This month of July, we made visits to all our communities along with our Belgian Rotary friends and main supporters. We were also joined to some of the communities by our newly found partners from Rotary Clubs in Harare. Our goal was to assess the impact of the overall training that our first group of participants received in December 2013.
All our visitors were amazed by the impact our work has had in the communities already. The mushroom production is just a small part of our success. The impact has already gone beyond just growing mushrooms from waste and selling them to earn an income. The communities are waking to a whole new level of hygiene practices, healthy eating and production of food in environmentally sensitive and sustainable manner as well as a deep sense of community and more so, a community where orphans and women are responsibly engaging in the development of the community and pioneering the implementation of new initiatives!
The testimonials from members of the communities, other than the individuals we trained showed just how much has shifted since. The councilors and village headmen are committing themselves to assist in all ways they can to ensure continuity and expansion of the project. In Kwekwe, a retired school headmaster has taken it upon himself to be the salesman of the group, selling all the mushrooms without asking anything in return.
In the words of our visiting friends:
“What we witnessed was just beyond our expectations!”
We are witnessing the rising of a new hope and each time our strength and commitment to continue is renewed.
