Dear friend,
My name is Precious. I have two children, Magnolia and MacMillan and I live in Runyararo, Zimbabwe. This is where people who were affected by Cyclone Idai were recentered.
I am struggling because I wish I could find work to do. There is no source of income here. We used to work with our hands — for money. I was self-employed and could take care of the children’s school fees and food.
Here, we face challenges because we cannot do small- or large-scale farming. There is also the issue of the long distances we walk for water – we wish we had water. That would help. Before the cyclone, we would get water from inside the house but now, we get water outside and must walk a long distance to get it. And, if you send a child to get water and it gets late, you wonder what they encountered in the forest because it is scary to walk.
My children, they go to school, but it is far. Before the cyclone, they used to use transport to get to school. That meant they would get to school safely. Now, they must walk long distances to get there. And then, they end up performing poorly in school because they don’t have food.
I am one of the people that was trained in Community Based Protection with the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) — and I love ZCC gatherings, I hope that it remains steadfast and does not fade because it has done good things for me. It opened my mind because I was trained with them. As part of community-based protection training we talked all about the protection problems we face in the community and the different forms of violence. We didn’t know how people were affected or how they needed to be supported. We learnt that all people need to be supported. It doesn’t matter if you are struggling with a disability. It has nothing to do with whether you are young or old. Every person has the right to be protected.
When we arrived at this community we were seen as people from another place. We did not feel welcome, and the relationship was strained. They even had a nickname for us which we didn’t like. ZCC came, resolved the conflict, and helped us reconcile. We are now more united than ever before. It made us happy to know that there are people who love us in the area we moved to. We are grateful for the training from the ZCC.
My family lives far away but if I walk around here, I feel like I have a family here and I am safe. I have hope. I see that things have changed. When the cyclone impacted us, I started to feel hopeless and wondered why I should be on this world.
But through the training from ZCC and by being remembered by people who live far away [in Australia], we are now hopeful. It helped me regain my self-esteem and I have a purpose.
Thank you,
Precious
Download this Peace Mail in PDF here.
Local Partner Profile: Zimbabwe Council of Churches, (ZCC)
After many years of drought, and more regular and intense weather events due to climate change there has been a large increase in climate-driven displacement in Zimbabwe. There are more people being displaced internally within the country, known as Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs). Cyclone Ana (2021) and Cyclone Idai (2019) displaced more than 700 families from Chimanimani and Mutasa districts.
As climate change-induced disasters continue to uproot vulnerable communities, ZCC is helping to implement much needed infrastructure and basic services, as well as training, to make sure people thrive in their new surroundings.
Your support is making a huge difference!
Last month, Act for Peace Partners like you came together and raised $42,723.94 to support people uprooted by conflict and disaster around the world.
Please pray:
- For all those around the world impacted by the growing demands of climate change on already vulnerable communities.
- For our partner staff at ZCC who are working tirelessly to equip people as best they can to deal with the effects of conflict and disaster.
- For the 110 million people who have been displaced by conflict or violence, and the additional 24 million annually who are impacted by disaster.
