Acute mass starvation and poverty has gripped Masikana rural village under Chief Svosve in Marondera. Villagers go for weeks without food and have resorted to eating wild fruits and vegetables.
The pregnant or breast feeding women and young children are the hardest hit, with stories
of them fainting from hunger far too common.
This situation is a direct result of a poor agricultural season with erratic rainfall and a lack of seed packs and fertiliser
I visited ward 19 recently only to see children incapable of making the journey to school due to hunger. Educational matters and politics are secondary to the malnourishment and hunger that the villagers are suffering.
The people boast that if they had good rainfall and were properly supported agriculturally, then they would be self-sustainable. For now, they have united to ask the Almighty God to provide for them.
The elderly suffer the most. Most of them have lost their offspring to Aids and have been left with their orphaned grandchildren to care for. They have come to rely on the few remaining humanitarian carers in the community for help.
Jennifer Macherera, aged 39, is HIV positive and lost her husband to the disease five years ago. She has four children to care for but can no longer take the necessary medication because she needs food for it to dissolve effectively in her system.
Precious Wiseman, aged 17, is suffering from cancer but she cannot afford the transport costs to take her to hospital or the treatment needed for her illness.
These are only two of many heartbreaking stories from the residents in Masikana village.
Residents allege that Tracey Mutinhiri, the Zanu (PF) legislator for Marondera West, discriminates them when distributing maize grain. They say that she classified them as MDC supporters and would not allow them to benefit from the government support scheme. – BY Grail Kupakuwana
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