Now based New Zealand, where she is a successful businesswoman, Mupfunya said she wanted to help poor families in the village where she grew up.
In an exclusive interview with The Zimbabwean last week while she was visiting her projects with friends from New Zealand, Mupfunya said: “When I was a young orphan here there was no governmental infrastructure and the area lacked adequate educational and medical facilities. So I am back here to make sure this new generation of orphans will not have to live with such poor conditions.”
Last year she launched and education programme that has seen 15 orphans get an education. “I work with the local traditional leadership and the Ministry of Education in conjunction with the Ministry of Social Welfare to get names of those who deserve to get assistance,” she added.
One beneficiary is Hazvinei Vhayeya, now at Dora Secondary school doing Form Four.
“Both my father and mother passed away leaving me the custodian of my Aunt. Life has been very difficult for me, until I was rescued by Mbuya Mupfunya who pays my school fees as well as my clothing,” she said.
Mupfunya has this year embarked on a health programme that supplies the Dora community clinic with medicine and equipment.
“I am working through partnerships with doctors and pharmacists in New Zealand to provide free medical care to HIV and AIDS vulnerable children who cannot afford treatment,” she said.
“We will be engaging expatriate doctors who will work with local nursing staff, enhancing the capacity of the clinic to better respond to the needs of HIV patients.”
She is also in the process of building an orphanage that will cater for every orphan in Dora Village as well as others in the province.
Her dream is to make sure that orphans live as normal a life as possible. Last Christmas she took some children for a holiday to Nyanga. “It is important for them to enjoy an outdoor life – to relax and refresh their minds,” she said.
Mupfunya also works with other local and international organizations that champion the rights of the girl child.
Post published in: News