AFRICA CLOSEUP / FAITH
AT HOME
| Introducing Faith |
| Masiye Camp Explained |
| The Splashgirls |
| The Swiss Connection |
| Faith talks about AIDS |
| Faith and Volunteering |
| Ezekiel Mafusire, Masiye Camp Director |
| Faith and School |
| Faith Visits Her Rural Home |
| Faith at Home |
| About |
| Contact |
Copyright
2005 Zina Saunders All rights reserved |
 Faith in her corner of the room. Click image for larger version |
Faith lives on the outskirts of Bulawayo, about 5 kilometers from town. Describing her house, she says, "Yes, I share it with another lady, we stay together in a room because we share the bills; it's a bit better that way."
A friend had sent her a small digital camera, but using it poses a problem, "I am very scared everyday that they might steal it; it's true that the crime rate is very high this side, because people are poor and they are not employed.
"I try by all means never to carry it at night, especially if I am alone. Even in the afternoon, it's very dangerous to carry it visibly. I put it in the pockets of my trousers or my jacket. Because everyday there is a possibility that they ask for your bag, your phone, etc., etc.
"It's dangerous, hey, but we are used to it."
She doesn't have a lot of time to spare for leisure, between studying and working and going to school, but, she says, "For fun, I like watching movies in theaters and also my friend gets video tapes and we watch them at her house." One of her favorite movies is "John Q", a Hollywood film starring Denzel Washington about a man who is driven over the edge because his health insurance won't cover his son's heart transplant. It resonates for her, there in Zimbabwe where people with HIV receive no effective health care. Urging me to see it she said, "Oh yeah, definitely you need to watch it! Please do watch it, if you do, tell me what you think about it!" She described it's impact on her, "It was real to me and it made great sense to me," she says, "It's really moving. The first time I watched it, I cried. I have watched it almost 4 times now. It moves me."
Faith also loves to cook, "Oh, I like cooking for a few people, not a crowd. I am a very good cook, I know. I like cooking African dishes." I ask her to describe the dishes she makes, "Dishes like sadza (you use mealie-meal), samp, roundnuts, water melons (cooked), 9/10 of them I don't know their names in English. But these are some of the names: mfushwa, umxhanxa, inopi, inkobe, imibhida, idelele, imbambayila, indumba, simoni... there are many.
"If you come to Zimbabwe some year I will make them for you..." she promises.