Big Sunday

On Sunday 27^th May, there was a huge celebration at the Matthew Rusike Children’s Home (MRCH) called Matthew Rusike Day or The Big Sunday.  Methodist Church folk from all around Zimbabwe came to Epworth to celebrate the good work that is being done with orphans and vulnerable children.  They brought generous gifts from their church community to share with those at MRCH. It was powerful to see how God can work when His people are willing to share.  

Anthea

Mama Africa

This dear lady is well over 100 and still works busily on a farm.

Powerless

I have been known to groan a bit when the power goes off…and it goes off a lot! Sometimes it happens when you have got your meal cooked and there’s enough boiled water and it’s daytime. Sometimes, though, it cuts out when you’re roasting something in the oven and there is only a little water and it’s dark. That’s when I groan. The power goes off almost daily for about 8 hours. Having said that, there is no real pattern. At times, we have continuous electricity for two days but at other times it will turn off for a long stretch, come on for an hour and then have another lapse.

There are a couple of reasons for the cuts. There is load sharing at the moment because winter makes much greater demands on a pretty old electrical infrastructure. There is also an issue with Mozambique. They supply some of Zimbabwe’s power and the unpaid bill is escalating. There are also some malfunctions. This causes some irritation for us but it is far more serious for businesses and other services in Harare.

Recently, I enjoyed a short stay in a remote rural village where there was never any electricity. Somehow never having to rely on it felt more relaxed. But to be honest, a lot of the hard work was being done by our hosts. I also admire the stoicism of the Mama’s at Matthew Rusike. When the power fails at night they often have to light a fire to be able to feed the ten children in their care. It turns a big job into a big, smoky, long, uncomfortable, difficult job.

We have also been known to cheer when the power comes on. Late in the evening, if we are sitting quietly in the dark and the lights come on, we whoop and then scurry around boiling, recharging, cooking and other electricity-related verbs.

Festive

We went to  HIFA (Harare International Festival of the Arts)  and we saw Bollywood dancing. I bought a pink chameleon made out of beads and wire. Clare got a hippo and Abbey got a chilli. We also saw trapeze artists and one of them hung  upside  down and nearly fell off. I thought it was funny and I enjoyed it.

Bridie

Growing Up

We are growing a garden. There are lots of plants in our garden. There are sunflowers, chillis , pigeon peas, covo [covo is a type of cabbage that is extremely common in Zimbabwe] and many other plants. It has little paths that go through the garden so its easer to water and to plant more seeds. Our garden also has small walls to keep water from spilling into the paths. Every day we count the sunflowers – today there are 49. We now have so many seedlings that we are giving them away to our friends. Our garden is great.

Clare

All Over The Place

One of the ways we like to get around Zimbabwe is in this little truck (don't worry - both the roads and the truck stop us from going too quickly). It's way more fun to ride in the tray than the cab and the girls have become quite used to setting up a comfy space and greeting all the locals along our way. On Sundays it's a privilege (and a little daunting) to carry over thirty children to church in the tray. They sing and giggle their way along. I cannot describe the delightful sound of such a gorgeous African choir.

This week we took Babu (Anthea's dad who is visiting us) to the botanical gardens. After clambering around the jungle for an afternoon we enjoyed climbing back into the truck for afternoon tea. We love having a mobile picnic area! 

Last week I did get fined for having too many passengers but the tray was empty! We actually had all the family in the cab and apparently five is too many. When you see the miraculous way people pile into vehicles here, it seems amusing that I now have a mark against my name for "Excess Passengers".

Little Creatures

Clare loves playing hide and seek with children but last week she had a game with this little lizard. Also we've planted a garden. So far we have parsley, kale, spinach, sunflowers, tsunga and, as it turns out, a tiny frog.

Tough As Nails

African women are so strong. Last week I was walking with a lady who had a young child snugly wrapped and sleeping on her back whilst on her head a huge bag of clothes was elegantly balanced. She chirpily told me that she could easily add a twenty litre drum of water to her load! I believe her. I don’t know how far she was heading but she glided along.

Of course, there are other sorts of strength. We have become friends with a lady who has recently changed roles at MRCH. She was working as a grass cutter but was thrilled to be offered a short contract helping to make tea and helping to prepare meals. Neither job pays well at all. Neither job has much variety or seems at all pleasurable. With around 90% unemployment, however, any job seems to be accepted with enthusiasm.

Our friend lives in an informal settlement in Epworth with her three daughters.  There are no services there – no running water or electricity. Her three-room home was partially built by her husband before he moved to South Africa in January to find work – which is very common. She has received no support from him since – which is also common. Many Zimbabwean men try to work as laborers in South Africa and get ripped off or exploited or both. He is now demanding that she stop work and join him in South Africa – something she is not at all keen to do as she would have to leave her children behind.

When we went for a visit we found our friend was maintaining a really healthy garden, she was braiding a lady’s hair for some cash and had recently dug a well. She sent us home with delicious maize, groundnuts and some sunflower seeds. Anthea wondered aloud whether getting a couple of chickens would be a good idea. Our friend said chooks were out of the question, as they would be stolen on their first night. No doubt. It is sad that nutrition is often trumped by security.

Our friend’s story is not extreme but it is very typical. The truth is I cannot imagine conducting myself as joyfully and calmly if our roles were swapped. I am frequently silenced by the faith, patience and capacity to suffer with grace that seems so common here- especially amongst the women.