Dependent

Many of the children that come to our partner schools, don’t have parents. Some have passed away, other parents have left their children with relatives in search of jobs, money, or relationships. The children of these parents are often taken in by 'aunties' and 'uncles' or other family members. It is rare for a child to be totally abandoned. Family members are very good at taking in their relatives and giving them a home.

When a child comes into a family where the mum and dad are not their own, they become a ‘dependent’ of that couple, or that person. In Zambia, this is a very common occurrence. On government, legal or other official forms when one is asked about their family situation there will be a place to list your children, and then another list for your dependents.

Many families are quite large because of this. As you can imagine, this puts financial pressure on the carer, more mouths to feed, more bodies to clothe, needs that demand money that these carers often don’t have. Because of these pressures, and probably for cultural reasons I don’t yet understand, these dependents aren’t considered to have the same standing in a family as the parent’s natural born children.

 

Last week I had a conversation with one of the directors we work with about how the demands on a dependent in their home can be disproportionate and how, in some situations, the way they are treated is actually heartbreaking. In terms of education, many carers send their dependents to community schools like ours. They wouldn’t pay for their dependents to attend government school, so community schools are a good way to send a child to school and sadly for some, it’s way of getting rid of the child for the day

We have the privilege to work with these children in our schools and see them flourish. The teachers of the schools get to love on these children, remind them they are valued and cared for. From the amazing smiles that adorn the beautiful faces of the children at these schools, you’d never guess the struggles so many of them have. There is a strength inside these children that is remarkable. What a privilege to see Jesus at work every day, feeding, clothing, and educating nearly 1000 children through the staff at the schools we partner with.

It’s our prayer that those who are orphaned in the physical world would feel the love of God through the staff, and not feel like orphans in their hearts.