Martindale‑Ndwizi Farm, Selous, Zimbabwe – For years, the Little Children of the Blessed Lady (LCBL) congregation has accompanied the most vulnerable in rural, mining, and farming communities.
From isolated villages to dusty settlements near mines and farms, LCBL sisters have brought presence, prayer, and practical solidarity wherever need is greatest.
Now, a new initiative is giving concrete shape to the Holy Father’s call to safeguard human dignity: the LCBL Chiremera Center.
Chiremera is a Shona word meaning dignity. The Center is located at Martindale‑Ndwizi Farm in Selous and opened its doors in March of this year. It began with a simple goal: to help the children of farm workers who had dropped out of school. But the news travelled. Today, the Center also welcomes vulnerable children and young adults from neighbouring farms and mining settlements.
At the heart of Chiremera are six interconnected pillars, with Literacy Development as the entry point and focal pillar. The other five – Safeguarding Human Dignity, Leadership Development, Counseling and Accompaniment, Care of the Environment, and Family Strengthening – reinforce and shape literacy, making the approach truly holistic. Learners who may never return to formal school gain the ability to read, write, and participate fully in their families and communities.
“We teach them to read, so that they may read to learn – and to defend their own dignity,” says Sr Claris Gowo LCBL (PhD) , founder and lead coordinator of the Centre. Sr Claris is a former Education Secretary of the Archdiocese of Harare. Helping vulnerable children has always been at the heart of her mission as an educationist over many years. Chiremera is her brainchild – not a sudden departure, but a natural confirmation of how she has consistently engaged with vulnerable people and communities.
But the Centre’s vision extends beyond direct teaching. The LCBL Chiremera Center will also train communities, professional groups, and other institutions on the urgent importance of eradicating literacy poverty. In a rapidly digital world, the ability to read and write is no longer a luxury – it is essential for future participation and functioning. Yet this is not only a concern for vulnerable communities. At the end of the day, everyone becomes vulnerable when we fail to curb the societal ills around us. Illiteracy affects all institutions, and its consequences touch every person, directly or indirectly.
The work is already bearing fruit. Children who once hid in shame now proudly sound out syllables. Young adults who never held a pencil are writing their names. The Centre is deeply grateful to the well‑wishers who have supported this start‑up, proving that small beginnings can restore great dignity.
Rooted in Ubuntu – it takes a village – the LCBL Chiremera Center invites all people of good will to accompany them in preserving, restoring, and celebrating Chiremera, one child, one family, one farm at a time.
For more information or to support the work, contact: clarisgowo@gmail.com
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LCBL is the first local congregation founded in 1932 by Archbishop Aston Ignatius Chichester with the vision of the sisters uplifting their own local people. This work still answers the call of the Founder and the social teaching of the church; the option for the poor and vulnerable.
