Portia and family picture

Portia is Getting Back on Her Feet!

by Project Updates

Dear Friends of Zimbabwe,

Its with much gratitude that I write to thank you for your assistance with our latest request for help for Portia (see May 28th blog). You cannot believe what a difference even $25 makes! Click here to donate now and enter Portia in the comment under Greatest Need.

The good news is that she was able to have the surgery plus some of the follow-up tests to not only get her out of the danger zone, but also clear her to live with a fresh and fearless outlook. The great news is that she is doing well as she recovers, and the entire family is very grateful. We normally do not ask for help for individuals, but when someone is so deeply involved with Nhimbe and its future, there is no question.

Her test results took a bit to come back, and, in the meantime, she has been studying dietary changes and just generally reclaiming a positive attitude. Years of adapting to pain without relief does wear on one’s outlook!

We know that our MailChimp emails are ending up in many spam folders, so we ask that you do whatever it takes to help us find our way to your mailbox. You being able to tell the Nhimbe story can be just as important as sending donations. We (as in everyone involved in the states and on the ground in Zimbabwe) appreciate whatever you can do. You do make the difference!

We haven’t quite reached the $2,000 goal for Portia, so, if you are able and inclined, please know that some of the last-minute donations that have come in (I suspect people finding us in their spam folders) are definitely pushing us to meet our goal. See from the picture how she is a very active woman being professionally employed full-time, plus a mother and wife. I thought I was busy! May she have many more healthy years blending work and family living!

Tatenda Chaizvo! (We thank you very much!)

Portia crop

Crucial Life-Saving Contributions Needed Now!

by Fundraisers

Dear Nhimbe Friends,

An urgent unexpected medical situation has arisen in Zimbabwe for Muda’s family (our Nhimbe for Progress co-director). Some of you may have met him in 2023 when he came to the states, or remember his father, Cosmas Magaya. Muda’s wife of 20 years, Portia, has recently been taken critically ill and is now hospitalized awaiting life-saving surgery. This vital intervention is needed immediately and we are asking for any help you can see your way to offer.

A minimum of $2,000 is needed, to include the first operation of $1,300 with additional costs for consultations, tests and follow-up. A second surgery will be expected in one month. Other family members are contributing as able to both the medical costs and tuition to keep Muda and Portia’s children in school.

Portia has been working for the banking industry for as long as I can remember, and being the mother of their 5 children is also a full-time job! She is a prime example of a hard-working woman who is the backbone of the African family. As of a month ago she was forced to stop working due to her health difficulties progressing rapidly. She was admitted to the hospital May 28 and is scheduled for surgery by specialists as soon as possible. She texts, “The pain has become unbearable. The sooner the procedure is done the better! I’m so frustrated and tired.” Timing is critical because hospitals in Zimbabwe require pre-payment before treatment.

Please feel free to read this “Letter from Zimbabwe” outlining the current deplorable conditions of medical institutions there.

If you are able to donate to her life-saving medical expenses, please click here. Under “Greatest Need” enter “Portia” in the special field. Whatever you can do is greatly appreciated and any amount helps. Your donation makes a huge difference for this family!

Thank you so much for listening and giving me an opportunity to share all of this during this rather emotional time. Some of you have read the Field Reports over the years and heard some of these stories.

Tatenda Chaizvo!

Two girls laughing at comic

MMC Fridays Are So Fruitful!

by Youth Well Being

Thank you for your continuing interest and support of our Mhandara Monthly Care (MMC) program. This program is very well loved by all of the Nhimbe residents as well as the government officials and chief. We are clearly filling a critical niche in the lives of these children.

The girls are able to attend meetings from any age and so, learn early on the basics of monthly care, and benefit from the comradery that only grows out of coming together weekly. Currently, we have around 120 brand new girls in the Nhimbe program. Numbers aren’t yet in on the other 10 schools (generically called Hombe), but they are definitely on the docket to receive supplies and continue with the program this year.

room full of girls with book

The latest piece of excitement on the ground is the girls being able to get their hands on the Menstrupedia Comic books that the Vasikana Project translated into Shona from Hindi.  We are thrilled to be collaborating with them!  They donated 5 books to Nhimbe, we purchased another 50 to be supporting their work, and we will be distributing those to the 10 schools to whom we have been providing supplies. The English translation is also a wonderful book for any young girl. We also bought one copy for the Girl Child Network Zimbabwe since the book wasn’t on their radar.  Each book is $5 in case you would like to contribute.

