My name is Peter
Life can be a difficult puzzle whose pieces one can struggle to put together especially without a proper knowledge of one’s background. This is true to my humble life which was spent trying to join these pieces together, but many thanks to Matthew Rusike Children’s Home (MRCH) which has stood with me, not only as a mother and father but as an all-weather friend so that my life can be meaningful and one day reflect a glorious future as I write a short story of my life.
I was born twenty four years ago. I suffered abuse in the hands of my father and stepmother. I was too young to run away from home so I had nothing to do but to endure all affliction, to the extent it was no longer a secret in my small community in Epworth. With the support of the local clinic, the Department of Social Services placed me in MRCH after learning of my living conditions.
I went to MRCH at a very young age. I can vividly remember how I struggled to say my name properly. I attended pre-school in the crèche where I started to adjust to the new environment and get used to spending my life around many people, most of who were my age. The new home offered me a different perspective of life, life began to make sense, I felt I had every reason to live now and everything was just pleasant. One thing that kept puzzling me was how could I be taken to an orphanage when my parents were both alive but as I grew up I began to understand what Matthew Rusike Children’s Home was all about. Though I was still very young, I grew to enjoy life.
I went to Epworth Primary School nearby. The home nurtured my God-given academic skills as the home had a library where a certain time was marked for studies. All the years at primary I was awarded academic prizes and my last two years there I managed to get the smartness prize. Being at the home was an inspiration to make me work extra hard and achieve excellence in everything I did. At the home we were taught to work and to take care of ourselves. We were trained to deal with any situation that might arise.
I finished my primary education well and was offered an opportunity to go to boarding school, an opportunity that is offered to any child who passes well in his/her primary education. My academic life continued at a Methodist school where I did my form one up to form six. I passed well again in my O’Levels and A’levels and the home again offered me the opportunity to proceed to tertiary education. In 2010 I started my tertiary studies at Midlands State University where I am currently doing my Honours degree in History and International Studies, I am now in my final year.
With this entire journey the Home has been with me, paying my school fees since grade one and is even prepared to see me through to PhD level. The home has been a faithful parent to me.
In 2002 the home also offered me an opportunity to look at life from a different perspective as it introduced me to some foster parents who have welcomed me into their family and made me part of them up to this very day. The home did not stop, but has continued and is still continuing to take care of me. Life in a small, real family was at first a challenge but I have successfully adjusted and now I am well prepared to face any challenge any normally raised person will face.
Today I stand in no shadow of doubt that without MRCH, I would not have been anywhere. I am proud to say that I am what I am and have what I have because of the home. Now that my future is clear and certain, I have every reason to thank the Almighty for He has made rivers in the desert and has stood as Jehovah Jireh; the Lord my provider for He has also provided manna in the desert. Where a gap was left by my parents, the home has been there to fill the gap. I feel my life owes a lot to the home now. As I look forward to finishing my first degree this year, I pray that God will continue with me so that I use the foundation already laid by MRCH to build a great future that will be a celebration of my life. I am looking forward to completely re-uniting with my real family and maybe move on with them in life despite any past failures and hurts.
Now that God has clearly spoken to me, I have to revisit the work that has been started by my hero and founder of MRCH, the late Reverend Matthew Jacha Rusike so that I will have to do the same and save souls just as I was saved.
Matthew Rusike Children’s Home, the most wonderful place in the world, I will always be part of it. The love I have received and still am receiving is beyond any words to describe. My life is now on track, I have grown to become a lovely young man, everything in my life today is a reflection of the beauties of the home. I take this opportunity to thank everyone who has been and is still part of Matthew Rusike Children’s Home, may God continue to bless you abundantly. Thank you.