Dee Huddleston reflects on her recent trip to Zimbabwe with Christian Aid

Parishioner, Diocesan Lay Minister and Christian Aid Staff Member Dee Huddleston reflects on her recent trip to Zimbabwe

As some people may know, I had the great privilege of being part of a team of Christian Aid staff and supporters that went to Zimbabwe in July. The purpose of our visit was to see some of the projects and to meet the staff, partners and some members of the communities that Christian Aid has the privilege of working alongside.  There were seven of us on the trip and, although we had all met together only twice before leaving (once over zoom and once in person), we all got on really well throughout the whole visit.  We left on Sunday 7^th July, all meeting in Dublin Airport to fly to Paris, then with stopovers in Nairobi and Lusaka and finally on to Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, arriving over twenty four hours later.

 Our first day was busy but did not involve too much travel as we visited the Christian Aid office in Harare and met all the staff there, then onto a Gender Faith Network meeting where some of the representatives of the many churches and community groups shared about the work they are doing, particularly in relation to the role of women and girls in what is still quite a patriarchal society and in working to raise awareness of the extent of child marriages taking place, with girls as young as twelve being given over by their families for marriage. There are many reasons for this and it is a complex part of the culture in Zimbabwe, so communication and discussion is a large part of this work.

 In the afternoon we visited the Zimbabwean Council of churches and had a very interesting meeting hearing about all the work they are doing, especially with isolated and vulnerable people and communities. We had been warned not to discuss politics at all but we learned at this meeting just how much control the government has over all the various aspects of life. Apparently church leaders are monitored in what they do and say and on many occasions they have to be courageous, knowing that what they say may easily be taken the wrong way.

 Next morning, we were on the minibus at 8.30, ready for our first long journey to Mwenezi which is in the south west of the country. John, our bus driver, was a really lovely man, who would chat away to whichever person chose to sit up front with him and had his first, but not his last experience of all the snacks, which we had been advised to bring with us for the long journeys we would be taking. There was a wonderful selection of peanuts, biscuits, breakfast cereal bars, sweets, small cheese snacks and a basket of fruit given to us by the staff who were travelling with us. At first John was very polite and somewhat hesitant in accepting the snacks we offered but as the days went on, he seemed to enjoy whatever new treat was offered and would happily open his hand as soon as we began sharing!!  It was a journey of five hundred kilometres to Mwenezi and the roads were somewhat challenging. Mwenezi is one of the areas that has been hardest hit by the drought which is currently affecting over two and half million people. One of the saddest things we saw was the many dry river beds as we drove along. We met some of the staff from our partner organization in the region, Sustainable Agricultural Technology. They work alongside farmers helping them grow sesame which is a tough, drought resistant plant. They brought us to see a new sesame oil production plant where the farmers can bring their sesame seeds to be cleaned and turned into sesame oil, for which they have a market in Japan.

 That night we stayed in an interesting old safari lodge but thankfully weren’t disturbed by the wild animals which we discovered next morning were in the land which was adjacent to us! Before we left, we were able to have a walk along the dried up river bed at the lodge. It was much wider than the Liffey and shocking to see it so dried up. We then boarded the minibus for a two hour drive to meet some of the farmers on their small holdings, to hear about their farms and how everything was so badly affected by the drought. Despite the nearest water source being quite a distance away, the community were positive and shared how they all worked with each other to make the best of what they had.  We then travelled to visit a women’s health project in a different part of Mwenezi to hear from women involved how the project has affected not only them but also their families and the wider community.  To finish off that day we visited the Great Zimbabwe National Park in Masvingo, which was around a hundred and fifty kilometres away. As a UNESCO world heritage site, it was wonderful to have the experience of visiting this great historical site.

 Our journey the next morning began at 6.30, with a picnic breakfast on the bus! We drove to Chipinge in a mountainous region of east Zimbabwe, where we met some staff from another partner, the Methodist Relief and Development Association. The community that they were bringing us to visit lived high in the mountains nearby and it was quite a challenge to reach them, even in the dry weather. I really don’t know how they manage when it is raining.

 We met some people whose homes had been completely destroyed in 2019 when Cyclone Idai devastated the region. One lovely lady, a widowed grandmother called Loveness Chapano had lost everything, including her son and her daughter, and is now the sole carer for her six grandchildren. She was an inspiring lady, with a vibrant faith. As she invited us into her simple two roomed house, which was rebuilt after the cyclone, we saw there were pictures from what appeared to be a children’s bible stuck along one wall. She had a basic table and two chairs, made by her nine year old grandson from some branches of a tree that he had collected. Despite all she had been through, Loveness radiated joy and she told us how thankful she was to God for her new house. As it was made from concrete and steel, she feels safe and happy in it.  As we came down the challenging road from the mountain, we met a young couple who had also lost their home but thankfully their home had also been rebuilt. It made us all feel so humble, seeing how little all the people we met had and yet how thankful and grateful they were for what they had. It certainly helped us to reflect on how we look at our lives.

 Although the trip involved a lot of travelling, and we did have some extra challenges with overnight delays on the flights home, it was worth every moment to meet the families and communities that we usually hear about from a distance and to listen to their stories. It brought home the reality of the serious challenges and difficulties that so many people face every day and renewed all of our determination to do what we can to try to make a difference.

 Can I just say a heartfelt thank you to everyone for the support I received from the Parish and all your prayers during our time away.