Meet Our Team
“The strength of a team is in each individual member, and the strength of each member makes a team”
– Phil Jackson
Working with orphans is very much like being a parent to your own children. This means your job description often looks more like an expansive list than a tidy and simple explanation.
‘Parenting’ is its own, unique word because the ‘how’ is, simply, never defined. The roles at the Ethandweni Children’s Home, therefore, are more of an umbrella encompassing most types of human relationships. Whilst distinctive roles are given to each category of work, it is never that black and white, and each of us assist in almost every area of running the home.
Administration
Lucien Oosthuizen
Director
Lucien Oosthuizen has been affiliated to Ethandweni since at least 2006, when having retired from a high-profile job in retail, he visited the home and found his next mission.
Dedicating his time, phenomenal hard work and incredible love for the children, while honouring the values of the founders, Lucien has steered the home through many difficulties and triumphs during his tenure, which has intersected with some of Zimbabwe’s most tumultuous years.
A valued friend to many in the community, Lucien has created a place of love for the children, staff and visitors at Ethandweni, almost unequalled anywhere else in the country.
Zodwa Ndlovu
Administrator
Our administrator, Zodwa, is a married woman and a mother of four. She is a former teacher who started working at Ethandweni in 2017. Her duties include:
- Managing and bridging communication between garden and kitchen.
- Coordinating and managing office correspondence.
- Keeping proper records of the home and children.
- Preparing payment and executing staff schedules and duty rosters.
- Assisting in managing staff/children relations.
- Holding staff meetings, and assisting in training needs.
- Conducting home visits as directed.
- Controlling of stock, foodstuffs and toiletries.
The “Mothers”
These 5 ladies are the “Mothers “at Ethandweni. The most senior is Loveness Mkandla who has been with us since 2005. Dorcas joined us a year later, with the other 3 coming to us a few years thereafter. The Mothers reside in the units with the children. Any very young children share the Mothers bedroom. These wonderful ladies are all Mothers themselves, and/or Grandmothers too.
The “Cooks”
Thembi and Sisa are responsible for our kitchen and dining needs. With the assistance of different children every day, they manage to cook and feed us over 900 meals every week!
The “Gardeners”
These 2 gentlemen are responsible for the upkeep and continual upgrading of our garden. With daily assistance from the children, they are able to supply us with an array of fresh vegetables to meet our daily needs.