You can see from the girls’ faces that they are really enjoying this book. It requires them to read, plus teaches them so much about their bodies and life. Our next step is a partnership with Girl Child Network Zimbabwe to train all the teachers for Nhimbe and Hombe using the comic book as a guide. Our plan is to co-develop this. The profound content provides an excellent foundation and outline.

line of girls studying the book
line of girls studying the book 2
four girls close up with book
three girls close up with book

The music, song and dance is a key piece, of course, just like for any of us that share in a music-based experience. It’s not only bonding because that is what music does, but it’s also their traditional music, which has been passed on orally for centuries, so it helps them stay rooted in the positive ways of their culture.

I think you know that many people around the world, children and adults alike, think that there is something better about the west, and so have been abandoning their native languages, clothing, music, etc. Our program has a focus to help them be aware of the rich heritage from which they come. Weekly classes in the new marimba room are quite spectacular, as there is room for all ages to share in song and dance, and receive instruction on marimba!

A Friday Marimba lesson

Check out this video of them learning Nhemamusasa!

“Nhemamusasa,” (Sh. “cutting trees for a temporary shelter”) is one of the ancient songs in the mbira repertoire of the Shona people. Msasa is the name of the tree, and hunters going out for more than one day at a time would cut branches of the tree to make a shelter. During the war for independence, soldiers/freedom fighters would hide in the bush using the msasa tree branches to stay hidden and make a home for a time. (Thanks Claire for the clairification ;*))

A Friday Marimba

For 2025, we have already begun making and distributing MMC monthly care supplies to the new girls who are blossoming this year.  Not only does the family’s need to put food on the table compete with a maturing girl’s hygiene needs, but most profoundly, these supplies keep the girls in school getting an education.  No reason to miss school because of a lack – now commonly called “period poverty” around the world. Zimbabwe is no exception in this regard.  The last thing a family wants is an idle child out of school, or someone who is not part of her school community.  These young MMC girls have a better chance of avoiding pregnancy, early childhood marriage and STD’s as well as prostitution, which is on the rise.  Any way that you would like to support the MMC program is very appreciated!

Gratefully, we want to acknowledge all of you who have been there with us helping these girls. It’s life transforming to have these supplies, not only for the educational reasons and keeping her out of harm’s way, but also for her life-long self-esteem, for which there is no substitute. Imagine not having a graceful way to deal with a maturing girl’s circumstances! 

Thank you for whatever you can do, and however you might like to do it.  This link is for recurring donations, which makes tons of sense for this situation that is clearly recurring! Your donations make the difference – and any amount helps. Tatenda Chaizvo!

wife

Unfathomable Weather Patterns Continue!

by Wells

It’s been somewhat exasperating to get a grip on what is going on with the Zimbabwean weather. We know that the drought has been plaguing particularly the rural residents for a long time, and this year has been no exception. 

We began with a list of wells needing deepening, and with many thanks to you, we were able to deepen all 25 in November 2024, an achievement that has brought good relief to the community. Your generosity has made such a tangible difference in the lives of those facing the worst of these conditions. Thank you so much!

But, the circumstances continue to evolve, and we need your help. On the heels of our November work, we learned that at least another 24 families are in urgent need of well deepening. Please click here choosing well repair, sending any amount you are able. Digging averages $106-110 per well but anything helps.

When residents originally build a well, they tend to stop at 10 meters for instance, because maybe they hit water. But over time, they realize that they really should dig another 5 meters, making it 15 to withstand the pressures of the persistent droughts.

Picture of lightning

Ironically, the bizarre nature of the weather changes add insult to injury. There have been thunder and lightning storms in Mhondoro (and not so much in town). Every week or so Muda has sent video of the rains creating havoc. The Nhimbe team goes to the school to deliver books and can’t even do that, waiting and waiting until there is a break. The cattle kraal began filling up with the rain, so they need to build a new one. One would think this water would be a blessing, and granted, the grass is benefitting, but the torrents do not really help any little seedlings take root. It also hasn’t made a dent in the deepening requirements. See short films here.

