Zimele Wethu Reflections by Debbie Blue
The below post was written and re-shared with permission by Debbie Blue as she reflects on her December 2-9, 2019 trip to Zimele Wethu during a CWR Visit to KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
“Training has taken away the shame of being a beggar… That’s the dignity that we have now.”
“I’m committed for life to the self-help group!”
These were two quotes that profoundly captured the essence of the incredible and empowering work of Zimele Wethu in the rural communities of the Kwa-Zulu Natal province. As this trip was my second visit – the first to Zimele in 2013 and now to Zimele Wethu (launched 4 years ago) – I saw a remarkable difference in what is now happening in both the lives of individuals as well as families and entire communities.
From rural Durban (Zwelibovu) to Swayiane, Msinga and back to rural Durban (Tafelkop), we witnessed women in self-help groups (SHGs – small community groups), cluster level associations (CLAs – cluster of SHGs), and what hopefully will become a Federation (8 or more CLAs). In the SHGs, women who are economically challenged, faithfully brought their 5 Rand (~$.34 USD) weekly; while in the CLAs, each SHG brought their contribution to the larger fund. As a result, we visited sites where these women had launched their own businesses – chickens, crafts, catering, brick-making, organic farming, and more. Through CLAs, they are able to negotiate for discounts for bulk purchasing purposes, have set up computer training (4 computers), built houses for those in the communities in need, provided home-based care as they tend to the needs of the sick, and ensure that the vulnerable and orphaned children of the community who are without parents are provided care. I was especially moved by the desire of the women to expand their already existing burial society through their vision to have a morgue and a hearse. As much as possible, they seek to eliminate the shame of the family in not being able to afford a proper burial.
Almost every story we encountered touched my heart, like
the lone 81-year old man who came to a cluster meeting and heard stories of transformation. At the end of the meeting, he expressed his amazement in seeing something happening in the community that he had not witnessed in all of his 81 years!
Or the story of Nonhlahla, a vulnerable 12-year old child who along with her siblings suffered from abuse, neglect and an alcoholic father. As Nonhlahla came under the care of the Zimele Wethu women, they helped her realize her dignity and worth as they helped as well to provide her needs. End result – Nonhlahla is now, 10 years later, interning at the Zimele Wethu offices. She successfully escaped the traps of a teen pregnancy and is pursuing her education.
Or the daughter of one of the staff members who has returned home and joined the SHG that her mother belongs to. In her words, “I now have a future!”
Or the astounding jubilation of a cluster group as they received a sewing machine!
Dr. Audrey Matimelo, founder and executive director, along with a fully empowered staff (particularly Mazuma and Magida), have done incredible training to empower, equip, mobilize and set women (and some men) free to use their gifts and talents to transform communities – not solely for individual purposes, but based on the philosophy of ubuntu.
I am so grateful for this opportunity to not only see the powerful ministry of Zimele Wethu, but to learn the value of community; the necessity of not only business enterprise and economic development, but the importance and value of social capital – ubuntu! What a privilege to travel with Dave and Ronna, and the President of the ECC and his spouse, Julie. May this experience for John aid in the vision he has for the whole church.
I’ll end with this quote from President Obama as he reflected on the life of Mandela: “There is a word in South Africa — Ubuntu — that describes his greatest gift: his recognition that we are all bound together in ways that can be invisible to the eye; that there is a oneness to humanity; that we achieve ourselves by sharing ourselves with others, and caring for those around us.”
That is the power [and the women] of Zimele Wethu! How much can be accomplished when we work together for the good of all – economically and socially! We all have much to learn from the “poor.”
Thank you, Dave, for this wonderful experience; thank you, CWR, for the opportunity; and thank you, Irene Hill, for providing the resources to make the trip possible!!