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More interactive activities can ease political tension amongst us: Gokwe Nembudziya community tells Heal Zimbabwe
Heal Zimbabwe Trust
May 10, 2012

People in Gokwe Nembudziya believe that if Government and Civil, Society organizations continue to come up with platforms that bring people of different political ideologies and affiliation together, there might be less cases of violence in the next election. " . . . This will make us unite against any outsider who may want to come and instruct us to beat or maim each other for their political gain . . . '' this was said by people who came together and worked the whole day picking the golden lint at four different fields under the Heal Zimbabwe Trust Kugara Hunzwanana project activities held on 06 May 2012 in Mtora, Copper Queen and Tsungai areas under Headman Nembudziya in Gokwe. The area is under Paramount Chief Chireya. Four farmers benefited from the activity.

The main field work was cotton picking, the area is a well known cotton growing and villagers from the surroundings of Copper Queens farms, Mtora business centre as well as villages around Tsungai business centre converged at four separate fields to help with the cotton picking process. Tsungai business centre recorded the highest number of deaths related to political violence in 2008. The Kugara Hunzwanana Nhimbe concept identifies those with a good harvest but facing challenges to harvest their produce alone. The platform gave people from different political persuasions around Mtora Business centre a platform to discuss issues affecting their communities and how can they foster a culture of peace and tolerance. The platform also created an opportunity for some people to closely interact for the first time in more than a year due to political tension.

Community leaders including Mtora ward 7 Clr Mudzori spoke to fellow villagers during lunch breaks and encouraged them to revive their co-existence that prevailed before the political violence in 2008.They all thanked HZT for rekindling the nhimbe/humwe concept which had died down due to individualism and polarization amongst communities. They all concurred that traditional mechanisms like these bring people together because of the richness of our culture as a people embedded on the Ubuntu/Unhu concept of the Zimbabwean community.

Heal Zimbabwe took the opportunity to reiterate its commitment to complimenting the Government to realize the objectives of article 7 of GPA in an apolitical manner. The platform was also used to gather input from the people in the area on other activities that can improve peaceful co existence and tolerance and lay a firm foundation for rebuilding communities through peace building and national healing. Major interventions that came up were from women who thought that community gardens can create a platform for continued interaction which cut across political party based segregation. Sport was also pointed out as one way of bringing a polarized community together.

Heal Zimbabwe will continue to work with the Gokwe Nembudziya community and other communities to foster a culture of peace and tolerance based on traditional and cultural values.

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