Cosmas and Patricia went to the capital city, Harare, early in the morning on May 8th, to purchase materials for Nhimbe’s windmill and permaculture project. They carried their official letter that let them through the barricades, as the country is currently in Lockdown Level 2.
Level 2 means that big companies, like those focused on industrial and manufacturing, big garages, and food wholesalers, are all open. Fabric shops, clothing stores, small grocery, tuckshops, beer halls, and all informal markets are still closed. Soldiers and police are stationed at road blocks. People are being advised to stay at home and wear masks wherever they go, especially in public places. People are not allowed to go some places, if they do not have a mask.
Not only will this 5,000 litre tank hold plenty of water for drinking, cooking, washing and watering, but the miracle of it is how gravity feed actually can provide enough pressure for faucets, flush toilets and showers! I visited someone in December who had set up a solar unit and tank for his elderly disabled parents, and they were stylin’ with the upscale accommodations right there, just up the road from our Center. Obviously, that is not our priority at this point, but just an interesting side note to imagine, particularly for those of you who have stayed in rural areas without facilities. We actually will be installing a faucet for ease of use.
Patricia tells us their story of getting into town through the controlled city traffic, and then walking into the store asking to buy a tank and a stand, but the shopkeeper apologized, saying that the store had only the tank, but not the stand. After explaining that they had traveled all the way from Mhondoro, which is very far, the sales staff considered Cosmas’ age (now a full-fledged senior citizen) and his traveling during this trying period of lock down. The other store keeper said “let me talk to my boss, we have a tank stand already paid for by someone who is coming to collect it tomorrow”. After some minutes he came back and said, “go ahead and pay for the tank stand and the tank!” They managed to buy the pipes as well. I like it that being an elder pays off!
Wow…what an incredible turn of events! We are definitely feeling the full support of compassion both from that business, and from you making this a reality! We are so grateful for all of your help with this!
They had Cosmas’ son, Muda, along for the ride, both at the store and out in the rural area, as he helped with loading and offloading at the Community Center. We are always happy when he can be a member of the team.
It was a very busy day going around to different locations to look for a truck to carry these two rather big things! They are so very happy to have been so successful.
It was really great to see some of the young fellows wearing masks! I’m always amazed at how many people here don’t. Its like there are two tribes on earth right now…the mask people and the no-mask people.
Tatenda Chaizvo! (we thank you very much!) This extraordinary collaboration between Zimbabwe and you, our donors, has always been a life-changing conversation, but now with Covid-19, the impact has been stepped up. We so appreciate you!