Besides the well deepening we found that we have 5 of the elderly (in their 80’s and 90’s) who have no well. Their water source has completely dried up. Fortunately, they have family or friends who have been bringing them water for quite some time, for example, from a kilometer away (.62 miles), but this is not a sustainable solution. They desperately need wells—both for their immediate survival and for their long-term well-being. Here is a video sharing stories of two of them.

Picture of Bridge and Wife
Venisancia & Bridge Zaranyika Registration #610
This oddity in the weather has left many confused. It’s almost as if the heavens open up, but the earth swallows the water immediately. It’s a sad reminder of the brutal reality these villagers face—each rainfall that could be a blessing instead becomes just a fleeting event with no lasting relief. Every donation of yours, no matter how small, makes a significant difference. The villagers we support will be incredibly grateful for anything you can contribute.

Please take a moment to click the link here to extend your help. Your generosity will go a long way in making the lives of these rural villagers just a bit more comfortable and sustainable in the face of these unrelenting conditions. They are counting on us, and with your help, we can provide them with the life-saving resources they need.  

Thank you again for your continued support. Together, we can help turn the tide for these communities in Zimbabwe.

preschool trio of children

Sending You & Yours a Heartfelt Holiday Smile!

by Fundraisers

Are you saying, “2024 went by sooo fast!”?  Most of us are feeling that way.  And, so much was gratefully accomplished! With the plans developing for next year, we can only again say, “Tatenda Chaizvo” (we thank you very much) for all of your support in these endeavors. 

If you missed our annual letter, please click here, which will take you to the blog containing all the links to bring you up to date with the report for 2024 plus the hopes, dreams, and wishes for 2025.

If you have already contributed to our efforts this year, thank you for being on the front edge of the beat, and if not, there is still just enough time to make a fully tax-deductible donation for 2024, or setup a recurring donation of any amount spread over the next year.

The drought continues, and that has become a priority focus. The hunger and poverty that is caused by the lack of water is the current emergency.  Needy families are receiving the drip for the drought hoses and buckets, permaculture training, as well as the deepening of their wells.  Thanks to your help we successfully deepened 23 wells last month, and now have another 20 on the list to address.

Please, always feel free to reach out by phone, text, email and snail mail.  Thank you, and looking forward to meeting up or seeing you next year!

Jaiaen

preschool class in a line800

Warm Winter Greetings From the Team Here in Lacomb

by Fundraisers

Annual Letter from Ancient Ways Enclosed!

Warm winter greetings from the team here in Lacomb, and summer greetings from the crew in Mhondoro! We hope this email finds you well and savoring the hunkering down of the holidays. It’s a very busy time of year, so if you don’t have time now, please mark this for reading later, as it is packed with inspiring information!

We continue to feel enormous gratitude for your positively uplifting ongoing support. Your prayers for us as a group and as individuals, along with your encouragement over the years, inspires us, particularly during the challenging times.  Of course, your financial donations and pledges keep us sane as we row through the unknown waters that lie ahead.

I have to admit that I love holding the vision and trusting the process, because that in itself brings juice to the journey and spice to my life!  There is a vulnerability I enjoy in being at sea, and having a sense of direction with one’s internal compass, but sometimes there is no land to be seen.

Please check out our focus for 2025 here, and:

Each year we look forward to the new year in Mhondoro and anticipate great growth in our communication skills, the meeting of our objectives and goals, as well as the simple sense of peace and well-being that comes from bringing comfort to another. 

We also continue to promote our music programs here in Oregon, where we hold weekly classes in Corvallis, garnishing our lives with great friendships and deep bonds, as we study together.  Performing around the valley has become a fond joy over the years, and we look towards the opening of that season come spring, as well as Zimfest 2025, August 7-10, at Central Washington University, in Ellensburg, WA.

Check out www.ancient-ways.org for more details. And, always feel free to call or email. We thank you very much.

