Meeting Bravo in Hwange

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One of my day trips from Victoria Falls included a 2 hour drive east to Hwange, Zimbabwe. This was home to my sponsored child, Bravo Shoko. He lives in rural Hwange, which is about 40 minutes outside of the main Hwange township. However, try not to imagine a large, developed town as this "township," as it is quite sparse and consists of a few government buildings, shops, one large grocery store and a clothing store. There are also many developed houses as well. However, much of the population in Hwange lives in the rural areas, which are a huge contrast from even the under developed township.

After arriving to town and having a slight briefing at the World Vision office, the two World Vision escorts and I did some grocery shopping to bring some food to the village. This was much different than popping in to your local air conditioned Safeway as it was very crowded, hot and fairly sparse in terms of variety. There were a lot of coke products, but hardly much proper food. There were some loaves of bread, only white, which appeared to be freshly baked, which seemed nice. The shelves were stocked with a lot of basic staples. There was no meat and the only lunchmeat we could find was a roll of what may have been a bologna type processed meat. There were also little vegetables or fruits aside from some carrots, wilted lettuce and some apples. I reminisced earlier on when I was traveling by bus near Johannesburg to see huge farms of crops. Unfortunately, it seemed none of the produce grown there made it here. I remember one of my South African friends commenting that Africa still is partly a cradle for mankind and that much of the good produce that they harvest is shipped off to other countries, rather than kept locally. It's unfortunate to witness other African towns suffering due to this possibility.

However, the unfortunate sights would get a bit more unfortunate as we ventured into Bravo's village. As we turned off the main road, onto dirt, there was a small brick school that was built decades ago by the Catholic Church. This is where Bravo would go when he turns 6 next year. We also picked up a volunteer from the area who joined us. She was there to primarily assist in translation and help introduce Bravo and his family. We proceeded and the dirt road became more of a dirt path, which was quite gnarly, even for the Toyota 4x4 Hillux to tackle. Brick houses were now mud huts with straw or sheet metal roofs. Some goats and pigs ran freely around. Vegetation was now quite sparse and the temperature seemed to increase. Then we saw a crowd of children running towards the vehicle. As we were finding a tree to park underneath, they swarmed the truck just as I was opening my door. There, I was greeted by Bravo and his friends. It was strange at first and I didn't exactly know what to do. They didn't really speak English, so I did my best to say hello and greet them. They seemed very excited to see a visitor, never mind one with white skin, which I later found out that I was the second one to visit and that they are only seen once in a while driving by in the main road from time to time. They were so excited to see me that I couldn't even exit the vehicle. I think Bravo was destined to be my sponsor child as he immediately broke the ice, began joking around and doing a little dance, which he performed frequently during the visit.

After things calmed down a bit, I got out and we walked up a slope to the main part of the village where Bravo and some of his family live. Now this was sparse. There were 3 or 4 main huts, and a covered area, where a few seats were set up. I was told to have a seat and the majority of the village gathered around. There was about 30-40 people who lived in the surrounding areas of the village, all with similar set ups. It was fascinating to see their reaction towards me. They seemed very happy to have me. I was introduced to Bravo's family and some extended family, and sat down to be introduced to some of their local cuisine, Sadza, which is their staple and eaten at almost every meal but in different consistencies and resembles a porridge, as well as a melon, okra, baobab fruit, and two types of berry. One was referred to as black berry and it looked like a black cherry and tasted nothing like either, rather like a bitter prune. The other, which I forget the name of looked like a pink oval raisin, but was mostly pit, covered in a skin. It was hard to imagine that this is what they primarily live on. Luckily, they do have goats and pigs, which they slaughter from time to time. I was explained they do farm some crops, but mostly gather, and utilize the small amount of livestock they may have.

After I sampled a bit of the local cuisine, we began trading questions about each others homeland, and some questions and answers turned out to be quite comical. Most comical would be when Bravo would break out in a song or a dance, he was quite the entertainer. The whole interaction process was surreal. On one hand I found it so difficult to look at the surroundings and realize where these people live, however, on the other hand it was extremely touching to see them, seemingly un-bothered by it, entertaining a visitor, joking, and conversing. A few of them spoke broken English, but I think most understood what I was saying. The interpreter was essential as I had no idea at times what they were saying. After some conversation, we took some photos and I saw where Bravo and his mother sleep. It was shocking to see the simplicity of the mud hut and few blankets, no bed. A child was sleeping there very peacefully.

It was then time for me to give the food to the village and gifts to Bravo and his family. Everyone was so appreciative. I think the pinnacle of the experience was when Bravo's father grabbed me, shook my hand and then, in broken English thanked me so much for my contributions to Bravo's life and the community. And then he gave me a big hug. It was very moving and it made me happy that I could contribute, even though I could probably do more. After some final words to the village from myself, the World Vision staff, Bravo's father and uncle, it was time for me to leave. I found it hard to leave and difficult saying goodbye. When I was leaving, I was reminded of a Dumb and Dumber quote, "I hate goodbyes". I was thinking about saying it, but I figured it might get lost in translation.

As I was walking back into the truck, I had so many mixed emotions. It was truly facinating interacting and having the community share their food and culture with me. I really appreciate having the experience provided by World Vision and I was very happy to see where my sponsorship money was going. By providing some simple things such as clean water, livestock, teaching farming techniques, and providing medical treatment and AIDS education, it is just a few simple ways to help the community become self sufficient and I could really see how much the community appreciated it. I'm having difficulty describing the multitude of emotions during this visit, but even though it was sad to see their living conditions, I admired their resiliency and ability to make the best out of things. Not to mention to be able to still joke around, dance and enjoy life. Everyone’s smiles will never be forgotten, and this entire experience will be one I'll always remember.

-J
(scroll down for more photos)

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