The life-changing impact of education in rural Zimbabwe

Although Zimbabwe is often reported as having the highest literacy rate in Africa this does not necessarily reflect the situation on the ground. For instance:

Zimstat put the literacy rate at 97% but this figure is based on the percentage of people who have attended school up until Grade 3. This does not necessarily prove whether a person can read or write. Source

I recently encountered a remarkable story that illustrates the far-reaching impact education can have in someone’s life. I first met Edward Nkosana whilst visiting Intabayengwe community with Benson Siyawareva. Benson is a relative newcomer to the community having moved therein 2014.

In his short time here he has made a huge difference by establishing Lesedi primary school in June 2014. The school is allowing many children in the community to receive an education who may otherwise have been unable to access one.

Whilst I was with Benson at the school a quiet, elderly gentleman came up to him. The gentleman was clearly emotional, with tears in his eyes as he showed Benson a well-used slip of paper. They hugged and the man was still teary but grinning from ear-to-ear as we left. Intrigued I asked Benson about it. I was stunned to learn that the man had taken adult literacy classes offered at the school and at the age of 65 and with 6 children he had finally passed his grade 7 exams! The slip of paper he showed Benson showed his results.

I was awed and inspired by this story and asked if I would be able to interview Mr Nkosana, and find out more about how he came to recieve an education later in life and what it means to him.

A few weeks later I made my way to Edward’s home. A cleanly swept yard with a single tree and neat thatch huts was evidence of his pride in his home. Edward and his family welcomed me warmly and we sat under the tree to chat.

Edward did not get an education because his father passed away when he was very young. He moved to live with his uncle, and although his cousins attended school, he was left with the task of herding the family cattle. Edward was always determined to learn how to read and write in English, primarily because he wanted to understand the Bible. Throughout his working career he endeavored to attend night school to further his education, but as his job entailed working many night shifts this was difficult to achieve. Assistance eventually arrived in the form of Benson who sponsored Edward’s school fees. I learnt that he had accomplished the incredible feat of learning to read and write in just two years by taking two grades a year for three years. 

He is delighted that today he has achieved his goal. He says that an education has changed him personally; in the past he was prone to drinking and fighting. His wife, who at first did not support his efforts to improve his education, now whole-heartedly supports his achievements. He says an education has allowed him to not only read but to understand. He is determined that his children and his grandchildren get a good education. Despite economic hardships Edward has ensured that all his children have completed Form 4. These days Edward attends school with them and helps with their homework. Edward said

I am currently in form 1. There are 6 of us; 2 girls, 3 boys and now there is 1 man!

Edward’s favourite subject at school is history as it taught him about the lives of his forefathers and the rise of civilization. He is so proud to tell me the history of his tribes movements over the past facts he was originally told by his grandmother that were confirmed to be true when he went to school.

He also now works as a caretaker at the school. Edward’s advice to people of his age in his community would be to try to go to school if at all possible saying:

an education uplifts the community and teaches people to be better people. He stresses that education encourages friendships and promotes healthy communication.

As I left humbled and inspired I looked down. Some of Edward’s grandchildren had played at our feet whilst we spoke and etched in the sand in a poignant summary of Edward’s story one of them had written a single word “Hope”.

HOW YOU CAN HELP

Contact Ngoko Safaris for more information on assisting Lesedi primary school.

The Rotary Club of Victoria Falls provides extensive support to many  schools in the Victoria Falls Area and beyond.

Wild Horizons provides school fee payment, equipment and support and is happy to co-ordinate efforts that support our community and donations.

Article and Images by Sarah Kerr with assistance from Libby White

Livingstone Update

I recently spent the afternoon with the Wild Horizons‘ team in Livingstone as they showed me around some of the attractions and developments in the town. What an amazing and fun team- these guys have fantastic camaraderie. Four members of the team have recently passed their ten year mark with Wild Horizons and you can tell that they have a strong bond after working together for so long.

Next door to the Wild Horizons’ Booking office is the Gwembe Reptile Park. I arrive early and while I was waiting one of the employees from Gwembe kindly offers to show me around. My visit to the Reptile Park is greatly enhanced by the friendliness and knowledge of their staff.

My guide eagerly shows me their tortoises and how to age them by counting the rings on their shells. We then proceed to the crocodile pens and he continues to pepper our conversation with interesting facts. As we enter the walkway over the crocodile enclosure I freeze at the sight of a leviathan.

