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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to want to start a charity for the 'forgotten children of Zimbabwe' as I think we in deveoped countries are contributing to thier way of life???

57 replies

Chellesgirl · 01/03/2010 22:09

1/3/10 BBC 4 9pm 'Zimbabwe's forgotten children'

Has anyone been watching this documentary???

I am still crying after nearly an hour of watching the children of Zimbabwe suffer so much that they want to give up. Do you think Zimbabwe needs our help? I feel like setting up a charity for these children...but feel it definately isnt welcome while Mugabe is still in power...why is it that we can use so much of tax payers money to fund a war against the taliban, yet leave these people to die???

Please people am I being unreasonable?

OP posts:
sausagerolemodel · 01/03/2010 22:11

I think your idea to do something is brilliant. Don't lose sight of it. Why don't you contact DFID and see where they think charitable help could best be used and how, to give you a place to start?

Original poster
Chellesgirl · 01/03/2010 22:24

sugar thank you I will take a look at DFID now...

OP posts:
Original poster
Chellesgirl · 01/03/2010 22:25

sugar???? lol I didnt read that correctly! I mean sausage prob the tears in my eyes blurring my vision

OP posts:
Original poster
Chellesgirl · 01/03/2010 22:27

WOW thank you for that, ive just taken a look and I really didnt have a clue where to start...now I do!

OP posts:
Bookswapper · 01/03/2010 22:32

zimbabweschildren.org/

AmandaCooper · 01/03/2010 22:39

Just a suggestion, but you could start off by contacting one of the existing children's charities that operate in Zimbabwe. Click here.

Original poster
Chellesgirl · 01/03/2010 22:40

bookswapper the website seems to be 'no more'
Ive tried numerous amounts of times to get onto the webpage...does it work on anyone elses comp???

OP posts:
Bookswapper · 01/03/2010 22:47

oh...it was working earlier...maybe its overwhelmed by site traffic at the mo?

I also found this charity through a Depatches (on Channel 4) documentary last year

www.soschildrensvillages.org.uk/sponsor-a-child/africa/zimbabwe

Original poster
Chellesgirl · 01/03/2010 22:47

Amanda its a good idea, but my SIL and BIL live in the 'better' half of Zim...he works for the president doing 'under the counter' stuff... he has informed me that while president Mugabe is in power he wont allow aid to reach the worse parts of Zim, if he does he demands some kind of payment...he deliberately left these people to die (too many people, means to many mouths to feed, which means too little money for himself)... When Aid workers visit Zim, they visit the half decent parts where they then give the aid to churches/aid workers there then they have to bring it to the more worse parts of the country...it doesnt seem to be all getting through to the poor starving children and thier lifeless mothers. Its so sad, I think I need to find a way of directly getting aid to these children somehow.

OP posts:
SusieOz19 · 01/03/2010 22:50

It just makes me so mad that these children just need $5 each to keep them in school.....a sum that most of us would not even miss. I would gladly send this every week to a child in Zimbabwe ....but the practicality of getting this to any of them is totally impossible. We have children here who won't go to school cos it's not 'cool' but these beautiful children are desperate for a chance which no-one will give them. The world is a sick and twisted place. For the sake of a few boxes of chalk and some paper a school has to virtually close. For the sake of the price of a burger a child is not allowed to learn.

Original poster
Chellesgirl · 01/03/2010 22:55

And susie did you see the part where the family can get shown pitty by the school wherby they will allow the child to go to the school for 50cents...and this to us? around 30p I think..the parents couldnt even afford this. To have to collect bones to sell...what kind of a life is digging up bones for children to be able to eat? its disgraceful that our government can spend silly money on things like 'drink awareness' when the poor children cant even drink fresh water, yet were spending money on trying to stop people drinking alcohol. arggghhh

OP posts:
gnomesrus · 01/03/2010 23:00

Message withdrawn

Bookswapper · 01/03/2010 23:04

all I can think of is the documentary i chanced upon last week where Katie Price was walking around Hamleys... buying Christmas presents for her kids like a hoover, taking a present from each shelf with no thought and not wanting to know the cost at the end, then watching those kids being presented with black bin bags full of presents from various relatives...

not saying the kids didnt enjoy the presents but the over consumption was sickening.

And thinking of Zimbabwe and those who suffer there...well, I feel helpless...

Original poster
Chellesgirl · 01/03/2010 23:21

totally helpless!

gnomesrus I couldnt believe it when thier mother died...so so sad and then they were practically left by thier oldest brother to fend for themselves. The first part that made me cry was when Esther was in her blue dress and she was saying how much her tummy hurt and as soon as she said 'I could cry with the pain' I just balled my eyes out! Ive never done that before...my mum was even shedding a tear. And its hard for me because I have family from Zim, my little girl is connected to her cousins there yet there is so little I can do.

