Family Care Coordinator SOS Children’s Village Bulawayo, SOS Children’s Villages Zimbabwe
The value of employee’s appreciation in SOS Children’s Villages
When talent fits needs
I joined SOS Hermann Gmeiner Primary School Bulawayo as a primary school teacher in 1995. This was the year when SOS Children’s Village Bulawayo was established. It was one of the greatest experiences in my career to be associated with one of the biggest child welfare organisations. Despite working a lot in the education facility, I was quickly attracted to the family care unit, where I could use my musical talents to engage children and young people in the care of SOS Children’s Villages. We shared a passion for traditional music and dances, in particular with the marimba drum beats. Witnessing the joy and passion that manifest in such moments of music, the Village Director opened up and gave his support to these activities. He appointed me as part-time activities officer.
The new role suited me very well. I enjoyed what I did and the appointment led to new synergies. A number of activities such as soccer, karate, volleyball and music were going on in the village for both the children and young people in our care, all with the aim of providing a platform for psychosocial development for the children and young people. Soon the SOS Children’s Village Marimba Band was a popular provider of entertainment within the Bulawayo Corporates, NGOs and Zimbabwe Tourism Authority.
The children and young people in our care made inroads into soccer circles within the community through participating in competitive soccer with other community clubs.
Extra commitment for integration into local communities
My work environment in 1998 was flexible and there was room for me to develop ideas on how to further engage the children and youth and to respond to their social needs. My aim was to bring the children and young people closer to the community by understanding traditions and experiencing community life. It occurred to me that the memorial ceremony which my siblings and I were to conduct for our late father would be a good opportunity to do this. A memorial ceremony is an event where we publicly gather as a family to remember and share the memories of our late beloved parent. In our culture it is normally done at least a year after the passing of a parent. Wouldn’t this be a great opportunity to involve the children and young people in being part of the event so that they also get to have a feeling of the activities that happen in the community? l had to share my wish and to convince the Village Director about my idea.
This proposal was welcomed with open arms by the then Village Director. Now that my request was approved, I felt the pressure to make this experience a success story for all of us. I faced a number of challenging tasks at the same time. I had to make sure to help my siblings to prepare a solemn ceremony of good quality for our relatives and the local community. In addition I wanted to fulfil my mission to create a special experience for the youth under the care of SOS Children’s Village, as they would be involved as witnesses and participants at the same time.
I sat down with my siblings to share our tasks in preparing the ceremony. We also contributed a lot to the funding the activity. I spent time talking to the young people being cared for by SOS Children’s Villages. I explained the purpose of the memorial ceremony. Understanding the importance and scale of the event made them quite excited about the visit to the village and their role in the ceremony. I also made sure to keep the Village Director and SOS mothers motivated for the reality of the event.
The big day
As the day approached, the excitement was getting bigger and bigger. The young people always came to ask me if the trip was still on and l would sometimes joke and say we were no longer going. Guess what, one could tell their deep disappointment from their expressions. However, I quickly reassured them that the trip was still on. This brought more excitement and curiosity too. Finally the day arrived: what an exciting moment for the young people! We set off to go from the SOS Village early in the morning and arrived after two hours of safe travel around 8 am on a Saturday. It was a clear and sunny Saturday at the end of August 1998. The event took place in a district called Filabusi, under Chief Ndube and headman Tshili of the Magondeni village. Magondeni village, the village of our homestead, is about 120 kilometres away from Bulawayo, which is the second largest city in Zimbabwe, where the SOS Children’s Village is located.
Due to our thorough preparations, the event was one of the lifetime experiences for myself, my family, the community and, above all, for the young people from SOS Children’s Village Bulawayo. I felt joy when l looked at the young people who had come with me and were full of emotions while dancing and celebrating with the community. It was as if they had been part of it since birth. No one could single them out as they became like members of the community, blending quite well with the appreciative public of Magondeni. The reception from the community was really soothing. It was a ceremony to remember indeed. It was attended by hundreds of people from the local village, relatives and the young people under the care of SOS Children’s Villages.
On that day there was enough food for a lavish treat, various group entertainments and individual speeches highlighting my dad’s life by the excited local community. It was a very special and emotional moment indeed, especially when I stood up with my group on stage and started presenting a tender song dedicated to the memory of my dad’s life. Everybody was impressed and deeply touched. This experience enhanced my relationship with the young people in the care of SOS Children’s Village and the management.
Building on the good relationships
In 2002 I left teaching and was promoted to youth programmes coordinator at the family care unit. It was like my dream come true to get the opportunity to work directly with the young people. I was so excited and the news spread to all my family members. Indeed, the flow for good progress with the youth in the care of SOS Children’s Village continued. In 2000 a new Village Director was appointed and he worked with the important appreciative leadership style. As a team of co-workers (the youth programmes coordinator, the leading child development officer, the village educator and mothers) we were able to influence children and young people in all spheres of education and talents. This kind of achievement resulted in me landing the current family care coordinator position, the former village director post. When my predecessor retired in 2014, I applied for the advertised position and was able to succeed over a number of applicants. Currently, in 2021, we pride ourselves on having about 30% of our young people in university level studies, in first, second and masters’ degrees at local and foreign universities. More than half of our young people are at the semi-independent living stage.
Without doubt I and my team are responsible for all the achievements we have posted as the family care unit for the children and young people in SOS Children’s Village Bulawayo, based on the spirit of positive leadership and appreciation by the national director and team, and the location programmes manager and team. I am very proud of our cooperative work and those beautiful memories will always keep my heart warm and beating fast, giving me the strength and motivation to continue my work.
A bright future
In the next three years, by the grace of the Lord, I am looking forward to a satisfying retirement, having been shaped by and benefited children and young people being cared for by SOS Children’s Villages.
I believe that leadership based on positive appreciation is the best approach to keep both the staff members and the organisation focused on delivering the required service. When managers are focused on what works well, they give the staff members room to innovate and consider positive activities that act towards projecting the expected organisational outcomes.
I suppose it is time we in SOS Children’s Villages International should openly support a global change based on Appreciative Inquiry. Appreciative Inquiry is a change theory that assumes and acknowledges staff members’ positive disposition at work, and their very individual talents and skills, and focuses on what is working well instead of trying to get rid of “mistakes” or problems.
This story came to light during the Harvest workshop process 2020 in November 2021. Thanks so much to the Harvesting Workshop organisers for the knowledge and storytelling opportunity.
Sibangilizwe Malinga
Malinga has been with the organisation for the past 26 years as a teacher, youth programme coordinator and now family-based care coordinator and especially adores excursions with families in the care of SOS Children’s Villages.
He is married with three lovely children and ̶ along with his wife Annie ̶ is used to a full-time lifestyle. As the nest is now emptying and retirement from SOS Children’s Villages is slowly approaching, he is gently and curiously preparing for some readjustments.
Malinga enjoys being with his family, travelling and exploring and ̶ as a passionate singer ̶ loves showing who he is and where he belongs. You can even find him and his videos on YouTube6. Addicted to the Internet, you will often find him researching and downloading useful or interesting information.
He is proud of his home town Bulawayo “the city of kings and queens” and his country Zimbabwe, with its abundance of natural resources, the big five animals, gold, diamonds and farmland.