OVER 1 000 street children and orphans from various children’s homes in and around the country were on Monday treated to an early Christmas luncheon by United Family International Church leader Emmanuel Makandiwa at the City Sports Centre in Harare.

Aaron Ufumeli GROUP CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER

The Christmas party, which was held for the fifth year in a row, coincides with Makandiwa’s 37th birthday which falls on December 25.

However, this year’s event was brought forward to enable Makandiwa to celebrate his birthday with less privileged children.

Several gospel musicians, among them Tinashe Magacha, Pastor Hubert Chigumira and Amai Tigere, gave the children a memorable show.

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In line with the church’s philanthropic mission, Makandiwa’s wife Ruth, presented prizes to nine of the 2 200 children who are on the church’s scholarships programme in recognition of their outstanding performance at school. The church sponsors 231 primary school and 1 947 secondary and 103 university students.