OP posts:
onagar · 01/03/2010 23:24

Feel for them by all means, but it's their governments fault and responsibility not ours.

We could do the most for them by taking their president out and shooting him, but they could do that too.

Original poster
Chellesgirl · 01/03/2010 23:24

books katie price needs to fix up... along with all the other millionaires in this country and US that feel they can never have too much. If im honest some days i ahve struggled to find a tin of beans for dd to eat in my house when money was tight...but I was still thankful that I had a roof over our heads, we had warmth and clean water, and dd DID get to eat on these days even if I did have to go to my PIL's for dinner...we have those options.

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ToccataAndFudge · 01/03/2010 23:40

there is way to get money out there - however you need the right contacts - or to go through one of the bigger organisations like SOSVillages.

I know 2 (or maybe 1?) year ago DS2's infant school did fundraising for a charity for Orphaned Zimbabwean children, I can't remember the name of the charity now, but it was one who had "means" of getting the money from the UK to those who actually need it (ie black market)

"taking him out" would be easier said than done, it's rarely announce where/when he's going to be somewhere, and the Presidential cars (used to be 7 or 8 all identical Mercs with an equal number of police cars) travel at high speed (if you don't stop and pull over you can be arrested) everywhere they go, and no-one except those in the cars know "which" car the president is in........all that's known is it's rarely the one that's got the flag on the front.

Original poster
Chellesgirl · 02/03/2010 00:06

I know toc my BIL believe it or not supplies the cars to him! just get this...he lives in a nice house with his wife and 2 children...he owns a taxi rank (where he pays no taxes) a beuty parlor run by his wife and 'car sales'. He pays his maid £20 a month to do all the washin, ironing, cooking, cleaning, shopping and looking after the children - every day for 9-10 hrs. Vile isnt it. Then he comes over here and has a new, different car everytime.

I am meant to be going to africa in aug for thier wedding (2nd one) but I dont think I can stomach seeing the way they live...being just miles from the worst parts.

OP posts:
expatinscotland · 02/03/2010 00:12

we have friends who just got back last year from Uganda. he, a former teacher and headmaster, went with VSO to train other teachers. so we contribute through contacts they made in Africa, for both Uganda and Zim. not much, but even not much is something there.

Original poster
Chellesgirl · 02/03/2010 00:14

taking him out would def cause WW3...he is good aquaintances with the president of Hong Kong... I wouldnt like to think what would happen if there was a nuclear war. It is thier governments fault onagar as with every government they are run by money. My problem is, is that Britain used to own Zimbabwe but gave it up may years ago.. and even though we can spend money on war in afgahnistan we cant prepare for war in Africa to gain zim back..though UK wouldnt want it anyway and the reasons are disgusting.

OP posts:
ToccataAndFudge · 02/03/2010 00:18

£20 a month for a maid is actually a fair wage out there

you know what is unbelievable - the state of the roads - they are absolutely dreadful.

BUT you know the rural road leading to his "country residence" is beautifully tarmacked from the main road all the way up to his "home" quite some distance (20-30 miles irrc). I never really believed it until I saw it for myself.

When we went out 4yrs ago we turned off the pretty dreadful main road to Bulawayo onto the small road leading towards his residence. We travelled most of the way up it to visit some of XH's family that live there. The entire road was in perfect condition!

ToccataAndFudge · 02/03/2010 00:19

ahh yes - the links with China are , not to mention the law that came into force today forcing foreign owned firms to surrender 51% of their shares to "indigenous" people.........

Original poster
Chellesgirl · 02/03/2010 00:19

I think thats what those people really need is someone that has links to these people living like this, family members, church members that visit to give aid (but like toc said on the black market) but its the fear of being caught... my BIL's view is that the people in poverty made it like that for themselves...though we all know that operation 'clean up' was the biggest cause of the divided country and segregation of the poorer from those who did own land. This way mugabe is able to (with violence) take the land from these people, make them work for him, pay him taxes and live a 'free' life.

OP posts:
ToccataAndFudge · 02/03/2010 00:24

no - it started before operation "clean up". a long time before.........And even those loyal to him aren't safe any more, my (soon to be ex) FIL was beaten up (quite badly) by ZANUpf "war veterans" (that probably weren't even born when the war was taking place) the other year, and he's always been a staunch supporter of Mugabe (the only one in the family who is - but there's always one isn't there)

expatinscotland · 02/03/2010 00:32

yep. our friends, former landlords, had a maid and she got about £20/month and it was like a lot of money.

our friend, i'll call him 'd' put it: look, if they grow it and the crop fails, it's just not there! there's no fall back.

his wife was like, 'things i have seen on the back of a motorbike taxi . . .'

these included: an adult coffin, a 5-drawer chest of drawers, a family of 5.

after living in s. america and mexico, everytime we have a power surge i say a prayer.

hey, it wasn't an outage the likes of which you never knew when it would end!