Our teams have been doing ministry with an orphanage called SOS Children’s Village here in Livingstone. There are 179 children there and 25 caregivers. Most of these caregivers are “Mothers.” They live with 11 of the children in the village and take care of their daily needs,as well as love them like mothers. They help them with their homework, cook for them, discipline them, and care for them in every way.
We’ve been blessed to be able to play and encourage the children, but one day we went to SOS simply to talk to the Mothers and spend time with them as well. These women are with these children 24/7 and raise them like their own. I was blessed to be able to sit and talk to a Mother named Mavis and was so inspired by her story that I felt called to share it.
Mavis is the oldest of seven children. Her parents died when she was young, leaving her an orphan, and she raised her brothers and sisters on her own. She saw them through their education. They all now have good jobs, and some have started families of their own. After the youngest sibling was out of the house, Mavis felt that God was telling her that her work was not yet finished. She came on board with SOS when it opened in Livingstone in 2008 and has been there ever since, raising orphans like she raised her own orphaned brothers and sisters. Her dream is to see all her new children grow up and get an education.
Her story reminded me of the book of Esther. Esther was an orphan, but God used her and her past to help save the people of Israel. Mavis has gone through a lot in her life, but you can see how God’s sovereign hand was in all of it, so that she could do such an amazing work as she’s doing now.
The kids at SOS have an amazing spirit. A lot of them have gone through some terrible things. Some have known nothing other than the orphanage, like Baby Joe, the youngest of the group, who has been at the orphanage since he was 3 days old. He is now three. These kids are so happy for a chance to interact with us and play. They do not have any recreational equipment of their own, and do not often leave the village due to safety concerns. They have no playground, no board games, no electronics. Please, if you feel called to help these children at all, please consider helping out SOS Children’s Villages in Livingstone. Visit www.sos-zambia.org for more information.
