The 160 orphans served by the Zimkids Orphan Trust create dolls and wire toys that Dennis Gaboury, the project founder, ships to the United States. There, he speaks at churches, schools and local arts groups about the project and the needs of the orphans before giving the toys, each of which comes with a photograph and mini-biography of the toymaker to donors.

Back in Zimbabwe, he distributes 100 percent of the proceeds of those sales to the children in the form of food, school fees, clothing, medical supplies, or whatever a given child needs. Baskets of maize meal, cooking oil, vegetables, rice and beans, delivered every two weeks, along with monthly deliveries of beef or chicken, keep the children and their caregivers supplied with food from the money the kids themselves earn. If a child needs an emergency visit to a doctor – and doctors are few and far between in Zimbabwe – Zimkids arranges for the consultation and pays all costs. A growing number of children are suffering from scabies, and some of their toy money buys the medication essential to relieve their suffering. In one recent tragic case, the proceeds from the sales of a 10-year-old boy’s dolls paid for his coffin and funeral after he died from AIDS.

But Zimkids isn’t just about the necessities; we believe in the power of personal relationships – between purchasers and the children, between the founder and the children, between Zimkids’ volunteers and local caregivers.  The children, then, receive photographs of the buyers of their toys so they can make a connection between what they receive and the individual who made it possible. They write thank you notes to the purchasers to reinforce the relationship.

Every Saturday and Sunday afternoon Dennis and the young volunteers he’s recruited gather as the children work on their toys. They offer a reading group and regular sporting activities, provide AIDS and cholera education, and monitor the home situations of each individual child. A physician visits each month.

All the food, clothing and other supplies the orphans need are purchased either in Zimbabwe or neighboring Botswana to avoid theft in the mail and customs fees. Although recently things have improved a bit and packages with medicine supplies have arrived safely in about 5 weeks by air mail. Packages can be mailed to the following address:  Dennis Gaboury, Zimkids Orphan Trust, 126A Burnside Road, Burnside Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.  Please contact dennis at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it prior to sending anything to see what the prevailing situation is in Zimbabwe.