The 11 youth participating in Vanavevhu are the heads of their households. They range in age from 14 to 22.
“I CAN GO TO
BED KNOWING THAT I’VE
CONTRIBUTED TO THE
REBUILDING
OF A COUNTRY. IT’S SATISFYING.”
FROM PREVIOUS PAGE Mhangami has found the transition back to
living in Zimbabwe to be challenging as well as rewarding. “The difficulty comes from living in a country that doesn’t look like the one you grew up in,” she says. “Driving down the streets, you look at a fountain in a park, and you remember the plumes of water that used to go up every 10 minutes. It doesn’t do that anymore.” John Rex-Waller’s return to Zimbabwe this past
April was his first in 30 years. His impressions are similar. “What struck me was the infrastructure, which is in desperate need of repair,” he says. “Roads need repair. Streetlights don’t work. Park- ing meters are rusting on the pavement; there are power outages. I remember Bulawayo as this pristine, wide-streeted place, but when I went back, it was all different.” But he also sees reasons to hope. “The optimism of the people in spite of what
they’ve gone through is remarkable,” says Rex- Waller. “And now that the economy is dollarized, it’s expensive, but it’s stable.” Mhangami is similarly optimistic. “I’m very
lucky to be living at home in a moment of transi- tion,” she says. “I can go to bed knowing that I’ve
contributed to the rebuilding of a country. It’s satisfying. The political situation continues to rage on—and depending on where you stand, it can look like things aren’t getting better. We are at the edge of either falling completely into utter chaos, or seeing ourselves come out of this in a positive way, and there are positive stories to tell. People are coming back. There is hope.” Carlisle Rex-Waller, who is active in Vanavevhu
and is married to John, underlines the aspira- tions of Mhangami and the organization. “What I would say, or reiterate, is what a terrific group of kids Elizabeth has recruited and what a wonder- ful rapport she has with them,” she says. “Despite the many challenges they have faced and that lie ahead, there is such a positive dynamic that one cannot help but feel very hopeful.”
Elizabeth Mhangami is now working on capacity- building, finding avenues of support, and recruiting people with the expertise to help make Vanavevhu self-sustaining.
To learn more about the organization or to donate or become a volunteer, visit
Vanavevhu.org.
16
LOYOLA UNIVERSIT Y CHICAGO
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