Our Programs
“If there’s a cause worth fighting for, it’s this: children belong in families.”
FAMily Program
FOSTER ADOPT MENTOR
80% of children in residential care across the globe have family that could care for them if given the right support.
While this is not true for every child in Kuda Vana’s care, it is a truth that every Children’s Home must grapple with and strive to become part of the solution and not the problem. Being in safe family is always better for a child. This means that Kuda Vana:
- Only accepts children from Social Services who have no known living family able to care for them
- Prioritizes safe family reunification when possible (read GiGi’s story (pictured at right) of reunification HERE!)
- Facilitates domestic adoption and foster care (read a recent story of adoption HERE!)
Kuda Vana is partnering with local churches, community members and organizations like 1 MILLIONHOME to transition from a model of only traditional residential care to one that also equips and supports families in parenting.
Please note that only citizens of Zimbabwe are considered eligible families for adoption.
“The best way to empower our children is to give them an education, we must enable them to help themselves.”
Kuda Vana School
Sustainable Change Begins with Quality Education
A 2016 assessment of Kuda Vana's students found them to be at least one year behind academically in the public-school system they were enrolled in. Much of this was due to missed schooling, trauma and cultural stigma’s placed on orphans. We realized that the children in our care needed more one-on-one preparation for a successful academic experience.
We launched the Kuda Vana School in 2017, which provides a first-rate education to all of our primary school children on our campus. Many students who were previously labeled as under-performers in the public-school system are now out-performing their peers on national exams! Further, recent testing showed that on average, our 3rd - 8th graders performed 46% better in language arts, reading and math than their counterparts who took the same test in the United States.
The Kuda Vana School is an essential step in preparing vulnerable children for a solid high school education, and ultimately a self-sufficient future, while in a safe and supportive environment.
Youth Transition Program
Every 2.2 seconds an orphan in the world ages out of care. Of these, 40% become homeless, 70% commit a crime and 60% are forced into prostitution.
This is the plight of most orphans in Zimbabwe – at 18 they must leave the orphanage they have been raised in with an incomplete education, no access to medical care and no support system. We believe we can and should do better.
This is why we provide holistic support to young people as they age out of Kuda Vana Children’s Home and transition to self-sufficient adulthood. Support includes:
- Temporary housing and adult oversight to young people 18 and up
- Tuition for high school, trade school or college until completion or through the age of 23
- Income-generating opportunities such as agriculture or livestock cultivation
Thrive Farming Program
Zimbabwe has one of the highest levels of food insecurity in Sub-Saharan Africa. The World Food Program estimates that more than 30% of the population do not have adequate nutrition or food day to day.
In alignment with WFP’s strategic focus on building long-term resilience to food insecurity, Kuda Vana now has 12 acres being used for food production. Our young people and staff have worked hard to develop the land, and learned sustainable methods for composting, mulching and water-saving irrigation through the Farming God’s Way program. Each young person leaves our campus knowing how to grow and harvest their own food.
Kuda Vana’s gardens provide maize, tomatoes, beans, strawberries, lettuce, and much more. Maize storage houses ensure food security during uncertain times. Our campus is also home to 100 happy egg-laying chickens, providing necessary nutrition and earned income when there is excess.
Family Assistance Program
The best place for children to be raised is with their families.
Kuda Vana invests in the prevention of child abandonment or abuse by helping to eliminate food scarcity amongst needy families in two regions of Zimbabwe: Murwira, Murange and Buhera District in Manicaland. Both regions are prone to drought, and many children in the area suffer from poverty and malnutrition.
We provide a variety support services, including seeds for families to plant and sell, clean drinking water, sanitation facilities, school fees or medical support when necessary. More than 55 children and their families are provided with hot meals or groceries in both regions.
By providing this assistance to children and families struggling to survive, we can help ensure more families remain intact, and less children grow up in a Children’s Home.
Our Approach
““This place is different from other orphanages. I came here from somewhere else, in 2014. There, when you are 18 you are just done. There is no family. No help. At Kuda Vana, I know I have a family forever. I have to work hard, go to college, help myself, but they will always be there for me. I would like to be a doctor someday - to help others, with cancer, aids, the things that have hurt my country.””
Not Your Typical Orphanage
Our approach is simple, but in truth the work is messy, nuanced and difficult. We are thankful for God’s provision and our donor’s support as we are on a journey to do an even better job of empowering the most vulnerable children of Zimbabwe to not just survive, but thrive.
1. Prevention: supporting vulnerable families and helping keep families intact through the Family Assistance Program, which provides seeds, food, and other support to impoverished families in two regions of Zimbabwe.
2. Rescue: providing a safe, loving environment for vulnerable children in immediate need. Kuda Vana partners closely with Zimbabwe Social Services and only accepts children who do not have relatives who can care for them.
3. Rehabilitation: nurturing the whole child through counseling, education, medical care and love within a “family unit” in four group homes and a nursery on our Children’s Home campus. Our staff receive annual trauma-informed training.
4. Reunification and adoption (when possible): prioritizing safe family reunification, domestic adoption and foster care through our FAMily Program. In recent years we have adopted out 9 children, placed 6 in foster families in reunified 13 with biological family.
5. Residential care (when necessary): Kuda Vana Children’s Home provides the best possible home for children who do not have other options. We are committed to maintaining a relatively small operation in order to provide the level of personal care every child deserves. Kuda Vana has been hailed as one of the best in the region, enjoying a visit by the First Lady of Zimbabwe in 2022.
Where the Money Goes
Kuda Vana works hard to be good stewards. Your gifts, big and small, matter.
In 2022, 87% of our expenses went directly to protecting the most vulnerable children of Zimbabwe.
Further, we have specific donors who cover our administrative and fundraising costs, allowing 100% of all other gifts to go directly to protecting the most vulnerable children of Zimbabwe.
We are proud to have earned the GuideStar Gold Seal of Transparency - you can view our complete financials HERE.
We encourage you to view the impact you’ve had on lives and the way we manage funds below.
“I have never felt better about giving to an organization than I do about giving to Kuda Vana. I have complete peace knowing that the money we give is being used in the best way to give homes and hope to all of these precious children.”