Lushomo, Dani’s Home
on March 1, 2010
When Michele Ashby, an American on a visit to Livingstone, heard about the need to build a home for abused girls, she quickly offered her support. Michele rallied her friends to raise money to rebuild an old Council structure. Sun International, Livingstone, pitched in too. Now, four years later, the girls have a safe home in the loving care of Bridget Kabwe. Michele pops over from America to check on their well-being once a year.
Michele had her own sad story; her 19-year-old daughter had died from cancer some years previously. So, although the home is called Lushomo, the local word for ‘trust’, it is also commonly called Dani’s Home. Dani was the name of Michele’s daughter.
The stories these young girls have to tell cannot be written here. And neither can we show you photographs. Their ages range from 5 to 19. There are 14 of them at the home right now and they are as well and happy as can be. The main thing is that they are now safe.
I visited the home the other week to check to see if Sun’s support for the home was enough. We supply them with basic foodstuffs every month. I also wanted to find out if there was anything else they needed.
I sat and chatted with Bridget for a while, sitting on the small veranda. Bridget is an absolute marvel and loves these girls so much. She told me that even when she has a day off she often phones them just to make sure that they are all well. Bridget is a social worker with training in grief counseling.
We had a tour of the home, meeting the girls and the home ‘mothers’. It was wonderfully clean and tidy. The girls live in two dormitories, some with dolls on their beds. I asked Bridget how the girls coped when they went to school: Did they find any stigma attached to them because their previous lives? No, laughed Bridget, most people think the girls are orphans. They often bring their friends home to play, watch TV and do homework together. We encourage them to live their lives as normally as possible.
I wondered what the future held for these girls. I wondered if they could lead happy lives. I just knew that we were all doing the best we could for them and that Lushomo and Bridget would always provide a refuge if they needed it.