Tatenda Chaizvo!  Jaiaen 

Woman at a well

Please Help Us Deepen Wells!

by Wells

We have 23 families in dire need of water. Their wells have completely dried up and merely need deepening. Please click here to contribute whatever you can to Well Repair! With this you are buying bricks and cement, plus hiring a digger and builder to add meters to the existing well. I know many of you are deeply concerned about affairs in our country, so thank you so much for taking a minute to focus with us on the Nhimbe residents. 

Many people are going without water in daily life as their well has dried up due to the ongoing drought. Maybe you recall our March post about the serious nature of the drought including elephants dying in Hwange (a region near Victoria Falls)? Now, more recently the national power grid has been radically compromised by both the reduced water in Lake Kariba and a technical fault at Hwange Power Station. It never occurred to me how interwoven water and electricity are. Let’s just say that no electricity makes communication ridiculously difficult, among other things.

Here in our homes, we just flip the switches and walk to the faucets to turn them on, right? Drink and cook with water? Wash dishes, our clothes, our bodies? Care for our animals, children and the elderly? Water our gardens, maintain our homes? Geesh . . . .

Our Nhimbe team continues to work with the H2O Drip for the Drought Program, bringing the Nhimbe families closer to growing food with the use of basic drip technology using a bucket system. We completed training in May with great success. But we have run into devastating water levels dropping, so some are not able to access the water to fill the bucket. We just need to deepen wells, with 23 families (currently) identified as critical. We also deepened 72 wells in 2020.

2 Girls Hauling Water

Sometimes family members have been able to walk to their neighbors who have deeper wells to get water for daily basics. Please donate to well repair now however fits your budget…you make a difference!

  • Two bags of cement per family delivered to Mhondoro is $34 ($782)
  • Handmade bricks delivered by ox cart (a nickel a piece) is $500 for 10,000 to deepen all 23 wells.
  • The building and digging team is paid $50 for deepening each well ($1,150).

We need to raise $2,432, which averages around $106 per family. That’s a small price to pay to bring such vital change. And, with your donation we can do it! Thank you for your compassion and help…You make the difference. Tatenda Chaizvo

Woman with a large pile of corn

The Rite of a Gentle Giant

by Project Updates

Carina Barros has made this wonderfully creative and insightful film in memory of Cosmas Magaya. She unexpectedly gifted us with this film – thank you Carina! We are posting this in honor of his birthday October 5th, 1953, as well as the 25th anniversary of Nhimbe for Progress and Ancient Ways’ 30th anniversary. I’m sharing my favorite picture of Cosmas’ mother, VaChihera Matilda Magaya, in front of her bountiful harvest of maize. She was instrumental in his life and he always had such a tender fondness for her. His father, Joshua, was a profound giver and always generous in his community. He also was a leader in the region, showing the progressive way forward.

Let me share a little background of how some of this evolved here. Ancient Ways formed a team traveling to Zimbabwe in 2019, and Carina was part of our vision. Our adventure was intended to record film, both video and photos, to help document what we had been up to since 1999. It was Nhimbe’s 20th anniversary, Ancient Ways 25th anniversary, and we were ready to celebrate!

Cosmas had visited the U.S. through Kutsinhira in Eugene in 1998 and came to our farm to meet Ancient Ways’ students. We shared many stories about his home and family. The most fascinating to me was his father being a traditional healer, since my life’s passion circles around studying spiritual and healing practices from around the world. I also learned that he was a humanitarian at heart, and so that, too, opened the doors to linking our lives in this unique way.
Cosmas was instrumental in teaching me, this American-born-and-bred student of life, everything he could about Shona customs and culture, fierce devotion to family, and how to seek diplomacy in uncompromising and difficult situations.

Visiting Zimbabwe 20 times since 2000, I shared time in his life as we worked together on behalf of Ancient Ways through Nhimbe for Progress, which we co-founded. We were engaged in family matters and business, where I spent time with him as a sibling adopted in a traditional ceremony through his father, Joshua. I also knew him as the oldest son of Joshua and Matilda, as the father of Matilda, Tsitsi, Mudavanhu and Rutendo, as the husband of his dear wife, Joyce, and as the project director of Nhimbe for Progress. 

