Ruth & Victoria
A Reintegration Story
Whenever possible, ACE strives to reunite children in crisis with their biological parents. In tragic cases that involve the death of a parent, our staff begins the painstaking work of tracking down relatives like aunts, uncles, and grandparents who can form a strong, sustained family bond with a child. We believe that the best place for Zambian children is in Zambian families.
Even while she was battling illness, Victoria's mother worked tirelessly to make a better life for her and her younger brother. Their mother was enrolled in ACE's Family Preservation and Empowerment Program (FPEP), and was taking Skills Training courses in the hopes of building a small business to improve her finances and provide for her children. But unfortunately, Victoria's mother just could not overcome her illness. As they felt their mother slipping away, Victoria and her brother's health deteriorated from malnutrition. With their mother's health worsening and the children's nutritional needs going unmet, the ACE Zambia team decided that the children be moved to House of Moses. At HoM, with regular meals and care, the siblings' health improved. Tragically, their mother passed away, succumbing to her illness.
The ACE Team began the work of finding the children's relatives. In a large city like Lusaka, where over a million people live in sprawling neighborhoods called 'compounds,' with rough, labyrinthine dirt roads and countless unmarked addresses, finding the children's relatives was not unlike a private investigator's detective work. Following some leads, the ACE Team made contact with Ruth, the elder sister to the siblings' deceased mother.
While she was already taking care of children of her own, Ruth prepared to welcome Victoria and her brother into her home. With training and financial support from ACE, Ruth was able to start her own small business and now sells bread and other produce to help support her growing family. As she fondly remembers her sister, Ruth dreams of a better future for her children, her niece, and her nephew.
