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Andile Tshuma

There is a new wave of Zimbabwean communities taking initiative and working on community projects to improve livelihoods. There a multiple crowd funding projects for clinics in Sontala, Gwambe and Sibomvu communities in Matobo and Umzingwane districts. These have been very successful and have been driven by the community members themselves, with a passion of improving their conditions and bringing development.

Thanks to social media, it has been easy for communities, home and away to ‘meet up’. Even virtually and organise themselves to start life changing initiatives for their own. Recently the media gave us a peep into the beauty of rural Plumtree and what determined people can do. State of the art, exquisite, ‘suburban’ homes tucked right in the rural plains in Plumtree. Imagine if more people could realise the value of developing their rural homes like that which we are seeing in Plumtree.

It would be beautiful and would mean that people would take their rural homes seriously, investing in rural homes would mean investing in rural life, investing in the rural economy which will in turn improve the country’s economy at large, as rural business opportunities will also benefit. However, to encourage more rural investment, Government must come up with policies that protect communal lands and people’s homesteads in rural areas. Many people shun developing their rural homes, fearing that the land has no title deeds and they may lose it anytime, without compensation.

Efforts must therefore be made towards ensuring that rural investment is not futile and that it is protected, so that people go all out in investing in their motherland, as a way of bringing more development.Most of the people investing in their rural homes are Zimbabweans in the diaspora. According to the World Bank, the number of Zimbabweans that have left the country was estimated at more than three million in 2016.

Some estimates are that 50 percent of all professionals have emigrated since 2000, which places the country in 10th position out of 157 countries that experience migration at this level of ‘brain drain’. This picture seems to suggest the country’s huge investment in education has been compromised, yet when Zimbabwe suffered its worst economic meltdown in 2008-2009, the diaspora remitted over US$1.6 billion, which accounted for more than 10 percent of its gross domestic product. In that time period, it was the biggest source of capital inflow and out -performed both export earnings and development assistance.

This staggering number of Zimbabweans in the diaspora shows the potential that the diasporan community has to help improve communities and spearhead the much needed development, without always having to wait for and rely on Government. Worldwide, members of the diaspora may or may not want to return to their country of origin, but most want to make a difference in their country by contributing money in the form of remittances, skills and knowledge – often called ‘social remittances’; establishing networks and connections; and investing in business ventures or technology transfer.

There are so many ordinary Zimbabweans doing extra ordinary things around the country individually and collectively, particularly born frees, those who were born after the country attained independence in 1980. It is the duty of all community members to do what they can to improve communities and history has proven that nobody and nothing can come between united societies.

In Bulawayo, Matabeleland North and Matabeleland South, community initiatives done by locals and diaspora based Zimbabweans have shown the power of unity.Zimbabweans have taken it upon themselves to help bring the development that they want and to make use of the opportunities that were previously not available in the pre-independence era.There are many organisations that one can think of including Qoki Zindlovukazi, the Collin Nyabadza Children’s Voice Charitable Trust, sports personalities running charitable foundations such as Marvellous Nakamba who recently paid school fees for 1000 pupils.

Think of local based young people doing extra ordinary things such as Mantate Mlotshwa, a young woman running multiple initiatives for multiple causes in the region and Descent Dube who is bringing development and engaging the youth in Matobo, his home, under the Matobo Youth Development Initiative (MYDI).

Sometimes, help must not come from outside, but the sons and daughters of a community must choose to rise and build the development that they want to see in their communities. -@andile_tshuma.