The Michael Project

The Michael Project is a ministry of River of Life Church in Harare, and has been established as a result of the needs of children at risk in Zimbabwe. It is named after an orphan adopted in 1994, whose biological parents were Mozambican refugees and victims of HIV/ AIDS. Michael died in 1995. The project is headed up by Zimbabweans Dave and Helen Hobbs. Dave comes from an accounting background, and left this profession in 2002 to work full time with The Michael Project. Helen, who is a graduate of the London School of Theology, returned to Zimbabwe in 1999 to work with vulnerable children. A key member of the management team is Rephat Nyarenda, who graduated from Hatfield Bible College in Pretoria, South Africa, and pastored a church in Norton, Zimbabwe, for 5 years before joining the Michael Project in 2006. There are 18 full time workers in the Michael Project, including pre-school teachers and house parents, who lovingly care for the children in our various projects. As The Michael Project we are also advocating on behalf of orphaned and vulnerable children and working with the Zimbabwe Department of Social Services to promote adoption and foster care as a solution to the 1.6 million orphans in Zimbabwe. Together with Rephat and Helen, our passionate advocacy team includes Sue Austen, who adopted Michael, and Regina Chari who is originally from America and is a qualified clinical social worker.