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This huge crocodile has an estimated age of 80 years old. He is responsible for the deaths of at least two people after which time he was captured and bought to the park to prevent any more deaths. I stare awed and silently hoping the walkway I stand upon doesn’t collapse.

Following my tour the Wild Horizons Zambia team and I got in the Christmas spirit by donning santa hats and going on a tour of Livingstone. There was lots of laughter as we drove around and small children were particularly delighted to see Santa drive by!

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Our first stop was a new attraction in Livingstone; the ‘Lion King’. This new cruise vessel is owned by Royal chief Mukuni of the Toka-leya People. It’s an unusual vessel with traditionally thatched umbrellas and canopy on the upper deck lending a distinctly African feel. The boat offers morning, midday and evening cruises daily. A  cruise on the Zambezi is a must do if in Livingstone or Victoria Falls offering spectacular photo opportunities and the chance to see wildlife.

The Lion King Cruise Vessel

The Lion King Cruise Vessel

We then went on to the Livingstone Art gallery. The Gallery is run by the National Arts Council of Zambia and provides a modern space for exhibitions of contemporary Zambian art. This was the highlight of the trip for me as an art lover and is a great way for anyone with a few spare hours to spend them.

The gallery offers a diverse range of art- with sculptures, mixed media, paintings and photography on show. I was seriously impressed with many of the paintings. Many are are for sale and would make a fantastic souvenir for any visitor. I fell in love with vibrant acrylics with embedded chitenge (a type of local fabric) panels, watercolours depicting wildlife, traditional smooth stone sculptures and a modern spiky kinetic sculpture.

I had had a great day and really encourage all who visit Livingstone to check out the many attractions offered. The Wild Horizons transfer service is the perfect way to see all the town has to offer on your schedule and our driver guides are enthusiastic about sharing their town with visitors.  We will gladly assist you with information and bookings of the numerous other  activities and excursions on offer in Livingstone.

Contact res3@wildhorizons.co.zw  for more information and to book.

Spotlight on ‘Tawanda’

A barista is defined simply as ‘a person, usually a coffeehouse employee, who prepares and serves espresso-based coffee drinks.’ Tawanda Dube is one of the employees at The Lookout Café and the definition above does apply to him in the true sense.

However Tawanda also has something more- a real passion for the work he is doing. The Lookout Cafe’s espresso machine arrived a few months ago and Tawanda began learning the art of coffee making. He was immediately drawn to it and says he loves making art from coffee. After making me a perfectly delicious cappuccino Tawanda drew out his cell phone and showed me the only videos on it- of how to make coffee art, how to clean the machine and more. ‘One day’ he said proudly as he showed me a video of a man shaping a flower by pouring milk into espresso ‘I will make you a coffee like that!’

I don’t doubt he will with his passion to learn in his spare time and wanted to take the time to say that it doesn’t go unnoticed.  Thank you Tawanda for your hard work!

Moeketsi Ndlovu- pioneering chef at The Lookout Café

Moeketsi Ndlovu is a 30-year-old chef who grew up in Victoria Falls but was originally from Esigodini, Zimbabwe. His family noticed his talent in the kitchen early on.

My Grandmother used to enjoy my cooking so she always encouraged me to become a chef though she had a belief it was not a paying job.

His grandmother was right about Moeketsi’s talent but wrong about there not being paid employment in his field. He was employed by Victoria Falls Safari Lodge as an Apprentice Chef in 2005. Moeketsi is now a head chef with 10 years of experience under his belt and says one of his accomplishments was winning the restaurant of the year for the Palm Restaurant, Ilala Lodge, Victoria Falls for three years running during his time there.


On the 23’rd of December, Moeketsi opened the Wild Horizons Lookout Café as the head chef. The café is cantilevered on the edge of the Batoka Gorge and offers diners truly stunning views of the canyon and the Victoria Falls Bridge. However, the tasty and affordable menu brimming with simple, fresh flavours is what draws people. Moeketsi changes the menu with the season and loves to experiment with new dishes while still keeping the same value and quality the Lookout Café has become known for.

Moeketsi says;

Planning a new menu has always given my career its challenges; playing around with combination of flavours, the health aspects of the menu and finally the costing which turns me into an accountant as well!

It is a technique that works and The Lookout Café has been an incredible success, garnering great reviews from international customers, and quickly becoming a favourite for local clientele. In the short space of a year café has more than doubled its seating capacity as a response to the overwhelming demand from the public.  Much of this has been due to the innovation and hard work of the head chef and team in the kitchen who work hard every day to ensure the best food is served.