I was not a mbira student, rather, we shared a different mission together. We explored the American and Shona cultures through each other’s eyes. We hoped to resolve, improve, and co-create wonderful things, with a vision and optimism born out of allowing and blessing “what is”, and not simply acquiescing.

His favorite recurring phrase I heard over the years was, “We are winning!” as we climbed over, around, and through the many obstacles in the savannah and concrete jungle. The mission was to uplift his people, while simultaneously creating an avenue for the western world to reach out with humanitarian assistance.

Cosmas Magaya stands out as a revered teacher to all of his students as well as a premiere performer, and has been sorely missed since his passing in 2020. We are all grateful for his gentle nature of collaboration and expansion, all blessed with his large heart!

30 Years Banner

Our 30th Year Anniversary and Local Events

by PerformancesProject Updates

Autumn Greetings!   
It’s been a very full summer, and we have much gratitude now for all that is! We continue to celebrate our 30th year as Ancient Ways, and appreciate all that you have done to support and encourage us to reach out to our Zimbabwean neighbors through Nhimbe for Progress. Nhimbe is also in celebration of 25 years of successful determined focus!

H2O Drip for the Drought is serving the local Nhimbe families by providing them with the technology to harness what water they have and direct it with very little effort to their garden plots. Keep your eyes open for more reports (see our last blog about this here in case you missed it). We are partnering with Healing Hands International and they are generously investing in our community. For $25 you can sponsor a family’s food security.

Just checking, but I’m assuming you realize that this drought is serious! It is not just a threat to health and well-being, but also the drought has impacted the electricity available in the country. The Lake Kariba dam normally generates electricity for Zambia and Zimbabwe, but the water has run so low, sitting at 7.4% full, that it is impacting the electricity available in both countries, and so more often than usual, there are rolling blackouts.

To this end, we are working to raise more funds to assist more families with an H2O Drip for the Drought system. This Saturday September 28th, we will be available locally at the FCC Craft Fair on the southeast corner of the Corvallis Fall Festival, back side of FCC 6th and Madison, where we will be selling crafts from the villages as well as t-shirts and rocks from Africa. We are open there Saturday only from 10 to 6 pm.

Our music program is generating 6 ½ hours of music from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. to share with fair and festival goers. Check out the following schedule and put on your dancing shoes: 

  • 11:00-12 Tamuka Marimba
  • 12:15-1:15 Tamuka Marimba
  • 1:30-2:00 Mavambo Marimba
  • 2:15-3:15 Chipindura Marimba
  • 3:30-4:30  Chipindura Marimba

October 5th, find us at Silverton’s 13th Annual Sidewalk Shindig for more music from 12 to 2:30 pm by Tashinga Marimba, in front of Sadaka Realty, 300 Lewis St. Silverton.

October 12th we will be playing at the Westminster Festival of Fine Art in Salem from 11 am to 1 pm to help showcase their artisan venue. 

Thank you for however and whenever you reach out! Whether you can attend these events, simply say hey in an email or call, or make a donation, we appreciate whatever you can do to help us help them! Many blessings your way!

President's Drought Message

ZIMBABWE DROUGHT UPDATE — A Call for Help!

by Wells

His Excellency President DR Emmerson Dambudzo MNANGAGWA has declared a nationwide State of Disaster due to the El Nino-induced drought. Measures will be taken by the government to mitigate against the disaster. April 3rd 2024

Summer Greetings! Hope this finds you well with a flourishing garden or fresh produce from the locals. As you may recall, Zimbabwe is in the middle of a drought. It’s actually been a constant state of affairs the last few years, and has only worsened as the crops did not come in again this year. Please see the March blog where we explain our hopes for the village’s intervention.

April 3rd, their President declared it a state of disaster, but, with little in the way of resources, not much has been done. Occasional food distributions have taken place on a hit-and-miss basis throughout the country. If you are interested in donating now, without reading further, please click here. Following is Nhimbe’s story with our progress the last couple of months.

