From Program Member to Program Facilitator

Manley is no stranger to grief and hardship. After losing his mother in 2006 and then his father in 2008, he went to live with his aunt and uncle. Manley’s aunt used brutal ways of parenting: shouting, beating, corporal punishment, and food deprivation. She depleted him of the little confidence he had left. But still, […]

10 Reasons Zoe Empowers is Unlike Other Children’s Charities

Zoe Empowers started as a relief-based organization with short-term, marginal results. In the early 2000s, the AIDS pandemic devastated communities in sub-saharan Africa, leaving hundreds of thousands of orphaned children in its wake. Globally, there was a push to donate to Africa, support orphan charities, sponsor an orphan, and fundraise for an orphanage. Zoe Empowers […]

A Portrait of Gratitude

Chenesai was ready and waiting outside when the visitors arrived.  On the ground, unable to walk with legs tucked to one side, wrists crossed in her lap, she takes in the unfamiliar scene unfolding in front of her: three Americans, along with a few faces she recognizes as Zoe Empowers Zimbabwe staff, have just parked […]

A Mother’s Courage Yields Hope and Happiness

Sharleen was 7 years old when she tragically lost her father, the only immediate family member she knew. Without parents or siblings, Sharleen moved in with her grandmother for a few years, before transitioning to her aunt’s house at the age of 10.    It is not uncommon in many poverty-stricken communities for extended family members […]

Nowhere to go: Street children cope with isolation orders

To control the spread of the novel Coronavirus, countries around the world have asked its people to stay inside to practice social distancing. Social distancing involves keeping space (6 feet is recommended by the CDC) between yourself and other people outside your home, avoiding large groups, mass gatherings and crowded places.  The recommendation to social […]

When “Stay Home” Means Sleeping on a Tree Branch

The concept of staying home is simple—unless you don’t have a home. Then what? As rules and regulations surrounding COVID-19 protection are being issued, children who live in trees, latrines, fields and other public places are being chased away. 

The Key to Gender Equality

When you sat down at your computer this morning, you didn’t think twice about typing in the Web address you wished to visit: email, news, social media, Zoe Empower’s blog. You simply typed it in, and within a few seconds, you were there reading, scrolling, clicking your way around.  But, you would have noticed if […]

ZOE and Malaria Prevention

Malaria is an awful disease, debilitating at best and fatal at worst, killing nearly half a million people worldwide each year. The children who enter ZOE’s empowerment program face this threat continually and many have lost their parents to the disease. Zoe Empowers joins others as part of a global movement seeking to eliminate this scourge. […]