We were encouraged to hear from Tawanda Masango who has now travelled to Rusitu village in eastern Zimbabwe, the location of Honeyworld Zimbabwe and part of the region struck by Cyclone Idai in March 2019.

Tawando said, “We’ve been able to meet some of the cyclone victims so that we can ascertain the nature of the damage to their houses and discuss plans for repair or rebuilding.

“As I write to you, we are working on the purchase of building materials to be delivered to the village in the coming week.  Three teams of builders will commence the work.

“Thanks to our generous supporters, we are aiming to repair / rebuild 20 homes, repair one water tank and provide 167 bee hives.  We’re not too sure how long the project will take but we hope to finish the building work by end of October before the heavy rains start.”

Cyclone Idai hit the Mozambican coast in March 2019 and swept across to eastern Zimbabwe and southern Malawi. Honeyworld Zimbabwe (HWZ), an innovative bee-keeping income generation project which Anglican Aid helps to support, was destroyed.

Tawando wrote, “From Chimanimani to Rusitu village, over 200 families have been displaced by the cyclone and many of them are living in tent villages. Many families remain in houses that are damaged and dangerous.

“The magnitude of the need is way beyond the capacity of HWZ, but we will do what we can. We will focus on Rusitu and Ndakopa areas where most Honeyworld out-grower farmers live. These areas are the least accessible and beyond the reach of most recovery work which finishes at Chimanimani township.”

Restoring water supply

Prior to Idai a water tank serving about 25 families in Ndowerani village had two inlet pipes. Now there is only one. There are plans to replace the lost inlet pipe as well as reestablishing two ¾ inch pipes to connect two families who lost theirs.

Busy bees

The cyclone and resulting landslides destroyed over 3500 hives. At this time HWZ will provide 167 new hives to some of the farmers who are registered out-growers with HWZ. As more funds become available, we can make more hives for those who are not yet HWZ out-growers.

A brighter future for local families

Precious and Eugen Raisi

Precious and Eugen are sisters whose marriages have broken down. Precious has three children, and Eugen has six children, including one living with disability. Day to day life is a challenge for them and the destruction of their house by the cyclone made things even harder. 

Tendai and Tsitsi Njobo

The Njobo home’s front two rooms were destroyed by Cyclone Idai. The remaining structure is cracked and dangerous. The family has already started making its own bricks and will provide river sand. HWZ will assist with other material.