Some parents in Serenje district have registered their biological children as orphans at the newly opened Hope Children Care (HCC) orphanage.
HCC director, Pastor Navice Kalunga, disclosed to ZANIS today that out of the 150 registered children, ten were discovered to have their parents still living.
Pastor Kalunga, who described the situation as unfortunate, said after investigations, such children were sent away because they were stealing from the actual orphans.
Pastor Kalunga said investigations were still going on and all those that would be found to have their biological parents still living would be sent away.
“It is not good to try and take advantage and benefit from the disadvantaged children who have found assistance from charitable organizations such as the church. Why cheat that you are dead simply because you want help? It is not good,” he said.
Pastor Kalunga warned that the matter could have been reported to police because this is pure theft from the oprhans.
“Imagine, as HCC we bought all the children school items including uniforms, shoes, books and other clothes and we also feed them only to discover later that some of them were actually registered by their own parents. It it painful,” he said.
He explained that one child met his father behind the market when he was being taken to school by him (Pastor Kalunga) and child started calling his father, much to the surprise of the pastor.
He said he stopped and asked the boy as to whether the man he was calling was his biological father or not, to which he said the man was his biological father and he never lost the mother.
Pastor Kalunga warned that he would not tolerate any lie meant to deprive orphans what is due to them.
HCC has children at Serenje Boma Basic, Kamwala, Miselo Kapika and Handabala Kapotwe schools in Serenje.
It was constructed with the help of two churches from America – Conerstone church, a Baptist church and Brookside an independent church.
ZANIS