Water Access
Clean water isn't a given in Pumula North. When the taps run dry, it's the children and families around the Center who go without.
Education
We're supporting hundreds of children with school fees, stationery, textbooks, and uniforms — the basic things that stand between a child and a classroom.
Feeding Program
Our feeding program started with the children, and it hasn't stayed there. Hunger doesn't check who's an orphan and who isn't.
Greenhouse & Livelihoods
Our garden and greenhouse already help feed the Center. We want to grow it further — more beds, more capacity, more of our own food on our own land.
Vocational Training
Our older children learn trades that lead to real jobs, welding, sewing, computer skills, and construction, taught by their own alumni.
Medical & Psychosocial Care
Free medical care, HIV testing and treatment, and counseling support for every child at the Center.
Who We Serve
ZimKids Orphan Trust was built, bit by bit, brick by brick, by orphans in Pumula North and has evolved according to their pressing needs rather than according to some NGO handbook. The 200-300 orphans we work with at any one time are extremely fragile. Not only have they watched their parents die, but most have also been traded around among relatives, moved from rural areas to town and often back again, used as servants or cow herders by distant relatives, or are leading child headed households raising two or three younger brothers and sisters.
- 5,000+ orphans supported since 2006
- Tutoring, vocational training & medical care
- Daily meals & recreational activities
- Led by our own alumni, for the next generation
We're A Family
We provide a new type of family, one in which the children are valued as individuals and helped to reach their potential. We're succeeding because the "heads" of that family are their brothers and sisters, alumni of our program who, as orphans themselves, understand their needs and challenges from the inside, and who have learned new personal, interpersonal, and practical skills as they've grown within Zimkids.
Building a place our children call home
After operating out of the yard of a neighborhood woman and then the local primary school, in 2011 our Council of Elders broke ground on a permanent home, built brick by brick by six of our own teenage members, trained on the job in construction skills they still use today.
The Center, named the Adrian Suskin Center in honor of a longtime supporter, now includes an educational resource center with a kitchen, clinic and library; a computer training center; a welding area; a garden and greenhouse with drip irrigation; a poultry area; an obstacle course designed and built by the orphans themselves; a playground; and sports fields.
Read Adrian's Story
Borehole pump repair and maintenance parts
School fees and exam registration fees
Maize meal, beans, and cooking oil (bulk staples)
Support Greenhouse & Livelihoods
Seeds and seedlings for the next planting cycle
Welding machines, goggles, gloves, and aprons for the training bay
Support Medical & Psychosocial Care
Medications and antiretroviral treatment for HIV positive children
Zimkids is a registered trust under Zimbabwean law (Registration #MA29/2009). Contributions can be made directly through our Zimbabwe Director, Tinashe Basa, at +263 774 101 954.
See Ways to GiveExperienced Team
So when we say, "Built by Orphans, Run by Orphans, for Orphans," we're serious. Our leaders mentor our 16-year-olds, who tutor our 12-year-olds. They plan and run our sports programs, teach chess, read to our preschoolers, keep an eye out for children who might look upset and fill our facility with joy.
- Tinashe Basa — Director, Zimkids
- Sambulo Dube — Trustee
- Nigel Mevana — Trustee
- Hezvo Mpunga — Trustee
- Amalia Kaerezi — Trustee
- Dennis Gaboury — Founder & Trustee
A look inside life at the Center
Check latest stories
Clean Water Day at the Center
A story from our water access program in Pumula North — the full account is coming soon.
Zimkids Orphan Trust Mealtime at the Adrian Suskin Center
A story from our daily feeding program in Bulawayo — the full account is coming soon.
Zimkids Orphan Trust 
Fun and Games in Pumula North
A story from playtime on the obstacle course our own orphans designed and built — the full account is coming soon.
Zimkids Orphan Trust A Celebration at Zimkids
A story from a recent gathering at the Adrian Suskin Center — the full account is coming soon.
Zimkids Orphan Trust