By Kuda Pembere
A ZAOGA FIF preacher Pastor Jestina Gandawa from Kambuzuma, Harare, on Saturday celebrated her 63rd birthday with the less privileged children from her area and some from Epworth donating sanitary wear, groceries, clothes, and bibles.
The ZAOGA children’s ministry director for over 25 years said the donations were inspired by her upbringing and background which saw her becoming a ‘deputy parent’ in charge of her young siblings.
I am 63 and bringing all these kids to celebrate my birthday is a burden within me from my background, the way I grew up. I was raised up by the legend Baba Guti. He raised me for years, from when I was 14.
“Sometimes I was not staying with him but he was the one who was responsible, knowing where I am, what I am doing. And then until I got to Bible School. Then after Bible School, I became a pastor, a director for children’s ministry for more than 25 years. And in that ministry I was a director of orphans and the destitute.
“So because of that I think the burden grew up because I was in that Ministry. But there is something that I always think about because when I growing up, for me, to the time I saw Baba Guti, coming from my family where my father and mother divorced when I was 7, and I remained with my brothers.
“I always tell people that I became a mother when I was 9 years because I was responsible for my young brothers. I could think about relish, to cook sadza, to see that they have done the laundry and all those things. So I became a mother before I was a mother, when I was very young. I think things worked hand-in-glove from the church, to the family and that’s me,” Pastor Gandawa said.
Recognizing how the issue of sanitary wear is becoming problematic amongst young girls and adolescents, Pastor Gandawa sourced and donated the pads.
“I knew there are little girls and we were just discussing at our home about what we could give the young girls. We had to use social media and like I said on my birthday, it is better to have these little kids, these girls and then I share with them,” she said.
She also hopes to get investors who can help her finish a crèche which is midway to completion.
“The way I started this project to where we are, my heart was that I wanted to make it a crèche. So that when we use this crèche, the incomes that we were to get from the crèche would be used to take care of orphans and not necessarily an orphanage centre.
“But I mean, finding people in the houses, in the community, paying school fees for them, buying uniforms, buying food for them and here being the dropping centre, the Centre of everything, they could come here and that is my dream,” Pastor Gandawa.
Kambuzuma councillor Hilda Ruzani who was the guest of honour at the celebrations commended Pastor Gandawa for the donations.
