St James: An Oasis in a Desert

The rocky road from Gokwe tumbles down the steep escarpment into the Sessami valley, twisting and turning like a river. Leaving the black “cotton” soils of the high ground, it falls into the brown sands of the valley which stretches out into the distant shimmering horizons towards the Chizara hills and the great Zambezi river.

The iconic baobab trees have appeared, sporting their fresh green leaves and bright red flowers. Unexpectedly, a small herd of zebras appear, actually crossing the road in front of us as if to demonstrate what a zebra crossing should look like! 

After driving further, we arrived at a surreal intersection which could only be found in Zimbabwe. After an hour or so on the dirt road, the crossroad was marked by the sudden appearance of tar, a very impressive sign of directions, and a brand new Stop sign. We were convinced this was the first proper Stop sign we had seen…almost anywhere. And here it was, in the middle of, well, almost nowhere. 

The road to the right and left was tarred for about 20 metres, before reverting to dirt, as it was behind us. Fortunately, we were heading onwards where the tar continued, and we contentedly settled back to enjoy the smoother and gentler ride to rest our shaking bones. However, after passing the now abandoned clinic dedicated to the First Lady a few miles down the road, the tar simply vanished, back into the sands and stones where it started. We were left bemused by what kind of contract provided for a few miles of tar in the middle of nowhere…and wondered it would have had anything to do with the clinic… 

However, it meant we arrived at St James Anglican Church in the small village of Nyamuroro in good time, to be welcomed by the beaming smile of Mrs Chinoise, the church warden, and Rev Donga, the village headman Mr Murakwani, and about 20 others waiting in the shade of a large tree. And what a welcome! 

When I was last here we explored the possibility of another borehole as all attempts to drill routinely failed due to the huge hydrogeological challenges. Existing boreholes in the area are very briney, or salty, even if water is found, so the animals and local people don’t like to drink it anyway. And even the output those boreholes are much reduced in the critical June to October dry months. 

Mrs Chinhou related that the children, usually the girls, were having to walk 3km each way to collect water every day in their 20l buckets. An hour each way, and all this on one meal a day, typically after school. That’s not taking into account the threats from animals and snakes and others along the path. It is no wonder that the children are struggling to stay at school with empty bellies and no clean water.

We finally identified a potential site about 1 km from the church after much geophysical work, and drilling was completed earlier this year in May. Testing of the new borehole proved very successful with abundant high quality clean water. Forster Irrigation completed the install of solar, pump, main and tanks in June. 

What has been most impressive, however, has been the community involvement. Instead of bringing in labour from outside for the trenching for the long pipeline from the borehole, men from the community completed the work themselves. This required hard back-breaking manual digging and pickaxe work through stoney terrain, including a road crossing. But they clearly saw the benefit of this new source and were keen to participate in bringing it to the village. This isn’t just a church project: it is a village project.  Along the way, tap stands were constructed, including a trough for the cattle. 

I was blown away at how this has impacted the area, beyond expectations. The source is now serving 3 schools and 10 villages, with over 3,000 people and livestock. This is in addition to the provision of water to the 10,000 l tank at the church, the church vegetable garden and water for the rectory and adjacent houses. 

Accompanied by many from church and community, we made our inspections of the maize now growing, the tanks, the taps, and walked the pipeline route. Under a teak tree, out of the blistering sun, we all gathered for speeches. I was especially moved by the thanks given by the representative of the community, who carefully read out to us his prepared speech. It cannot have been easy given that it was obviously his second language, and these murungu could be very daunting. Then it was back to the church for celebrations and magnificent African singing, and gifts and thanks and the meal. 

As always, I am overwhelmed by the cheer and faith and hope seen so evidently etched in the faces of these people, or shall I say friends. It remains one of those incongruities that some of us can simply reach out to open a tap with cool clean running water, without giving it a thought, while others collect every precious drop, treating it with such care, knowing its true value. 

As I was testing the water at the community tap, I opened the tap and allowed it to run, and quickly, a gentleman thrust a bucket under the flow “Don’t let it run away!” No water should be lost…that taught me a lesson!

I never want to get used to the privilege I enjoy. I want to remain grateful for each day, every gift of water and food. Of having three meals a day without giving thought. 

To seek joy in the hardest places, like at St James, an oasis in a barren land.

Huge thanks to Rev Donga, Mrs Chinhou, and Mr Murakwani and all those who made us so welcome, fed us, and cared for us. It is always a joy to sing and celebrate with you.

Thank you for reading.

Sandy

A reminder that you are welcome to make a contribution to these projects through our Tzaba website.