A Brief History

The Mother of Peace Community is situated 100 miles east of Harare, towards the border with Mozambique. There is fairly good tar road until you reach the settlement of Mutoko. A further three miles on a dirt road, which leads you through the bush and past a leprosy colony and you finally arrive at the MOP orphanage. The countryside becomes increasingly less fertile away from Harare due to low local rainfall and the landscape changes to one of rocky, bolder strewn mountains.

In 1989 a South African woman was inspired to promote the setting up of orphanages that would care for children who had been abandoned due to the AIDS pandemic. In 1993 five people from Harare took up the challenge to open an orphanage in Zimbabwe. The Government leased an area of land to them and the work was begun to clear the land for both accommodation and agriculture.

In 1994 the first children arrived. Many were referred but others arrived on their own or were brought by the police, well wishers or relatives. Increasingly babies are being found dumped. On arrival many are ill with malnutrition, chest and skin infections, diarrhoea and other symptoms of HIV infection.

In addition the children arrive very confused and frightened, disturbed by the experiences in their short lives, some displaying evidence of having also been physically and/or sexually abused.

The community tries to discover as much information as possible about each child received into its care, but often this is impossible. In such cases the child is named and given an approximate date of birth.

At Mother of Peace the children are cared for physically, emotionally and spiritually. Truly astonishing transformations occur. Children often amaze us with their ability to ‘bounce back’ and it is incredible to see how quickly a child begins to thrive when nurtured in a warm and loving environment.

The community is run by Jean and Stella Cornneck, Zimbabwean sisters who both trained as nurses in the U.K. A central part of life in the community is the Roman Catholic Church, although people from any religion or philosophy are generously welcomed, there is a chapel on site, and services are held daily.

There is also a clinic, which opened in April 2001, consisting of a large treatment room, two eight bedded rooms, bathrooms and showers.