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There has been much debate in the community about the relevance and/or

need for Childline in Zimbabwean society. Others have felt that

Childline is an imported Western concept that undermines the

values and culture of the community.



In any culture throughout the world, the basic unit in any community

is the family and rightly so. The most widely ratified United

Nations Convention in the world, the Convention on The

Rights of The Child, lays down in the first 41 articles the well

known and accepted rights of identity, access to adequate

food, shelter, health care and education. But children require

more than that - they also need a stable, secure and loving

environment in which to grow.



It is widely accepted that the importance of the child in Shona and

Ndebele culture has been one of the cornerstones of the success of

the culture over many hundreds of years, but society in Zimbabwe, as

in the rest of the world, is constantly evolving and changing. Traditionally

the concept of the family extends far beyond the nuclear unit and

encompasses all relatives, and any one individual's welfare is the

concern of all family members, with assistance and support being freely

given when required.

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Current widespread economic hardships, the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the impact of Western culture have all contributed to the increasing number of problems being faced by the family unit, not only in Zimbabwe. This has led to an increasing number of situations in which a family, however willing, is simply unable to cope with the extra burden often of caring for a deceased relative's children. Alternative support systems have been viewed very much as a last resort, with the intervention of the state seen as an insult to the family.



The adoption by some of Western 'values' has led to a feeling that the state must take on the responsibility for caring for the children, but often even when the children are cared for by relatives there is great inequality in the way they are treated, even being relegated to little more than unpaid domestic workers.



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Childline is a free confidential multilingual helpline service which through it's unique approach of Freepost, Free phone and the Drop in service aims to reach every child in Zimbabwe regardless of economic circumstances.



Childline acknowledges that the family unit and parental guidance are of paramount importance and should be in the forefront of any decisions made regarding the welfare of children. It is only when these systems fail that Childline has a role to play. Unfortunately, this is happening on an increasing basis, with the phones ringing approximately 200 times each day. Childline is not there to tell the children what they should or should not do, but is there to listen, comfort and explore the various options available and so enable them to make their own choice on the way forward.



In an ideal world, there would be no need for Childline, but the world in which we find ourselves is far from ideal for any one of us. In any depressed economy, it is always the children who suffer the most severe effects. About 25% of the letters and calls to Childline involve abuse in one of its many forms but even when the calls involve the worst imaginable cases of abuse, children show the most amazing capacity for forgiveness, and in the majority of cases, do not want to report the abuse, they just want the abuse to stop.



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Rather than undermine family culture and values, Childline seeks to promote these values and to rebuild broken bridges and reconnect broken lines of communication when they have occurred.



Children whether or not they are in a family unit need to know that they are not alone. Sadly these numbers are growing and that is the reason for Childline's existence.