United in mission and service, the Diocesan Commission and parish communication officers from St Don Bosco, St Teresa of Avilla Rujeko, Ss Peter and Paul and St Patricks Gokomere, under the umbrella of SOCCOM Masvingo, paid a visit to SJI Care Centre Alfred Walter Hostel (est. 1991) at St Don Bosco—a warm and loving home for children with intellectual disabilities.
The Centre provides care and skills training to children who are often marginalized by society. For the care givers, it is a mission they embrace as a calling from Christ, caring for each child as if they were their own.
“We are the mothers of the children here. Even as they go to school, we care for them and teach them basic life skills such as self-care, bathing, personal hygiene and even simple carpentry skills to help them fight stigma.” said Sr Annastasia Gudo, SJI. “We love our children and we recognize that they have human rights just as much as we do,” she added.
With a mission to share compassion and connect with those living at the Centre, the SOCCOM team, during a tour of the well-sheltered premises, was impressed by their self-sustaining initiatives, which included vegetable gardens, greenhouses, a few goats and over 150 chickens producing approximately 11 crates of eggs daily for both food and sale.
Despite support from local funders, the home is in constant need of day to day supplies, as many of the children come from disadvantaged families, contributing little towards school fees or care. In response, as part of its act of kindness and evangelization, the SOCCOM team mobilized resources, through clothes donations and generous funding from various units of the Church for food supplies and toiletries, delivering support to 112 children at the Centre, boys and girls aged between 6 and 18 years.
The team shared a moment of love and compassion with the children, who welcomed them with pure excitement. The joy of the children was a reminder that disability does not define their spirit or limit their capacity to be happy. Behind this happiness are the religious sisters and care staff, who work tirelessly through day and night shifts to ensure the children’s well-being. Even after the children leave for their families at 18, they continue offering support and care through home visits, living out the true mission of Christ.
This initiative was a deeply memorable experience for SOCCOM, one that encouraged unitedness among parish and Commission officers and reaffirmed the call to give back to the community with open hearts through Christ. “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to act.”— (Proverbs 3:27
