Tsungirirai Orphanage

Tsungirirai is a shona word meaning to persevere and being courageous. The organisation was founded by Mrs Phillipa Henderson in 1994. Witnessing the ravaging effects of HIV/AIDS in the early 1990s in the Norton community, Mrs Henderson moved into action due to her compassionate and mission focused nature. Thus, in 1994 she initiated Tsungirirai and became the founding Director of the organisation. At first, the organisation started by offering counselling and home-based care services for HIV affected and infected persons. Two years later, the organization got registered through the Ministry of Public Service, Labour and Social Welfare in 1996 as a formal welfare organization that focused on HIV/AIDS programming. Since its inception, the organisation had a two-tier governance structure comprising of a 5-member Board of Trustees at the top followed by an Executive Committee made up of 7 members.

However, due to new regulatory requirements of the Private Voluntary Organisations (PVO) Act, the board of trustees is no longer applicable thereby rendering it redundant. Programmes offered by the organisation have evolved over the years being shaped by the changing HIV and AIDS environment. At inception, the organisation’s core focus was on the provision of home-based care as many people were being discharged from the hospitals while in a bedridden
condition. Thus, the Home-Based Care (HBC) project was amongst the first major initiatives of the organisation. Still within the formative years albeit at a later period, HIV prevention activities like stepping stones and Auntie Stella initiatives were also implemented to increase awareness on HIV/AIDS. These educational programmes had a massive impact in the community with a core focus on preventative measures aimed to reduce the rate at which people were being infected.

During the period of the late 1990s and early 2000s, a lot of children were orphaned due to the effects of the pandemic and many more were left vulnerable due to be bedridden nature of their infected parents and loss of bread winners. This increasing incidence of Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVCs) resulted in the organisation broadening its scope to include OVCs programming to ensure strong social safety nets for affected children. Around 2008-9 medication in the form of Anti-Retroviral drugs (ARV) was now available to the public at cheaper prices. As a result, Tsungirirai implemented the New Life project that offered post-test counselling including intensive education on drug adherence. Support groups for infected persons were also formed during this era and these initiatives had a lasting impact on beneficiaries and their families. Since 2010 to date the organisation’s programming has largely targeted children
and youths still focusing on the area of HIV and AIDS. This shift was necessitated by the fact that
children and youths had been neglected in previous programming initiatives not only of Tsungirirai but of various organisations. Thus, since the year 2010 children are now being identified for HIV testing and counselling and Support groups for children have also been formed. Several prevention activities targeted at youths are also being implemented.
At present, the organisation is implementing an OVC project that incorporates aspects of economic strengthening, education assistance, integrated management of podiatric AIDS care and treatment, school health assessments, child protection, ARSH and psychosocial support. The HBC project is still being implemented in the community even though most people are now mobile. Caregivers visit children living with HIV in their homes offering psychosocial support and other forms of help and care depending on needs.