The Citizen, 2003-10-22, Page 29THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 22, 2003. PAGE 29.
Zimbabwe trip, experience of a lifetime for woman
By Elyse DeBruyn
Citizen staff
Darlene Hemingway of Brussels,
took a trip to Zimbabwe after
reading a poster asking people to
participate in the Global Youth
Summit and the Mennonite World
Conference Centre.
“I saw the poster and thought this
would be awesome. I would really
enjoy it there.”
She wanted to join a larger group
of people because she had never
went before.
Her plane left from Toronto on
Aug. 3 and she arrived Aug. 5 after
making a 10-hour stop in London.
England.
When she arrived in Zimbabwe it
was 18°C, but all the women had on
heavy sweaters and coats to keep
warm from the “winter.”
Hemingway said one women
asked her if there was snow in
Canada and when she said yes “the
women shuddered just thinking
about it.”
She spent four days at the Global
Youth Summit that had about 200
delegates from all around the world.
They held discussions about youths
around the world and what the
Mennonite Church can do to support
the youths.
Then she spent five days at the
World Conference Centre with an
attendance of about 6.000 people. It
was an international gathering of
people participating in worship
sessions and seminars. Each day
they had a worship with a theme of a
different continent. For example one
day it was Africa and the next it was
North America. The conference had
two parts to it, Assembly Gathering
which was the conference and
Assembly Scattering which was a
service opportunity to help out
around Zimbabwe.
Her group went to Shelter of Hope
for street children and together
they built a playground for the
children.
The children had just received a
new soccer ball from another
charitable organization and the boys
started a game immediately.
Hemingway said the children were
playing the game on broken glass
and sharp rocks with no shoes, but
they didn't say anything to them
because they were told it has always
been that way.
She said the people of Zimbabwe
are very poor. Children beg on the
streets trying to get any kind of food
they can
To show just how poor the country
is, she said the average man will
make 8,000 zim dollars every
month. Out of that, 4,000 zim dollars
goes to transportation to and from
work and 2,000 goes to rent. The
man is left with about 1.000 to 2,000
zim dollars to spend on food and
other expenses. That may sound like
a lot of money, but 900 zim dollars
will buy one loaf of bread.
Hemingway said Zimbabwe was
and wasn’t what she had expected.
“I knew I was going into a third
world country, but I didn’t know
what to expect. There was a lot of
joy in spite of the way things are.
There is no violence.”
At the conference, the meals for
the 6,000 guests were prepared over
an open fire. They ate rice and a com
meal “mush” called sadza, which
you had to get used to because it is
served with lunch and dinner. They
also ate chopped up swiss chard and
chicken or beef.
She stayed at Polytechnic College
in the dorm rooms with a roommate.
Unfortunately she was
hospitalized for her last two days in
Zimbabwe after eating bad meat that
was infected with bacteria.
Hemingway said the people of
Zimbabwe seem more grateful than
the people here.
“They are more thankful because
of the desperation there. People will
Fun day
On Oct. 18 the Brussels Guiding Unit enjoyed a “bring-a-friend” day at the Brussels
Mennonite Fellowship with the idea to introduce Guiding to the girls in the area. About 30
girls arrived to enjoy the fun-filled day of games and entertainment. Anyone interested in
becoming a Girl Guide should contact Janet Mitchell at 887-6618. (Elyse DeBruyn photo)
do anything for money.”
She said their dorm rooms were
cleaned three times every day by
women who haven't been paid in
three months, but yet still work
hoping to get some money.
Hemingway said the most
important thing she learned from the
Zimbabwean people is to be thankful
for what she has.
"I learned that I can live with less
than what I have and we should be
more thankful for what we
have.”
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