Nicolas Stebbing CR makes an appeal on behalf of Tariro in Zimbabwe
In the troubles we experience here in England today it is easy to forget that people in other parts of the world have a far worse time than we do. We Christians must not forget. Like the Good Samaritan we watch out for the battered traveller, the discarded person, the weak and the vulnerable, and try to treat them as Christ would.
Take a teenage girl called Stembeni Kafesu. She lives in the dry area of Buhera in Zimbabwe. Stembeni was born an albino, a hard thing to be in a black society. In past times, albinos were disposed of at birth. As well as discrimination, albinos suffer physically as their skin has no protection against the African sun. And Stembeni is an orphan. Despite all this she has managed to fight her way through education and is now in here O level year, doing very well but her family have very little money and cannot pay her school fees. Nor will they able to support her through Sixth From and onwards. We, in Tariro want to do this as Stembeni deserves it, but our own funding has dried up during the pandemic. Can any readers of New Directions step in to help?
Or think of another boy called Panashe (Shona for God is here’) He, too, is an orphan living with his grandmother. He is a bright boy who should get a good collection of O levels next year. He is also very good at woodwork and loves it. This is really good news. Unemployment is very high in Zimbabwe and academic qualifications are no guarantee of a job. If Panashe can get good O levels we can send him to a polytechnic to do proper carpentry and learn to do high quality work. Good carpenters are never work in a rural setting.
Or again, there are five youngsters we are very proud of this year. Three boys (Nyasha, Munashe and Munyaradzi) and two girls (Memory and Rejoice), despite the pandemic managed to get A levels that fit them for university. They would love to go, but we have hit this funding crisis. We need to find quite a lot of money very soon to enable these young people to fulfil their dreams.
This is what Tariro (Shona for Hope) does in Zimbabwe. We give flesh to that great Christian virtue of hope. Without us these kids would have no hope. Can you imitate the Good Samaritan and help us help them? If so, please write to me direct at nstebbing@ mirfield.org.uk (or send a cheque made out to ‘Tariro’ to me at House of the Resurrection, Mirfield. WF14 0BN). Or donate through our website www.tarirouk.com.