Weekend in the South

We have just been away for 5 days in the south of the country. It was hot, and we fought mosquitoes and runny stomach (did you need to know that?) but it was a great trip. The people of Zimbabwe are friendly, welcoming, fun and gracious. Wednesday we had a heavy 5 hours of rain in Harare, which was amazing. Zimbabwe REALLY doesn't need more drought right now... We got absolutely drenched on our lunchtime stroll, but we couldn't really complain, because we have to think of farms and food production, etc. To be honest, we tried to escape the rain by going to the country's best burger joint. Unfortunately, they didn't have any burgers. In fact they didn't have anything we tried to order. Eventually we suggested that the waiter should just tell us what they were serving rather than bring a menu!

Thursday we drove to Bulawayo with the Chief. Bulawayo is the second largest city, and about a 5 - 6 hour drive south of Harare. There was barely any traffic because of the severe fuel shortages. Friday we went to Tshelanyemba hospital. It was good to be back there. Our friend Dawn is a Canadian doctor who has been serving the rural community there for ages. Actually, she is due to retire soon, so if you know of a doctor who is willing to work for peanuts and be the only doctor for about 100kms with water and electricity restrictions, please let us know asap. We were there for the unveiling of an irrigation project, a container of supplies and "Canada house" (built and paid for by Salvationists in Newfoundland). It was sad to be there - to hear of the numbers of people dying of hunger, to hear about the difficulty in accessing basic medications, etc. but at the same time it was a hopeful place - because you see the commuity coming together despite hardship. In the late afternoon we drove through the beautiful Matopos (they say God just started throwing rocks down at the place, because the way they balance on top of each other is incredible!) and spent the night at Masiye camp - which is gorgeous. In the morning we ran to a beautiful dam, and more than once John asked why we had to have been posted in stressful Harare at THQ!! We saw some really beautiful places this weekend.

Saturday we went to Usher Institute - a Salvation Army boarding school which is infamous for the murder of a few white teachers back during the troubles, but famous for its quality education. They have about 700 female boarders - secondary and primary. The young ones were very cute - we'll have to post a photo. Usher is struggling to retain teachers, so again, if you want to teach in a rural area and get paid in tomatoes - please let us know!

Sunday we had 2 church services in Bulawayo, and we got to hang with our friend Kim. I had the chance to speak out against discrimination in the church re: HIV/AIDS (since December 1st was World AIDS Day) - and that was good. A Salvationist came up to me after saying that she's positive and thanking me for my words. HIV is still really associated with adultery, prostitution and sin and so there is still a lot of stigma in the churches. The decor in the second church was interesting - they had made centerpieces of fake flowers, spinach and carrots. I noticed there was a mad rush after the service to get the produce. We didn't shop, but we heard that there is food in stores in Bulawayo. They say the food is expensive because they get it from Botswana, but at least that's better than the bare shelves of Harare. I think it's one of those stresses that kind of goes un-talked-about - the fact that you can't buy food in shops. It's all about connections. We have a lady who can connect us with eggs, and our neighbour is now sourcing bread for us. We hear rumours about sugar or flour and then follow them up. It doesn't matter if you have money (although, obviously money helps if you're going to the blackmarket!) - you have to have connections in order to get basic commodities (which are usually found through someone doing cross-border trading). Even cash - you have to have connections to get money! Right now people are lining up for hours to withdraw the daily limit of $5million (less than $3u.s. in real money). We're all just waiting for the new currency to be announced. Oh, and did you hear that Zim made it into the Guinness book of world records again? Next year's government budget has been proposed, and it's the only in the world to be in quadrillions (12 zeroes). Ah, Zimbabwe... Unfortunately, we missed the million man march in support of the President on the weekend. Never a dull moment...