Zimbabweans face challenges in raising children abroad

Making a decision on how your children will grow up is task which is challenging. Raising a child was traditionally a community duty. A parent brings him out the community brings him up. Now being in a strange community which minds its own business is like raising children in a desert.

Raising a child in a foreign country comes with its own unique set of challenges, but many Zimbabweans make the decision to do so every year in many countries around the world. Some decisions are made out of selfishness some are made after serious planning but most people had no choice conditions at home pushed them out and children had to be the unwilling parties to this migration train.

There are two different types of problems. Children either adjust or just get lost. 
Some children managed to see the opportunities while others get absorbed in the drug culture of their host nations.

Some children become s blessing while others become total curses incarnations from hell.   
How easily children adapt to a new lifestyle in a different country can depend on their age, as younger children, will often find it easier to make the change than older children. Some children join their parents after a long separation. Most of them become total strangers to each other and that becomes trigger for problems.

When relocating children face serious language barriers. Yes they speak English but the accent distinguishes them and makes them targets for riddicule. This treatment hardens them and without proper counselling from home they become wild. While most children will have a good command of English they always face difficulties in pronunciation it makes it hard To integrate and make friends quicker.
This challenge forces children to engage in some mischief so that they can belong to their new acquaintances. 

For school-age children, leaving behind education that they understand, as well as the friends that they have made over the years is very hard. Starting again in a new environment is overwhelming and some children may act out or exhibit a change in behaviour upon moving.

In most cases Zimbabwean students become so sharp and excel in their studies. 
It's also important to try and keep some consistency in lifestyle between home and abroad. Sticking to the same routines for day-to-day life can help children to feel more secure.  Children are plugged from Mt Pleasant to a Council House in Luton. This shocks the children who are faced with a big dilemma of going back to zimbabwe and be ridiculed by those you had left or soldier on in the shack being called home.

This shocks them to confusion and most are so disappointed by what they see.  Their expectations are turned black.

Relocating can be very difficult for children emotionally. It's important to be there for them and empathise with what they are going through. They are leaving a lot behind – friends, family, familiar places and their home. It's a lot to take in, and they may feel a sense of loss when first moving. It's important to let them talk about how they are feeling and to help them through it.  The big problem is that the parents are married to their jobs and have little time with their new arrivals.

While it is difficult, there are so many benefits to be had from raising children abroad. Children are often more confident and sociable, as they have had to adapt and learn to settle in. They may also be exposed to more diverse cultures, which gives them a better understanding of the world that we live in. They are likely to learn tolerance, understanding and openness, which are traits we can all aspire to.

Sadly some parents always make Zimbabwe a bad place. If a child does anything wrong they threaten him with flying him back to Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe becomes a threatening name such that children associates Zimbabwe with punishment.

This becomes a good example of Child raising.
Raising children abroad is a challenge and a skill parents must master.

Some parents try to rub every memory of Zimbabwe from the mind of the Children.  Home is best and our children must be raised with the full pride that they are Zimbabweans. Zimbabwe is the only country we can call ours in the whole world.

Vazet2000@yahoo.co.uk