Mothers' Union supporting Orphans and children in need

As Mothers’ Union members search within their communities to see where their support and work is most needed the plight of orphaned children is often one of the areas in which they will look to offer their support and care. This can be demonstrated in many ways from donating clothes, to funding education and even to running orphanages. Many Mothers’ Union groups across the world will consider the care of orphans to be a core part of their work. 

In South Sudan, a country where war has resulted in many children being orphaned, Mothers’ Union are working together to provide support where they can. In Nzara, two girls Yola then aged eight and Miriam then four years old had lost both their parents to the war, members found them a safe home with food and clothing but also raised money to fund their education. Four years later and both girls are performing incredibly well and progressing into their new school year. 

Papua New Guinea has seen a high rise in population in recent decades. This combined with its geographical location making it susceptible to natural disasters due to climate change and the amount of the people living below the poverty lines leads to many children becoming orphaned. One Mothers’ Union member Betty saw the amount of parentless children living within her community and decided that she had the skills and motivation to make a difference and care for them. She built an extension to her house in order to provide shelter and a home as well as creating a space for learning. Betty encouraged and inspired her community to become involved and they now contribute food for the 40 orphans that Betty looks after. A voluntary teacher also comes to educate the children.

Sometimes support can be very practical, for example recently in Rumonge, Burundi, Mothers’ Union groups raised money which they used to buy school materials such as uniforms, notebooks and bags for orphans and vulnerable children in their area.

In other cases the work is more about raising awareness so that the whole community can offer support. In Tanzania, MU members heard of the plight of a family in their local area who were struggling to support 11 abandoned babies they had managed to save. The babies were abandoned due to unexpected pregnancies, sex-trafficking and child prostitution, their mothers simply unable to cope with raising a child. Hearing of the family’s situation, members visited different churches in the local area to create awareness of the existence of the family and the incredible work they were doing to raise and care for these 11 children ranging from the ages three months to five years old. Not only did the churches then raise TZS 300,000 (£100.00) but members were also able to provide practical and emotional support to the family and children so they are able to care for them in the coming years. 

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