Kathy’s Zimbabwe Story

First impressions of Zimbabwe. We left Harare in warm sunshine to be greeted along the 4+hours road journey by a circulating thunderstorm and torrential rain…I am not keen on thunder so driving on these African roads was quite an adventure. Our poor driver could hardly see out of the windscreen.

The following morning we awoke to glorious sunshine, the journey to church gave us our first impressions of Mutare and its lovely hills, glorious, brightly coloured tree blossoms, dilapidated buildings and pot holes!!!! English pot holes are nothing compared to these here!

Our first contact with children was after church…Nancy Chulu brought her Children of Hope to meet us and have a fun time playing with us in the church grounds….bouncy castle, skipping, water fights – doing what children do. These are children Nancy supports and oversees, keeping an eye on their carers and checking up on their school attendance.

One of my sadnesses was on a journey into the mountains our driver, a white Zimbabwean, so often used the words “it used to be” when we were asking him questions about life and work here. Having said that, he loves his country although it is very tired and dilapidated. BUT the people we met are full of hope, dedication and energy doing fantastic jobs in difficult environments. It has been so good to spend time sharing and encouraging.

After the team sadly left on Saturday my spirits were lifted by my visit to the Sewing Centre (One Way) where I was thrilled to see girls from the Amatelaz project learning to sew. It was good to see the creativity and skills they were being taught. I look forward to getting to know them even better as the weeks go by.

Kathy Hines