Right after meeting at the airport in Doha, Qatar, we found ourselves overwhelmed by the realization that we would be in Zimbabwe in less then a day. With our bags packed with condoms, reusable pads, capes (I mean t-shirts :D) and all of our workshop materials, we were both ready to fly south of the Equator for the first time in our lives.
After a short layover in Johannesburg (South Africa), we finally landed in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. After meeting up with Sally and delivering half of our materials for her to keep safe for our workshop in Harare, we ran to catch one last flight.
Our next and final destination was the city of Bulawayo, southwest of Harare. As the day was coming to an end, we were boarding on our AirZimbabwe flight. (Fun fact: Zimbabwe’s first all-female deck flew an AirZimbabwe flight in November 2015. 🙂 Read more about it here).
On our short ride to the place where we’re staying we chatted with our taxi-driver, Festo, who recommended that we try Sadza while in Zim. Festo is pleasant and easy going. By the end of the day we were exhausted and really looking forward to sleeping before getting up to meet our friend & helper in Bulawayo-Winnie.
On Saturday morning we met up with Winnie. Over coffee Winnie told us about her activist background, her experiences in educating young women and her goals and aspirations. The energy she radiated was contagious as she told us about the struggles and challenges that she faces as a young woman, fighting for her education. She explained the Development Studies course that she just enrolled in as the song “Superwoman” by Alicia Keys plays in the background at the Cafe Munandi.
(We are preparing a special Supergirl Profile post on Winnie and all the amazing things that she does in life. We will be getting to know her better over the next week and we are so excited to share more of her story with you!) We spent almost 2 hours chatting with this lovely woman.
“I would still never live anywhere else.” Winnie says, with a smile on her face, as we briefly discuss the current situation in Zimbabwe and the difficulties that young people are facing. She explained that while it was sometimes a struggle, it was still her home.
After our coffee we stopped by the Bulawayo Public Library, where the Librarian Letshani confirmed our workshop venue and helped us set everything up for our first day of work: Monday.
Now we are sitting in our room, winding down our first, amazing Saturday in Zimbabwe, preparing for our workshops on Monday and excited to meet our Supergirls :).
Please send any questions or suggestions about topics you’d like to know more about our way. We’ll keep you updated!
Until then, sending positive vibrations from the City of Kings,
Adna & Claire
SUPERGIRLS OF ZIMBABWE 