In March we bought $4,500 worth of maize to help get the staff through the year until March of 2025. Then in the beginning of May we were blessed by a partnership with Healing Hands International (HHI) who generously donated permaculture training and seeds to the residents. They are a spiritually-based organization that doesn’t bring in the evangelical arm of their commitment to alleviate suffering, so it was a perfect match for us, as we within Ancient Ways are apolitical and secular, while being spiritually based.

It took us a few weeks to get organized and locate bulk quantities of supplies. Muda went several places to get a good deal. This bucket salesman assures us he has the right number. And then, just contemplate the transportation of the hoses, buckets and plastic hardware.

The Magaya’s kindly hosted the teacher, and one person from each of 106 families was able to attend an extremely well-designed workshop. The HHI organization has so much experience all over the world, specifically promoting food security in Zimbabwe, that everyone was absolutely delighted at the quality of teaching.

Workshop Prep

It went amazingly well, particularly considering the number of participants and the making up of the drip hose kits on the spot from all the pieces purchased. Really . . . what a relief!

They learned how to use cornstalks and manure to build the beds so that the breakdown of the plant matter will continue to sustain the growth.

Compost Building

They studied raised bed building, compost pile building, various techniques for watering crops during a drought, and how/what/when to plant. The particular drip hoses we use are 100’ long which, using a coupler, provided making two 50’ long rows, to be used on 4’ wide rows. The pre-drilled hoses have about 16” between holes. These hoses hook up to a bucket with the plastic hardware.

The next 200 drip hose units have been purchased from our emergency savings including a donation from ZCDP. We spent close to $3,900 on these drip hoses in May. Although nerve-wracking to touch the funds, I knew it was an investment we just had to make. And now seeing the pictures just makes my heart sing! Thank you for your support in this.

Irrigation and Planting
Transplanting Completion
Awarding Certificates at Workshop Completion

We fed them a meal as part of the first day. Each participant received a diploma (although this photo doesn’t show everyone) and was gifted a drip hose system after a very full two days’ work.

We have nearly 200 families yet needing this course and are hopeful that HHI will return after seeing our follow-up pics and videos. They have been so incredibly supportive to us. Muda provided them with all of what they needed to do their job well, like having several villagers bring special kinds of digging tools, and then also, he followed up with Febby, our co-director, going to many homes to see how people were doing with what they had learned. Muda then sent that documentation on to the teacher and we are waiting for a reply. Here is a photo of the garden 2 months after the workshop at the Community Center.

Rows of Growing Crops

We also have a short video to share the 2-month follow-up at the Community Center here. When Muda and Febby went to the villagers’ homes they found great results as well (click here).

This is sure a nice show of greens about which the family is very pleased.

Check out this slide show also at the various students’ homes. They took the class material and put it to work!
Villagers holding healthy plants
Home Update 2 month (6)-
Row of health plants
Irrigation System Bucket and Healthy Plants
Irrigation system
Long row of plants with irrigation piping
Man standing next to irrigation system and plants
Long row of plants with irrigation piping
Compost Pile
Man next to compost pile

The situation is dire, and Zimbabwe, as a whole, is suffering greatly due to this drought. Unless you watch BBC or read a Zimbabwean newspaper online, you may be in the dark. Of course, our US news just doesn’t carry much of a story about the situation. We are asking you to contribute to make it possible for these residents to be able to grow basics. Fruits and vegetables, although not meat and potatoes (maize actually over there), provide the foundational vitamins and minerals to fuel so many nutritional needs in our bodies. They are earnestly doing their part, and we appreciate anything you can do to help us help them. Please click here to go to the marketplace . . . whatever you can do makes a difference. Thank you so much!

We stand in continued awe of your support over the years as we remain steadfast in reaching out across the planet. Of course, it was the music that Dumisani taught which first brought me to an awareness of the plight of Zimbabwe. That, coupled with a passion to help people, has put me on this path…2024 brings 30 years as Ancient Ways and 25 years on behalf of Nhimbe for Progress. We are so grateful for your assistance, as are each of the Nhimbe residents and beyond their villages. Besides this current crisis, the ongoing programs and services bring much joy and hope to the families primarily because we are reaching their children in myriad ways – all thanks to you. Many Tender Blessings Your Way!