At home with some of the girls in better times
As many readers of this post will know, a piece in my heart resides in Zimbabwe. Not just any part of Zimbabwe, mind you, but in the home of a special family in the Harare neighborhood of Cranborne. The family will remain nameless here because times are very difficult in their country and any mention could bring unnecessary attention and trouble upon them. Instead of using their actual name, I will call them the Mwoyo family.
I got to know the Mwoyos when I lived with them as a foreign exchange student during college, and subsequently visited them a few years later. At that time, both parents had professional middle-class jobs and their 5 daughters were all in school. The oldest daughter was just about 2 years younger than me, so I fit right into the family.
While my American classmates spent their evening out on the town I spent my time hanging out with the girls. We did homework, we ate dinner together and we watched TV. On the weekends when Amai (Mom) and Baba (Dad) were out we girls had dance parties in the living room. The girls taught me to make popcorn in a pot on the stove (at home in the US I only knew the air-popped and microwaved varieties), and how to make sadza, the starchy national dish of Zimbabwe. I introduced the girls to the idea of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and amongst all our chatter I ended up unintentionally teaching the youngest to speak English with some strange American slang. Back in the US I was an only child, so discovering a home full of sisters meant so much. In short, during out time together, the Mwoyo family became very dear to me.
Zimbabwe was once full of optimism, with good infrastructure, schools, medical care, employment opportunities and a food surplus. Today Zimbabweans face a breakdown of their political process, a rapid and frightening devaluation of their currency, widespread starvation, and a cholera epidemic.
Now it has been about eight years since I last visited Zimbabwe. In this time the Mwoyo family has faired as well as one might imagine given the circumstances. Sadly, Baba passed away last year. Amai still works to support her family, although the economic crisis makes survival difficult. The older girls have finished school and they are married and have children of their own now. The youngest two Mwoyo girls are still trying to complete their high school educations. Recently I learned that the girls were sent home from school because the family cannot afford to pay their school fees. The girls will not be allowed to go back to school until their school fees are paid in full. This is a critical year for the older of the two girls because she is supposed to sit her A-level examinations, without which she cannot graduate high school. This girl is heart- breakingly bright, and was very accomplished in school already at the age of 7 when I met her. Last year she passed her O-Level exams with straight 10s (like getting straight A’s in AP classes in the US).
In the next few weeks I will be raising funds to send to the Mwoyo family in order to get the girls back in school. If you would like to join me in this effort, please consider sending a donation. Even a donation of $5 would be a great help.
To make a donation, you may click on the donate button below to contribute via Paypal. If you prefer to send a check, please contact me by email at info@clairebeckett.com.
To learn more about the situation in Zimbabwe, check out the BBC Zimbabwe page here.
