It was my birthday recently and we decided to have a party. We asked that each guest dress smartly for the event. You cant buy decorations in town - so we improvised. I painted thorn branches white and arranged them in glass bowls. We borrowed fairy lights and had the sheer joy of electricity to power them for the whole evening. We enjoyed the samoosBut the real treat that evening, as I looked around at my guests, was realizing how many extraordinary women have become my friends since I moved to Zimbabwe. Chipiwa had to borrow clothes that would fit her this late in her twin pregnancy. She looked great, having splashed out with fantastic long black braids in her hair. She is a smart Shona woman in her late twenties who has given up her accounting profession for a time while her children are small. The number of mums who choose to be with their children full-time is dwindling all over the world. It has been extra hard for Chipiwas extended Shona and Ndebele family to accept her and her husbands decision for her to stay home.
Her parents sacrificed much for her to be well educated and hold a good job. Surely she is wasting her talent and their investment? But both she and her husband are making sacrifices of their own and investing more than can be measured into their babies.
Stephanie wrapped a lovely red shawl around her eight-month pregnant belly – more Zimbabwean innovation spurred by necessity. She and her husband are American missionaries who teach at a tertiary institution in the city. A year ago she was one of the first to invite us to their home to help us meet new friends. When everyone left at the end of a great meal – her husband is an awesome cook – two armed men entered the house. The criminals spent an hour robbing them of anything they could sell. All the while their baby slept in the nursery. How glad I am that my friends chose not to run back to the comfort and safety of the States. How significant that they who have no family or history here should commit so completely to this place and its people.
In the next room was Aishwarya wearing a sky blue Sari. She grew up in Bulawayo and she, her husband and their teenage kids are an integral part of the strong Asian community in the city. She has initiated a programme offering courses and educational support to female students at the traditionally male institution where she lectures. The female students who have participated have not only excelled in their own studies but given their male contemporaries some good competition in the process. Her interest is in harnessing the amazing potential of young Zimbabwean women and seeing them equipped to fulfill their role in rebuilding this country.
My Aunt looked stately and dignified. She has a formidable mind which, combined with a feisty spirit, made her well suited for the number of years she spent in politics here. She was the first coloured woman from Bulawayo to serve in parliament and went on to be a diplomat. She is retired now but remains here because, despite how hard life can be here, she knows that taking herself out of Zimbabwe would do little toward taking Zimbabwe out of her.
When people leave their country in search of a life elsewhere it is called a brain drain. More than four million of Zimbabwes 11 million citizens have been scattered abroad. One would expect that all the brain and most of the guts have been drained from Zimbabwe. How sweet it has been for me to find that such an extraordinary abundance of both still remains.
Post published in: Opinions