04/05/2026
A New Inclusion at Tree of Life Children’s Village
In line with Family Legacy’s ongoing dedication to transforming lives and making a societal
impact, Tree of Life Children’s Village admitted its first deaf child into the programme near the
end of 2024.
As a ministry, we knew from the start that in this chapter, true care meant more than meeting
physical needs. When ‘Daniel’ (not his real name), first came to Tree of Life, he had several
health issues, including progressive loss of hearing. The first priority was to manage his overall health until his physical condition improved enough for Daniel to start school.
Tree of Life staff had confirmation of Daniel’s complete loss of hearing in 2025 and immediately began searching for a facilitator to teach staff how best to support Daniel. Family Legacy partnered with The Sign Language Channel of Zambia, an organisation that empowers deaf people through education and skills development. They trained Tree of Life staff, who will also help children and staff in the Village who directly interact with Daniel, to learn basic sign language.
“When we began the process of supporting him, we knew we first needed to learn how to
communicate with him, help him communicate with others, and ultimately prepare him for school. The Sign Language Channel of Zambia was eager to come alongside us and train our staff.
Our team has found the lessons easy to follow and extremely helpful, not only for
communication, but also for understanding some of the challenges the deaf community faces.
Our next step is to help him interact with more members of the deaf community, so he can grow
in confidence and identity. The training sessions ran for 7 weeks, and we’re especially excited to
continue building stronger conversational skills and expand our vocabulary,” said Memory
Mwanza, Tree of Life Administrative and Education Deputy Program Manager.
For children like Daniel to truly reach their God-given potential, they need Family Legacy’s
holistic care model and inclusive support to meet each of their unique needs