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Leonard Ncube, [email protected]

WHEN a child is born the community joins the family to celebrate the new bundle of joy, and when tragedy strikes, the whole community empathises with the family.

A cross section of the Victoria Falls residents has gone all out in solidarity with a family whose four-year-old son disappeared on Saturday afternoon and has not been found.

Residents including political and church leaders, as well as tourism and business executives are@ on a search mission around Victoria Falls to locate the boy.

It has been prayer after prayer since Saturday evening as more stakeholders pledge to help in various ways including a helicopter company offering to fly a chopper in an effort to locate the lad.

The boy’s mother Ms Loice Zimunhu who stays in Lesedi just outside Victoria Falls City, said her only son Darren Mukundi Fore was wearing a T-shirt and green pair of shorts when he went missing on Saturday while at the Seventh Day Adventist Church at AD Junior School.

They had gone to attend a church service when the boy disappeared after 4pm while playing within the premises.

According Ms Zimunhu, there are reports that he was last seen sitting down and eating some dried snacks with an unidentified man in the vicinity of the church.

This has prompted solidarity among residents and stakeholders on WhatsApp platform with residents praying the boy is found.

“There is a very distressing issue of the missing boy. Let me take this opportunity to invite us all to join a search party that’s starting this afternoon,” read a message posted by Mr Ephias Mambume on a residents’ groups.

Some proposed to have lodges dotted around the city to review their Closed Circuit Television cameras with hope that the boy may have been captured by one of them while moving around.

People organised themselves into groups as they formed search parties which were all out in the bush and around residential areas starting around midday to look for the lad who is set to turn 4 years on 24 November.

Police and Zimbabwe National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority rangers were also reportedly assisting the search party.

In an interview, a distraught Ms Zimunhu said she had not been able to rest since Saturday.

“We went to church at AD Junior School and we were with him until around 4:30pm. We don’t know how he disappeared as noone saw where he went to but one child said he saw him seated with a certain man eating some chips just away from everyone.

“We have been looking everywhere and we are going back again. People have really stood up and are helping, many people are out searching everywhere and I pray we find him. We have been into houses, along roads, bush and everywhere and my prayer is that I find my only son,” said Ms Zimunhu.

She is grateful to Victoria Falls residents for helping  her search for the lost son.

Ms Zimunhu acceded to use of her son’s picture for search purposes.

Anyone who may see the boy should call 0772897899 or 0771605288 or go to the nearest police station -@ncubeleon