The Haven

Orphan care is one of the many ministries sponsored by Namwianga Mission. The home for infants and young children is appropriately named The Haven. I visited this amazing place recently and interviewed Cecilia Siafwiyo. She and her husband, Thomas, are houseparents at The Haven.

A generous Canadian family financed the spacious brick house. Built in 2001, the home features a large central living area. On one side of the living area are four bedrooms for the Haven’s infants and children. On the other side are three rooms for the Siafwiyo family. Two of these rooms are used as bedrooms and one is used to store cans of baby formula.

On the day I visited, the entire facility was spotlessly clean and in perfect order. Along one wall of the living area were bouncy seats for toddlers. Another wall was lined with high chairs. A table with recessed seats for up to eight little ones sat near the door to the kitchen. Cecilia led us through the infant bedrooms—bright, cheerful places with several cribs and a set of bunk beds in each. Three infant swings swayed gently in the hallway. Busy workers, called “aunties,” were lovingly holding and feeding the little ones.

Even though my visit was unannounced, Cecilia graciously agreed to an impromptu interview. Her daughter Harriet also joined us. Harriet and her husband live in a small house behind the Haven, and Harriet provides much needed help with the children and housework.

Linda: How many Haven children do you have right now? What are their ages?
Cecilia: We have twenty-one today. One went home just yesterday.
Harriet: Eighteen are under two years of age. The oldest child is nine years old. The youngest is three months old.

Linda: How many children do you and Thomas have and how many live here?
Cecilia: We have one child living at home and one who is in boarding school at Namwianga. Our other three children are married.

Linda: How do the babies come to you?
Cecilia: They just come! The Merritts began keeping babies years ago, so people know that Namwianga will take care of needy children.

Linda: Are all of the babies orphans? (Note: In Zambia a child is called an orphan if one parent has died.)
Cecilia: Not all of them. Most of them are here because the mother died and the family has no way to feed the child.
Harriet: But we also get babies from multiple births. We have two little boys who are quadruplets. One baby died and the parents kept one baby. The other two will go back home when they are about two years old. We also have two triplets.

Linda: Do all the babies go back to their families by the time they are two years old?
Cecilia: Most of them do, if there is an aunt, grandmother, or other family member who can take care of them. But some families leave children here and never come back for them.

Linda: What will happen to those children? Will you raise them as part of your family?
Cecilia: (At this point Cecilia had a look of surprise on her face—as if she couldn’t believe I would even ask such an obvious question.) Of course!

Linda: How much baby formula do you use in a day and where do you get the formula?
Harriet: We use six tins (cans) of powdered formula (400 grams each) every day.
Cecilia: Roy Merritt buys it in Lusaka. The mission also provides formula for families who take care of babies at home when the mother has died. Right now we give formula to fifty families.

Linda: How many people do you have working for you here?
Cecilia: There are seven women who take care of the babies. Three of them work at night (5 p.m. to 7 a.m.). Four work during the day (7 a.m. to 5 p.m.). We have one man who does the laundry and another who takes care of the lawn and garden.

Linda: Who does the cleaning and the cooking?
Cecilia: Harriet and I clean the kitchen and living areas. The caregivers keep the children’s area clean. Harriet and I do most of the cooking with help from the caregivers when they have time.

Linda: What was the hardest thing for you to learn or get used to?
Cecilia: Not to sleep well.

Linda: Do you ever get a good night’s sleep?
Cecilia: I am up every night with the babies.
Harriet: When the babies are sick, she only gets one or two hours of sleep.

Linda: Do you ever get any time off?
Cecilia: Not really. I go to church for two hours on Sunday morning, and I go to town to do shopping.

Linda: What do you enjoy most about your job?
Cecilia: Playing with the babies! I love the work I do!

The cost of caring for an orphan at Namwianga is $50 per month. Right now two babies do not have sponsors. If you would like to become a sponsor, please contact us or write to Zambia Mission, 3103 Memorial Road, Edmond, OK 73013. One-time donations to buy formula are also welcomed.