I will not presume to be more in tune with the situation here in Zim than our family and friends that have been living  in the midst of the chaos and the uncertainty however if you are looking it does not take long to see exactly what the situation is in Zimbabwe today.

Zimbabwe is a land of contrast; on the one hand we have those who choose to have accumulated incredible wealth, manipulating the system or lack thereof to either put food on their tables or a BMW in their driveway. On the other hand we have the vast majority of people struggling to make a living in very trying circumstances. This article is not about the first group or the system, it is instead about those who cannot or chose not to manipulate it; those who I believe make up a huge part of the big picture.

During this current visit I had the privilege of attending my cousins wedding in Mzilikazi one of Bulawayo’s poorest neighbourhoods. On the second day of this I had the chance to sit down and talk to my uncle and have him explained to me the situation in respect of Pensions that is affecting hundreds of thousands of retired Zimbabweans. Having worked for 32 years, faithfully paying his pension and saving for his twilight years he is now faced with financial ruin. The spectacular collapse of the Zimbabwe Dollar and the dollarisation of the economy have reduced his nest egg to USD cents leaving him in uncertain financial circumstances. Today this retired very gentle African man has been ruined and is faced with the indignity of having to try to return to work and to rely on the kindness of others to survive.

This is the situation that is being faced by many of our fathers, mothers, uncles, aunts and other family. They are all being asked to walk through the fire once again with new infant dependants that they have had to take on due to the HIV AIDS Crisis. Our challenge is to find a solution for this making sure that this situation is on the agendas those who have taken on the responsibility to lead the country and that they take action instead of paying for more white elephants.

During this visit I have also had the displeasure of witnessing some of the most rampant profiteering I have ever seen, this by people who constantly point their fingers at the government for not caring and being corrupt. It is a very sad irony. In a situation of mass unemployment and low salaries many, especially those who hold a monopoly have chosen to charge exorbitant prices for their commodities inflicting even more suffering on the people. No one begrudges anyone making a profit but this goes far beyond that into the realms of exploitation.

Amazingly the predominating culture of our middle class and those aspiring to join them is still utterly materialistic and those who have ‘paper’ regardless of how they make it are lauded as role models as they trample on the graves of our countrymen in pursuit of wealth. There simply has to be some consider the effect they are having on the most vulnerable people in our society and on the country as a whole.

Profiteering, the diversion of much needed aid for personal gain, looting the national resources and the destruction of the countries farming and industrial infrastructure are unacceptable in these times and those who continue to do this should be exposed for who and what they are.

I titled this piece ‘Life in context’ because of the final item I would like to bring to your attention. The organisation I work for WEZIMBABWE has recently been honoured by being allowed to partner in a project two amazing young Zimbabwean ladies have taken on and made their passion.

Tichakunda preschool is an incredible effort to provide some semblance of care and preparation for children aged between the ages of 2 and 7 in the Harare suburb of Hatcliffe.  It was incredibly humbling to visit the school and spend some time with the children and the men and women that look after them. At Tichakunda I saw firsthand the result of the destruction of individual wealth and selfish profiteering, the incessant political bickering, deflection and inertia we have become so accustomed to.

It is heartbreaking to seen young Zimbabweans struggle so much for the basic necessities of life in a country that has so much. It is unsettling to hear the deafening silence from our political leaders in the face of this very real crisis and it should make us all sick to the stomach to think that we continue to be prejudicial in our views, distant in our emotions, selfish in our attitudes and apathetic in our actions in these circumstances.

Beyond all the political and economic changes required to restore Zimbabwe we desperately need Zimbabwe and Zimbabweans need a fundamental change in attitude. There is no place for petty prejudices and acts of vengeance and violence in our society. There is no place for profiteering and greed. There is no room for apathy and certainly no room for the racism and tribalism that have been the scourge of our country for far too long.

Finally we are all faced with stark choice to stand at the foot of the mountain contemplating the challenge. The choices we have are to either just stand here or we can choose trample on our countrymen and women and the children at Tichakunda and the thousands of facilities like it or we can take up the challenge and start climbing that mountain one inch at a time helping each other up because the final and undeniable truth is that we are only as strong as the weakest amongst us.

Apologies for the lack of photos and the length of the piece. Pics take to long to upload and I have as always lots to say :)

Piece and love always