Granny's lilac house in Sunridge became a family for children who had no one. Today Danai raises them, schools them, and sends them into the world ready. Our ECD classroom is open to the neighbourhood too.
children living at Danai
children raised here since 2002
caregivers and key workers
trustees and volunteers
A protected home where the youngest and most vulnerable are kept safe every night of the year.
Daily meals, clothing and medical care, so no child is marked out as the one from the home.
School with local schools, our own ECD class, and life skills for the real world.
Chores, church, homework and laughter. No child is labelled, and every child is heard.
Our new mark: a globe held up by many hands, and two of our children. Press play for a quick hello.
The verse on our doorLearn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.Isaiah 1:17
In 2002 Francisca Saungweme, known to everyone as Granny, began caring for orphaned and vulnerable children in Harare. Her daughter Patience gave the family house so the work could grow. Granny died in 2015. Her door is still open.
A house becomes a home when someone is waiting for you to come back to it.
Three ways to help right now. Our Treasurer reports on every donation to the board and partners.
Danai began in 2002 as the work of one woman, Mrs Francisca Saungweme. Today it is a registered children's home and Private Voluntary Organisation, run by trustees and caregivers who carry her vision forward.
Francisca Saungweme begins caring for orphaned and vulnerable children. Her daughter Patience Chipaumire donates the family house in Sunridge.
Under Section 31 of the Children's Act (Chapter 5:06). Registration SW10/101.
A certificate of appreciation for Mrs Saungweme's work with the children of Danai.
Patience Chipaumire-Oyeniran becomes Home Principal to keep the vision whole.
Private Voluntary Organisation number PVO65/2017.
Re-registration as a foundation trust with a full board, so the home outlives any one of us.
The vision Granny heldAnd the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.Luke 2:40
Granny's vision was that every child at Danai would grow up somewhere they could discover their purpose, learn self-control and wisdom, and grow stronger in spirit so they could fulfil it.
All about children. Every child matters.
Patience gave the family house in Sunridge so her mother's work could grow, and since Granny's passing in 2015 she has been the driving force behind Danai. An entrepreneur with care businesses in Leicestershire and Wales, and a director of a Leicestershire Community Interest Company supporting displaced and vulnerable people, she brings a business head and a daughter's heart to the home.
Her mother opened the door. She makes sure it never closes.
Safeguard and promote the wellbeing of orphans and vulnerable children.
Keep a home-from-home that is non-discriminatory, with zero tolerance for stigma or labelling.
Help every child grow strong and wise, and feel valued and heard.
Equip caregivers with training, mentoring, support and guidance at all times.
Work with local education authorities, schools and the community so children are included.
Prepare each young person for adulthood through a transition programme, with partners such as the New Generation Trust.
Give every child the life skills to thrive in the wider world.
A children's home should feel like a family home. Slide through a day in the village to see what growing up here looks like.
We work with local schools so children from Danai learn alongside their neighbours. The little ones start in our own ECD classroom, right here in the yard.
Children learn by doing: tending beans and covo, keeping the home, and, as the farm grows, raising chickens. When a young person leaves Danai, they know how to feed themselves and earn a living.
Support the farm →Our children play this three-stone game under the tree every afternoon. Place your three stones, then slide them along the lines. First to line up three wins. You are pink.
Stones can move to any neighbouring point joined by a line. Three in a row along any line wins.
On raising childrenTrain up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.Proverbs 22:6
Safety, a bed, a caregiver, and time to settle.
Play-based learning in our own classroom.
Local school, homework at the family table.
O-Levels and skills on the farm and in the home.
Trade, study or work, with a transition programme behind them.
A child's wellbeing rests on the adults around them. We train, mentor and look after our caregivers so they can give steady, patient love.
Children don't remember the programme. They remember who sat with them when they were sick.
Our Early Childhood Development classroom sits in Granny's yard and is open to families in Sunridge and beyond. Every place you take helps keep the home running, so your child's first school day also helps a child who has none.
Aligned with the national ECD syllabus: language, numeracy, creative arts, physical play and faith-based values.
Staff vetted under our safeguarding policy, with a social worker and medical advisor on the team.
Income from the ECD school helps feed and school the children who live at Danai. Enrolment is giving.
We'll come back to you with places, fees for the term and a time to visit the classroom.
Every appeal meets a real, ongoing need. Give to one, or let the Principal and board direct your gift where it is needed most.
Beans and vegetables first. Then chickens on a scale big enough to supply local markets. Then, given the chance, a small herd of cattle.
