The primary resources provided immediately will be soap and masks. The goal is to get on the front-edge of the process. Education is the engine. Resources are the fuel. People will turn out in large numbers to receive their free supplies. It’s a practically-oriented trick that we hope will save some lives.
* The importance of reaching everyone is not only to save individual lives so they are not taken unawares, but it is vital to have a healthy neighborhood to stay healthy, so communication is a key
* In Zimbabwe they don’t have the internet at their fingertips in our rural region. Traditionally most information is passed on orally and now with cell phone availability, texting and talking is commonplace.
* Correct information given repeatedly at intervals is the most effective way to make sure people really understand.
We all need to remain mindful that we have both cultural and information-age abysses to straddle, so we must continue to work in partnership with each other, without making assumptions. This requires a continuing dialogue probing for complete understanding of our conversations, which mostly are occurring over Whatsapp and email, with complementary phone calls on rare occasions. Network coverage is erratic. In the past 20 years we have visited the rural area with the Nhimbe team 15 times, to assure a genuine interpersonal relationship and because of that immersion, we are confident and excited by our team communication skills.