Our team has just finished running COVID awareness campaigns in the remote villages of Makamure community in Chivi District of Masvingo province of Zimbabwe. We are so grateful to the generosity of Bright Hope World for making this possible; our team has been on the ground for 2 weeks.
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The team did not only teach families on the dangers of COVID-19 but also helped them to understand the importance of hygiene. The villagers were taught to construct the hand washing basin shown in the photo on right to use whenever they use the toilet. The campaign was a door to door mission since people are not allowed to gather. We thank God for Bright Hope World for providing soap to the people of this community especially during this difficult moment. 402 bars of soap were distributed to 402 families supporting an average of 2,010 people from the 7 villages of the community. The soap really helped so many families especially during this time when they are under lockdown and are finding it difficult to get into town to get essentials.
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Some of the people who were helped are those who were deported from South Africa and Botswana due to COVID-19 threat. 84 people from Makamure were deported and came back home with nothing hence we assisted them with soap and are working on assisting them with food especially mealie meal and sugar beans.
Please find below some of the stories of the people who were assisted by soap during the awareness campaign that took place in Makamure and Mthombothemba Community.
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Mr Bwerinofa is diabetic and his legs have just been amputed. He is from Makamure community where there is no hospital or clinic and has been getting his supply of medication from Masvingo town. Due to the strict measures of lockdown, no public transport has been allowed to get into the community meaning that this old man whose legs were amputed would not be able to get to town for medical supplies and also to buy other basic essentials. Thank God that through Bright Hope World, the man got soap to be able to bath and also to wash his clothes. Thank you for bringing joy to this wonderful man.
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Pamela’s mother is a cross border trader who goes to South Africa to sell small things like groundnuts and roundnuts. Borders were closed while she was in South Africa still selling her goods. Public transport was stopped meaning there was no way that she would be able to go back home to her 5 children. Her children were left with no food, no washing powder and literally no money to buy other basic necessities. Thank God for Bright Hope World that this family was able to receive soap for bathing and washing clothes. Plans are underway to get more food for this family. We are grateful to Bright Hope World for the support.
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Reuben is the bread winner of his family and has been surviving on begging for money and food at Chivi business centre. The lockdown that was pronounced by the government affected this disabled man because he cannot beg now to fend for his family. When the lockdown was declared, Reuben had to join all other people in going back to his rural home in Makamure community where there is no way that he could survive on begging. Thank God that this family was provided with soap during the awareness program. Plans are underway to assist this family with food during this time of lockdown.
Chief Makamure (who is pictured below with the other village heads) was so elated the day that his community received soap during this lockdown from Bright Hope World and this is what he said:
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“On behalf of my community, I am so much grateful to you for the support in form of awareness and soap especially being given to our people who were deported from our neighbouring countries. Most of these people had gone to our neighbouring countries in search of greener pastures since it is dry here in Zimbabwe. They went empty handed and now because of this Corona Virus they have come back empty handed and their families are struggling to make ends meet.
We are so much grateful to Fountain of Hope and their sponsors for remembering us during this time of difficulty; thank you so much for coming to teach us on how to practice good hygiene and also for providing us with soap. We would like also to register our request to you on behalf of all village heads, would you please consider giving food hand outs to people in my area who were affected by the COVID 19 pandemic? Thank you so much.”
Due to drought and COVID-19 challenge, 1 in 4 Zimbabweans need food assistance and most people who are affected are those who have just come back from the neighbouring countries. All communities that we work with have got people who have come back either from South Africa or Botswana. Our aim is to first provide food relief to these people and their families and then assist them to begin to utilize the locally available resources to make a living in their communities.
Some of the people from these communities who came back from our neighbouring countries are still in quarantine centres but at the moment we have the following numbers:
Makamure - 84
Mtshazo - 30
Chirogwe – 15
Mandiva/ Nemauzhe – 37
Mthombothemba – 32
Total - 198
Our team is working on running a FEED THE HUNGRY project aiming at assisting families and children who were badly affected by COVID 19.
Thank you so much for the support.
Gideon, Jennifer and Fountain of Hope team