To young people wanting to become a chef Moeketsi says

‘…chefs have good job opportunities so if you have a passion for cooking it’s a fantastic job, but I repeat, only if you have passion!’

Meet our People, Guide at Imbabala Zambezi Safari Lodge- Stanislous Chizipi

Of all the things that make up a great safari the most important factor to a guests enjoyment and understanding is their guide. He or she is the person who ensures that guests experience the destination and all it has to offer to the fullest. Stan is one of our small but dedicated team of guides at Imababala and does a great job at ensuring his guests have an amazing time.  A gentle giant with a deep voice and an infectious smile Stan is passionate about what he does. One guest recently said in a review

…Our guide Stan was fantastic. He can double as a voice over for James Earl Jones! He is knowledgeable about all of the game and birds. You also get the opportunity to do your game drives on the river with a pontoon boat, which makes the viewing even better when the wildlife is at the rivers edge or when the elephants are crossing the river. We saw many elephants and hippos and the bird population was amazing. Stan even spotted a leopard and honey badger on a night drive!

Stanislous Chizipi was born in Rusape, a small charming town in the eastern district of Zimbabwe. One would be forgiven for stating that Stan was born for the job he is doing. Born in a family of 8 in typical rural Zimbabwe, young Stan was a cattle herder from a very young age. Initially he followed his older brothers, cousins and neighbours until he was old enough to be trusted with the family herd by himself. It was during these formative years that he developed his skills in spotting birds and small animals since his home area does not have big game. His love for nature and all its glories was nurtured and allowed to grow in this environment.

All young boys in the rural areas desire to make it to the big city, seek employment and build a life. Stan was no exception and the completion of his O’Level studies in 1987 saw him move to the city of Mutare, Zimbabwe’s third largest city nestled in the beautiful Eastern Highlands. As fate would have it, he met a Mr Dixon, who was a member of the Eastern District Bird Club. It was this gentleman who introduced him to a world of birding and wildlife spotting, giving names and some fascinating background to some of the birds Stan had seen in his younger days. His childhood interest in animals and the wild grew until  he saw an article in a local department store’s magazine that featured a guide who was working in the Matopos National Park.

This article led him to explore ways in which he could become a professional guide. He got in touch with the  Zimbabwe Professional Guides Association who provided the tutorials necessary for him to obtain his Learner’s Guide Licence in 1998. Job openings in his field of passion where however not readily available and it was only until 2003, that he got his first stint at a guiding job. He has never looked back.

Stan has a wealth of stories to tell of his guiding expeditions and the vast experience he has gained over the years. He describes his favourite guiding experience as one night drive back in 2011 when he and his team came across a lion with a young buffalo kill. They watched him settle down to tackle the feed for about 10 minutes before 3 hyenas appeared on the scene. The scavengers tried to scare the lion off but he stood his ground prompting the hyenas to engage in their signature call for reinforcements. Within 5 minutes, 5 more hyenas joined the invading group and the pack mobbed the lion until he scurried off leaving his barely eaten meal.

Comedy does not reside on the small screen and theatres alone; the wild also offers its fair share of lighter moments! With a huge grin on his face, Stan speaks of the time he witnessed a slender mangoose confidently having a go at a two metre python which then strangled him and the hunter became the hunted. He says.

Do not start a battle you can’t finish.

It has been said that if you do what you love, you will never work a day in your life. Stan is one person who thoroughly enjoys what he wakes up to do on a daily basis. “I enjoy watching birds and taking guests on drives and cruises, it gives me immense pleasure to be able to share my love for nature and what it has to offer with people who are experiencing it for the first time. ‘I thrive in that environment’.

Of all the animals he has got to learn about and interact with, the firm favourite is the elephant. “This is because my first guiding experience in Victoria Falls was with the Wild Horizon’s Elephant Back Safari operation where I got so attached to this majestic land giant and learnt a lot about its gentle nature and behaviour”. To this day, any opportunity to work with elephants or interact with them in the wild brings about treasured memories of his early days of guiding.

Stan is passionate about young people and the next generation. His advice to young people looking to begin a career in guiding would be for them to be well-disciplined and willing to learn as this is a dynamic field where one has to constantly keep abreast with the ever-changing environment. He asserts that this is a rewarding career for those with a passion for it and have a good and thorough knowledge of their subject matter.

