Fatima Mission is a large mission based in rural Zimbabwe. The majority of those living within its boundaries are poor subsistence farmers reliant on Maize, Chomolia (a green vegetable) and a few cows, goats or chickens as their only source of food. The mission is run by a Roman Catholic order of Franciscans priests known as The Order of Friars Minor Capuchin or Capuchins for short. The priest in overall charge is Fr Jeya who has been at the mission since 2002. It has a church, a pastoral centre, a number of primary and secondary schools, a clinic and a project for disabled children within its boundaries.
A particularly vulnerable group living within Fatima Mission are those who are disabled (blind, deaf or mute) and Fr Jeya was particularly anxious that they should be given the opportunity of an education. 22 disabled young people live at the pastoral centre during term time and attend a nearby school. The school is the only school in the province offering a specific education for special needs children. Above is a photo of some of young people.
In addition to their academic education they also learn skills to help them live and prosper with their disabilities. In 2021 we raised funds to set aside an area of land for the young people to grow vegetables – more information about this project can be found under the link ‘Projects supported’. The purpose of doing so was threefold, one, so that they had a healthy nutritious diet, two, that the project would be self-sustaining and three, so that the young people would learn practical skills appropriate for the rural area in which they live.
The number of young people benefitting from the project has grown from six in 2011 to 22 this year. Of these 22 young people; 11 are deaf and mute, 3 are completely blind, 3 are visually impaired, 3 have Down Syndrome and 2 are physically handicapped. All come from poor households.
It costs £600 per year to cover the costs of one young person’s school fees and living costs; £13,200 to cover all 22 young people.
This project is life changing for these young people in that it widens their horizons, giving them access to an education and a community that otherwise would be denied to them.
Second priority: A cattle rearing project.
In the last four years we have supported various projects to improve the young people’s diets and their husbandry skills. in 2023 we funded a chicken coop, in 2024 a piggery and in 2025 a fishery. This year we would like to fund a cattle rearing project consisting of 8 heifers and a bull.
Fr Tascisious, the new Priest in charge of overseeing projects in Fatima Mission writes:
Thank you very much for your willingness to support our initiative. We truly appreciate your interest in understanding how the proposed cattle rearing project will benefit children with special needs.
Below are the key benefits:
1.The cattle project will help improve the diet of the children. We will be able to provide more protein, rich meals with beef and milk at cheaper costs.
2.The project will offer skills training and capacity building. During weekends, individual with special needs will be engaged in manageable tasks such as feeding the cattle, cleaning the shelters, and assisting in basic care. This will help them develop practical skills, build confidence, and promote a sense of independence.
3. The project will support the biogas digester which the children are using as a source of energy, for cooking. It will reduce the costs of fuel because we collect dung to feed the bio-digester from almost up to 30 km away. In addition to this it is eco-friendly because we save trees when using this source of energy.
To run this project we request help in terms of structures and a minimum of 8 heifers and a bull.
Each Heifer costs approximately £300 (US$400). A bull would cost approximately £340 (US$450). Although they will be free range cattle we will need a cow shed in order to collect the cow dung for the biogas digester. The estimated cost of building a cow shed is £4,500 (US$6000) and the estimated total cost for the entire project is £7,4240 (US$9250).
We would be grateful for your support in making this initiative a success.
Fr Tascisious
