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Overview		Background		Our Home		Our Children		Our History		Support Us		Contact Us

Birthe and Bent first came to Sai Baba in 1984 by a somewhat unusual route - through a Chinese man, Leong Wai Ming, married to a Yugoslavian with a Swedish passport, and who worked at the central Hospital in Greenland!

Birthe has trained as a community healthcare sister in Denmark. She worked as a matron at the hospital for 11 years, gaining administrative and management skills, as well as learning to work across large differences in language and culture with the local Innuit (Eskimos). Her husband Bent had trained as an engineer fitter, and maintained the diesel engines at the power station. These experiences proved valuable later, for establishing and running the orphanage.

In 1989 they moved to Zimbabwe, working as development officers at Hlekweni Friends Rural Service Centre for Mellemfolkeligt Samvirke (Danish Association for International Co-operation). Bent set up a training and income-generating project in metalwork and carpentry, while Birthe worked as a nurse supervising rural development programmes, particularly working with women and children. Again, these experiences proved useful later.

As five years at Hlekweni came to an end, Birthe and Bent both felt strongly that they still had something to do in Africa, but were not sure what. When their contract expired in 1994, she told her husband for the first time about her dream.

In response, he told Birthe that when he had travelled in South America in 1960, he had seen so much poverty and street children that he had decided to do something for poor children when he got a chance.

They realised it was a local children’s home, not a hospital, which they were called to set up. South Matabeleland Province was the most undeveloped and neglected area of the country, and the most desperate need was the growing number of orphans, due to the Aids pandemic, as Birthe had seen working as a nurse in the rural areas.

After some preliminary thinking, they approached one of the elders in the local Sai Centre and explained their ideas. A committee was formed to develop the plans further, and the project was adopted as a national project within the Sai organisation in Zimbabwe in 1993.

Birthe and Bent visited Sai Baba with a full proposal in 1994. He took the proposal in the darshan line and kept it, saying something like “Yes, yes, very happy”. They interpreted this as Sai Baba accepting and blessing the project.

In 1994-5, the Kristensen's sold their house and property in Denmark to pay for the first phase of construction. Bent used his practical skills and experience to plan the original buildings and sewage system, generator, boreholes, electrocal system, solar panels, water tanks and fencing. The houses were constructed by building trainees from Hlekweni, where the couple had been working, and local people helped by clearing the bush and thatching the houses.

This phase provided accommodation and facilities for a small staff, and the three local children that the Kristensens were fostering. The Sathya Sai Service Organisation (SSSO) of Zimbabwe had established a trust fund to cover the ongoing running costs of the Home. However, funds for further construction were needed if it was to grow.

A chance encounter with a Danish diplomat in Harare resulted in Danida, a Danish aid organization, funding the second phase of construction of the Home. This was completed in 9 months from September 1996 to June 1997, giving us accommodation to house 36 children in total.

The Home opened with our first 5 children on the 23rd of November, 1997 - Sai Baba’s birthday.

It was planned to increase numbers gradually over a year. However, because of recurrent drought our 3 boreholes were not able to supply the full water needs. The Home could only operate at full capacity (housing 36 children) after completion of a community dam in 2000. Also in that year we built a 15km power line, connecting us (and the National Park and local community) to the main electricity grid for the first time.

visiting the site before construction, and the same view today

Inflation has dramatically eroded the value of the trust fund which was established to meet our running costs. The fund met our needs in 1996 but can no longer do so - yielding over US$ 3,000 per month then, it would yield less than US$ 2 now! (Nominal costs rose from Zim$ 10 thousand to over 15 million per month over the same period).

Another chance encounter, this time on an aeroplane in Europe, led to Danish Red Cross agreeing to fund the running costs of the Home from July 1998, phasing out over a three year period which ended 2005. This funding included construction of the dam and power line.

The german organization called 'Help' has come to our rescue in terms of funding the total running cost for the first six months of 2006.  

We hope to replenish the trust fund, and secure sponsorships of individual children, to secure the future of the Home. Plans for further expansion are currently on hold until the general situation in Zimbabwe improves.

2004 has also seen the first of our older children reaching adulthood. We have assisted one girl to get training in catering at a local hospital, while one boy is getting a range of practical training in a local factory. Both maintain close ties with the Home.
Further in januar 2006 our nineteen year old girl, Hlengiwe has started as a temperaly teacher at local primery school and we are expecting her to start at teachers college next year.
A boy has also started an art and craft center for two years training.

Overview		Background		Our Home		Our Children		Our History		Support Us		Contact Us