For the traveller, Stan has valuable tips on how to make the most of their trip. He reckons its best to take in the whole ecosystem to get the best possible bush experience. The flora and fauna is all interconnected and surprisingly highly dependent on each other hence the need for one to learn and understand how each animal is connected to the other and its usefulness in the wild. He sagely says

People miss a lot in their rush to see the next big animal.

Should you make it for a trip to our beautiful Victoria Falls and its environs, be sure to heed this experienced guide’s advice. Take your time and explore all that this magnificent land has to offer.

Article by Tendai Chiwaka

Images and Editing by Sarah Kerr

Zimbabwean Home Hosted Dinner

Victoria Falls Home Hosted Dinner

As someone with a passion for culture, travel and food I love the idea of a home hosted dinner. The concept is a simple one; your host cooks and shares a traditional meal with you, at his or her place.

In Victoria Falls this means that you are welcomed into a typical Zimbabwean house in ‘Chinotimba’. Chinotimba is a high-density suburb of Victoria Falls and away from the general main town and fancy hotels. It is where most of the population of Victoria Falls lives and is also known as Chinotimba Township.

I had the chance to attend a home hosted dinner recently (You can also go for lunch). The cost of the meal includes your return transfers and I was picked up first. We collected the other guests from the beautiful and manicured Victoria Falls Hotel. The other attendees were two American couples. As we moved in the bus away from elegant lawns and colonial architecture into Chinotimba the sounds and smells coming through the windows which we had opened became more intense. It was as if we were watching Mother Africa peel off layers of adornments to reveal her heart.

In Chinotimba the streets are uneven and crowded; crowded with women dressed in colourful ‘chitenge’ fabric wrappers and firewood precariously balanced upon their heads; crowded with children playing and laughing; crowded with old men chatting in the street. Whereas at night the streets in the centre of town were quiet Chinotimba was full of life. There was a sense of palpable excitement in the bus.

We pulled up at a small European style house in close proximity to its neighbours. Our host Tshipo made her way down the front steps. She was dressed in a traditional ‘wrapper’ made from local fabric around her waist and had another as a head-dress. She welcomed us warmly, clasping our hands in both of hers as she greeted us. Her yard was swept clean and rather than an ornamental garden it housed rows of vegetables (Tshipo proudly told us that this is typical here where most households grow and use vegetables). Children of varying ages shyly peeked at us and darted forward to touch a hand or ask questions. After we had all been introduced our host showed us into her living room.

From early on the interaction was very human; everyone wanted to know about each other ‘Where are you from?’, ‘Are these all your kids?’ Once we got to know each other we were seated. Tshipo had prepared the meal prior to our arrival and there were multiple covered dishes. Tshipo opened them one by one and explained the different dishes as she served them.

There was sadza (polenta or maize meal) the staple of all of Southern Africa, kale with a peanut (similar to satay) sauce, kale sautéed with onion and tomato, Kapenta (small, dried and salted fish), beef stew, chicken stew and a side of Mopane Worms (dried caterpillars) for those who were adventurous. The table burst into laughter when a guest enquired about the tiny kapenta fish ‘How do you find a hook small enough to catch them?!’ and Tshipo responded ‘We use a net’.

As we ate we talked loudly and excitedly, the guests and host shared images of their grandchildren… We learned that everyone had far more things in common than different. And after dinner, the children who had eaten in the kitchen with their grandmother crowded around to meet us. An American lady started singing songs her children had liked to one of the little girls and the next thing we knew we had a sing-a-long. The little children were really excited to sing for us so we got to hear a few Ndebele songs before Tshipo sternly reminded them of bedtime on a school night and ushered them off.

After a cup of tea or coffee with our host it was time to return to our hotels and we said a warm farewell to Tshipo. It was a delightful evening and an experience I would recommend to anyone visiting Zimbabwe. The experience is so genuine. You have an interaction that is deceptively simple, yet somehow meaningful; the sharing of a meal. If you’re lucky you’ll make a friend as we all did exchanging email addresses and swapping photos.

Details

  • Home Hosted Dinners and Lunches are offered by Wild Horizons

  • A great experience for children or teens who will enjoy meeting other children and learn about other cultures.

  • Expect an authentic home cooked meal- there will be options you are familiar with that are commonly eaten in Zimbabwe such as beef stew as well as some local dishes that may be new to you. You do not have to try these if you are wary but it is great fun if you do.

Text and Images by Sarah Kerr