The farm teaches children that nobody eats by sitting idle, and moves Danai towards feeding itself and earning its own income.
A chicken run is not glamorous. Neither is independence, until you have it.
Your gift pays for food, school fees, uniforms, medical care and the caregivers who hold it together. A monthly gift lets the home plan ahead.
Secure payments. We'll email a receipt. Danai is registered in Zimbabwe, so UK Gift Aid does not apply.
Use your name as the reference and email us so we can thank you.
Zimbabwe · CBZ BankUK gifts go to Grange Hall Private Limited, the UK care company of our Home Principal, Patience Chipaumire-Oyeniran, which holds them for Danai and transfers them to Harare. Every UK donation is reported to our Treasurer.
Tick what you'd like to send each month. Prices are what these cost in Harare today, give or take.
Nothing in the basket yet. Tick an item to start.
Send this hamper monthlyHampers are bought locally by the Home Manager, so your money also supports Harare traders.
Every square is one thing a child at Danai needs this year. Click to throw your chingondo and see what each square unlocks. Reach Home to pledge the lot, or sponsor any one square.
Ten pounds will not change the world. It will change Tuesday for a child in Sunridge, and Tuesdays add up.
More than a hundred children have grown up at Danai. Here is a little of where some of them are now. We share these with their blessing, and without surnames.
Now an experienced cabinet maker and handyman. He builds and fits furniture, mounts TVs, assembles flat-packs, and takes on jobs of every sort across Harare. The boy who fixed the broken chairs at Danai now fixes them for a living.
"Hard work pays." He learned it on the farm. He proves it every day.
She walked out of Granny's gate and onto the runway. Today she works as a model, carrying herself with the confidence Danai set out to grow in every child.
Every child matters. Some of them end up on a stage to remind us.
Now married to a pastor and serving alongside him, she leads in her church and community. She grew up in a home built on Christian values. Now she builds one.
"God setteth the solitary in families." Then those families set tables of their own.
Whether you are building, studying, raising a family or still finding your feet, we'd love to hear from you. Alumni also mentor the children who are at Danai today.
A person is a person through other people. Whether you live in Harare, Leicester or Houston, there is a way to be part of this family.
A regular gift lets the home plan meals, fees and wages with confidence.
Set up a monthly gift →Tutoring, farming, trades, nursing, counselling, admin. Volunteers working with children are vetted first.
Register interest →Host a braai, a church collection or a sponsored walk. We'll send a fundraising pack.
Ask for a pack →Sponsor the farm, school fees or caregiver training. We report back on every partnership.
Talk to the Chairman →Uniforms each January, Christmas for every child, or a term's groceries as a congregation.
Get in touch →Clothing, shoes, books, bedding, farm tools and seed. Contact us first for the current needs list.
Check the needs list →Why we keep goingA father of the fatherless … God setteth the solitary in families.Psalm 68:5–6
We read every message. Someone from the team will reply within a week.
Volunteering with children requires references and a police clearance under our safeguarding policy.
Yes. Registered as a children's home under Section 31 of the Children's Act (SW10/101) and as a Private Voluntary Organisation (PVO65/2017).
Visits are by arrangement only, to protect the children's routine and privacy.
Not at present. Gift Aid applies only to UK-registered charities, and Danai is registered in Zimbabwe.
Our Treasurer, a Certified Chartered Accountant, keeps the financial controls and reports regularly to the board and partners. Ask for the latest report.
Danai has no UK bank account of its own. Grange Hall Private Limited is the UK care company owned by our Home Principal, Patience Chipaumire-Oyeniran, Granny's daughter. It receives UK donations on Danai's behalf and transfers them to the home in Harare, and every gift is reported to our Treasurer.
To protect the children, we don't link donors to named individuals. A regular gift supports every child equally.
Trustees, professionals and caregivers who give their time, skills and faith so Danai runs well and accounts for every dollar.
Let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.Galatians 6:9
Moments from the home, the classroom and the garden. We never publish children's names or details that could identify them.
Safeguarding is the first of our seven objectives. It governs who may volunteer, how fees and gifts are accounted for, and which photographs appear on this website.
Staff and volunteers who work with children provide references and police clearance before they start.
We don't publish children's names, schools or identifying stories. Some images on this site are illustrations.
A young person sits on our committee, and children can raise concerns with any trusted adult.
Our Treasurer reports on donations and ECD fees to the board and partners accurately and on time.
Giving, volunteering, ECD places, partnership or a visit? Write to us and the right person will reply.
Visits are by arrangement only.
