Zimbabwe And Rahma’s Story
Zimbabwe
Air Tanzania is very good at reminding me of their flight delays, so good, they send me several emails stating the same thing. Their flight TC2122 to Harare, Zimbabwe, scheduled to depart at 11:00, will now take off at 16:00. Bummer. Then, their system gets confused and sends another email saying the flight is now departing at 13:00, followed by another saying it’s at 16:00, which gets Murtaza Bhimani and me, both traveling tomorrow in flux. We get conflicting information from the airline’s help desk – they can’t decide, so advise us to call kesho morning. When I get yet another email with our boarding passes for 16:00, I relax. The next day, Mushtaq Fazal, Murtaza, and I are on our way to Harare, eventually departing at 17:00.
The two hours and ten minutes in a cramped Bombardier turboprop aircraft are uneventful and smooth, except the temperature at Harare airport hovers at about 14°C, while Dar es Salaam was a balmy 30°C; all of us scramble to the terminal shivering. The visa process is simple and efficient but it takes up an entire page of my rapidly diminishing passport. Abdullah Makwinja, our host, and guide is at the airport to pick us up and take us to our hotel. This is my first visit to this once-promising country so I am excited to see the place but it’ll have to wait until after daylight tomorrow.
The weather after sunup is picture perfect in Harare, with unrestrained sunshine under a cloudless sky and crisp cool air. Zimbabwe enjoys some of the best weather year-round, not too hot, or too cold. It has very fertile land, gold, and many other precious minerals. No wonder the British and cronies put up such a fight in granting the country independence.
We visit the picturesque Fatema Zahra (a) Women’s Association (FZWA) in the city, where they have done wonders with the education and rehabilitation of orphans. The school they run is amazing, clean, orderly, and professional, with children who speak impeccable English. Here, I meet Rahma Mabveni alias Tsitsi – her fascinating and inspiring story follows.
The next day, we drive to the village of Chaona, some three scenic hours away. The roads are not very good but the vista is – hundreds of thousands of pregnant orange trees, laboring under their matured golden fruits, on the trees, and on the dirt floor. Subhaan’Allah. CAI is working with FZWA to possibly construct an elementary school for the children of Chaona village who must walk 5 – 12 kilometers to the nearest school. This project, CAI’s 85th global school, will begin construction as soon as all the due diligence and compliance issues have been sorted. Soon insha’Allah.
Rahma’s Story – In Her Words:
My name is Rahma Mabveni – nee Tsitsi. I was born in Harare to practicing Pentecostal Christian parents and I have four siblings. My father passed away when I was five so I do not have many memories of him. I was raised by my mother at my grandfather’s house in Mufakose. When my aunt passed away, she left three children behind whom my mother was tasked to care for. When we lost our home due to the severe economic crises that Zimbabwe faced under Mugabe, we had to move constantly, looking for the cheapest place to stay. These were not necessarily the ideal places to grow up in. Even so, I passed my elementary education at Aspindale Park School with distinction.
Poverty drove my mother away to Mozambique to look for work and we lost touch with her for a couple of months because she fell ill there. With no money to pay the rent, the landlord kicked us out and a well-wisher took us in. It was then that my eldest sister chanced to meet Hajar Makwinja, the founder of Fatema Zahra (a) Women’s Association, who sheltered us and gifted us a new lease on life. Here, at age fourteen, I flourished and wholeheartedly embraced Ahlebeyti Islam. I graduated in Human Resources Management from Zimbabwe Open University and am now serving as Deputy Director of FZWA, overseeing the running of the institute and school. I am now working towards a Diploma in Social Work from Women’s University in Africa. I want to work with struggling youths like me, providing them with some of the opportunities I was fortunate to have. I am engaged to be married as soon as my fiancé returns to Zimbabwe after finishing his education, insha’Allah sometime next year.
Allah has given me great opportunities; He has shown me the right path, helping hands from FZWA, an opportunity in education, and a promising future, insha’Allah. My extended family’s wary attitude towards my beliefs is the one dark spot in life. Although my mother did reluctantly accept my reversion to Islam, my extended family remain wary of my new faith.
Here is Rahma.
Two Blue And Gold Diamond Earrings – Limited Window
This is the last call to order my latest novel and support the education of CAI donor-sponsored worldwide orphans in several countries. I am printing the exact number of copies ordered and paid for by July 31, 2023.
The sale of my novels helps pay for tuition, books, uniforms, and after-school coaching for about 950 worldwide CAI orphans; I make no money from the proceeds. The novel will be published in late September 2023.
Click HERE for a few excerpts from the novel – perhaps you will purchase a copy or two or more? Priced at a modest US$77, one book sale will pay for about 3 months of a poor orphan’s education. Please click HERE to buy and change a life for the better. 1,182 print copies already purchased – Allah bless.