We have built quite the formidable partnership with Kapnek Trust over the past three years. We are both focused on sustainable development work, and bringing otherwise two separate societies together for the same purpose. This time around, a group of mostly retired folks from LaFayette Orinda Presbyterian Church in California visited along with their Pastor, Lauren. They brought with them blankets, clothes among other things for the community of Kadoma, where Kapnek has a project.
Tiritose is the logistics partner for Kapnek Trust, and it fell on us to coordinate the groups’ travel and Zimbabwe orientation. I met with them the day they arrived and went over some details including the political, economic and social environment characterising Zimbabwe at present. They had many questions, which I was happy to engage in (answering the question I asked my undergrad professors: will my political science major ever be useful?).
The group had a few days volunteering alongside parents at a school in Kadoma, where renovations to the classrooms took place. Similar to all our partner projects, once research reveals the interests of the locals, they remain pioneers and custodians of the project, which ensures sustainability once the volunteers have left Zimbabwe. The LOPC group was no different, they worked together with the parents all week and once they had a good feel of rural Zimbabwe, they came back to the city and I took them on a tour of the city as well as the township of Mbare.
We started off at Maasdorp farmer’s market, where the shopping started minutes after arriving, and we spent about an hour at the market before moving on to the city centre. I usually start off the Harare Inner-City Tour on 1st Street, a very significant street in the history of Zimbabwe and Harare as it represented segregation that existed until 1980, whereby Africans were not allowed to walk along the street, unless if they were a maid pushing a stroller with a caucasian baby inside it.
The Harare Inner-City Tour took us through Robert Mugabe Road (previously Manica Road), where Rhodesian architecture is alive and rugged now. There are some signs of the old street names still engraved on the ground, which shows how as a country, we have moved on (by renaming roads), but still have the past with us in contemporary Zimbabwe. The old architecture by J.A. Cope-Christie who was an excellent architect is juxtaposed with the modern Eastgate Centre, a green innovation by Mick Pearce who developed this in 1996 – way ahead of his time. Once past the architectural beauties including the Meikles Hotel, we went through the Africa Unity Square, adjacent to Parliament Building and the Anglican Church. There happened to be setting up for a veteran’s memorial service at the church but they still allowed us access to take photos of the building and pulpit, which was magnificent.
We were on a schedule, and so we had to speed through the City Tour, making a quick stop at the Kopje (highest point in Harare) so that the group could appreciate the 360 degree of the city, including the National Heroes Acre, Longcheng Plaza, and the National Sport Stadium. We proceeded on to the Pioneer Cemetery, where we would begin the Township Tour, exploring the high-density suburb of Mbare – the oldest township/ghetto in Zimbabwe. I would prefer to refer to Mbare as the commercial capital of Zimbabwe because the area is literally a million US Dollar economy, and the people are enterprising, with a huge commercial culture.
We walked from the cemetery, through to the first block of apartments/flats where some artists are using graffiti to reclaim their area and beautify the neighbourhood. I had in the previous week brought Danish girls who were part of the We Lead Programme, and their highlight was touring inside a music studio in one of the old apartments that has been reclaimed by the youth, who are now shaping pop culture with their music genre ZimDanceHall. The girls left with CDs, which they are going to be using as a jingle for their podcast back in Denmark.
During the entire township tour, I was explaining to the group the challenges and opportunities that exist in the neighbourhood, and they were able to appreciate the entrepreneurial spirit from the basket weavers, broom makers and metal workers we saw. LOPC members appreciated that despite the circumstances Zimbabweans are facing at present, we are a resilient and proud people, and always smiling even through the hardships.
Having started the township tour a little late, the vegetable market was less busy, with less on display, and so we went past it on to the crafts market, where we spent quite a bit of time. The curios are always a huge hit, and they purchased souvenirs for people back home. Tiritose prides itself in making a direct contribution to the township economy, with an average tourist spending USD$150 at the craft market alone. We had an awesome time at Mbuya Phiri’s shrine (she is a traditional healer). The group had a lot of questions, and she is always enthusiastic about sharing what she knows about herbs and illnesses like cancer, which she says she can cure if someone has not already undergone chemotherapy. She also told the group that she has a 100% success rate with infertility problems in both males and females.
The Shona Sculpture Centre was our next and last destination for the day, where the group spent a lot of tourist dollars buying brilliant works of art. We would of course come back here the next day for more shopping before embarking on a hike of Ngomakurira Hill in Domboshava to watch the sunset.
For more inspiration, follow us on our social media handles:
Facebook: Tiritose Sustainable Travel – Home
Twitter: Tiritose Sustainable Travel (@TiritoseTravel)
Instagram: Tiritose Sustainable Travel (@tiritose_sustainable_travel)
Pinterest: Tiritose Sustainable Travel (tiritose_sustainable_travel) – Profile
LinkedIn: Tiritose Sustainable Travel | LinkedIn
