Villages cares for children in nearly every country on earth, and they are over 50 years in existence).  This training spans two years, and is intensive and comprehensive.  We also train our mothers in the spiritual care of children, and how they share their faith with children of various ages.  Once trained, our mothers are well-equipped to be nurturing and mentoring our children, and bringing out the best in them.

The courses our mothers take at SOS Villages include:  Operating Principles, The Role of the Finance Department, Public Relations, The Village Concept, The Role of the Village Father, Interpersonal Relationships, Religion and Moral Values, The Rights of a Child, Nutrition, Child Psychology, Child Counselling, Working and Living with an HIV Child, Surrogate Motherhood, Housekeeping, The Role of NGO's, Budgeting, Child Sponsorship, The Role of Mother, Youth Facilities--Fostering Independent Living, Sociology, Child Abuse, The Child Adoption Act, Cookery, Time Management, Child Health, Preserving Culture, Discipline and Self-Esteem, Teamwork, The Role of Play, The Importance of Reading, School Discipline, Communication Skills, Using Public Libraries, Mothers Medical Health, Helping the Girl Child, Comparative Religions, Grief and Bereavement, Admission Criteria, Public Relations Roles, Every Day Life in a Village,  Dealing with Child Sponsors, Music for Children, Educational Needs of Children, First Aid, Basic Dressmaking, Occupational Safety, Religion in the Home, Counselling the Dying Child, Understanding Adolescence, Career Guidance, and Media and Its Influence on Children.

The courses they take at Eden are:  Basic Operations, Sponsor Correspondence, Maintaining Teamwork, Preparing for Change, Formational Stages in Spiritual Growth, Leader / Mentor Roles,  Why We Do Not Want to Be an Institution, Team Building, Preparing for Conflict, The Spiritually Focused Life, Corporate Culture, Spiritual Training Methods for Children,  Sharing Your Faith With a Child,  Showing Love to a Child, and Basic Bible Concepts for Parenting.

 

Our ladies manufacture school uniforms, school sweaters, work coveralls, work dresses, pajamas, custom clothing, custom embroidery, quilts, bedding, curtains and drapery, and they upholster furniture.  They also make story quilts which pictorially depict traditional African culture, and enclose the written story within the quilt.  The quality of their work is on par with the best in the industry.

We came to Zimbabwe as foreign investors, and the sewing company was our initial investment.  We were also cognizant of the need for creating employment for widows and divorcees, for rural women have few employment options. We also saw the need for vocational education for our orphans.  The sewing company has served these purposes well.