The Vision and the mission
The Women International Fellowship is an inter-denominational Christian organization founded in 1998 in Harare, Zimbabwe. The organization has a calling to preach the Gospel, pray for nations and peoples, to help and build up broken lives, the destitute and the most vulnerable persons in society including the sick and the infirm, HIV-AIDS sufferers, commercial sex workers, orphans, prisoners, ex-prisoners and their families, the homeless and such like, as opportunity presents itself to the Fellowship.
The Immediate and Long Term Outlook of WIF
Orphanages and Convalescence HomesTo build and run first rate orphanages in every African country where the AIDS pandemic has had the most impact on children. Such institutions will give priority to the children who have lost both parents to the AIDS pandemic. These children homes will seek to secure the physical safety of such orphans, to nurture, and to work on an all round development of the child. Historically adoption is a stranger to the African culture where traditional social structures have looked after their own orphaned. However, the AIDS pandemic has outstripped the will and the ability of these structures to look after all such children and therefore the current urgent need for orphanages. These homes will take in school going age children. Priority admission will be given to children currently in child headed households. Each orphanage will have a convalescence home and conferencing facilities attached but separated from it. The latter will augment the cost of running the orphanages. Regardless of existing constraints the Fellowship will also pursue adoption and foster parenting wherever possible.Training CentresTo build regional training centers that will take in the older orphans from the streets and elsewhere and equip them with skills that will enable them to be productive in the society and hence secure a future for themselves. Courses like plumbing, electrical engineering, computer studies, motor car mechanics etc will be taught. These centers will also be a mid house for the orphans from the various orphanages under WIF, particularly those who will not make it to tertiary institutions. The training centers will therefore cushion as well as equip the orphans for life in the real world. Like the orphanages the training centers will have income generating activities attached to them to augment the cost of running them.Radio NetworkWIF intends to establish a non-political Christian radio network whose principal work will be to publish the Gospel as well as deal with social, cultural and public education and public health issues. “Awake Africa” will broadcast principally in the local/vernacular languages.Rehabilitation ProgramsThere is a dire need of equipping various groups and individuals who the Fellowship ministers to in the course of its day to day activities. The goal here will be to establish small scale projects and businesses so as to secure long term benefits fo these groups and individuals. Funding will target:
- Women who are converted from commercial sex.
- Ex Prisoners and prisoner’s families. This will augment the work being done by Zimbabwe Prison Fellowship.
- Those who have lost their means of livelihood because of ailment with HIV AIDS so as to re establish themselves and be able to feed their families.
- Prisoner’s wives who often are left destitute and are objects of ostracization by society.