Over the last few weeks, I have been reminded of an encounter I had when I went to Zimbabwe a few years ago. I could not really share it at the time as it truly disturbed me but I am becoming more aware of the importance of releasing the word and writing the vision down clearly so that those who can, run with it!
Not being the fittest person in the world at the time, I was not sure whether I would make it to the top of Mt Nyangani, a renowned sacred holy Mountain in Nyanga. We had been warned not to have mindless chit chat at any point whilst on the mountain but as I reached the top of it I was overwhelmed with the beauty of this mountainous region of Zimbabwe and could not help vocalise heartfelt prayer in the spirit. A prayer for this beautiful nation that I loved to flourish and arise and shine!
That night I was woken from a dream I had in the early hours of the morning, crying real tears and really shaken after seeing a vision of Zimbabwe as a mother whose breasts were full of milk, but had some hijacking contraptions attached to them where only a few were enjoying the richness and cream of her nourishment. My heart literally broke at the sight and emotion surrounding the whole scene. She had enough to feed every single one of her children and was looking down with tears in her eyes as she buried many of her children and was helplessly watching as many more on the ground were suffering. It is at that point I was reminded of Nehemiah who heard the news of the walls of his home Jerusalem having been breached.
I got my note pad and begin to write, probably in the same way that Martin Luther King wrote down his seemingly impossible dream all those years ago;
I have a dream…a dream of a people who will be able to look beyond their political affiliations, racial prejudice, educational background, sex or age and come together as one people, to fight with all they have to rebuild a nation they love. A people who will volunteer their expertise, time and money with no ulterior motives other than to make the nation of Zimbabwe great again. A people with the passion to see transport systems and roads made roadworthy again and medical facilities brought up to scratch again so no child or woman has to die in childbirth.
Every child given the chance of an education, clean water, food and the hope of a brighter future. People with mental or physical health issues given facilities in which they can thrive and have an opportunity to contribute positively to their society. A place that one can go back and live in again because it indeed is home. A people not concerned about making a name for themselves or obtaining power but who are prepared to serve their generation in resuscitating a nation that is down on its knees.
I see mother Zimbabwe, rich in mineral resources, fertile in its land, blessed with wildlife, great attractions crying out because its role and purpose as a mother is to feed its children and it has been stifled from being able to do so. Most of its children are crying, dying and are in abject poverty when it has within its bosom enough milk and honey to feed all of them. Every single one of them. It has buried many of its children prematurely and has that look of desperation and hopelessness in its eyes as if wonders who will take responsibility and turn this situation around. The womb of the land is in the soil and it is being stripped and left as barren as its productivity has been reduced to an extent that it watches as its children die of starvation.
I have a dream of a people who will come together as one and admit that enough has been done to pull the nation apart and that it is now a time to build together. We are tired of more political parties who promise the world but deliver nothing that brings real transformation for everyday lives. We as the people are the ones who have to be the change that we want to see. If everyone affiliated to the nation in Zimbabwe home and abroad donated a dollar a day we would just in a few years turn things around. If true friends of this nation could come together and all barricades from doing the necessary work, surely it would not take long to see tangible change that will see the strong pulse return back into the veins of this nation. If the government is unable and has justified excuses why it has failed from sanctions to the weather, the people certainly are able to mobilise with resources the facilities that are required to restore this beautiful nation. We are a people who mobilise weddings, parties, seminars and various personal projects which need money with such excellence and follow through. Surely if we had a transparent non-political green light from the leaders of the nation to rebuild it with the wealth of expertise just amongst us as a people, we could engage in the most incredible rebuilding project of our lives. A project whose success would be Good News for everyone!
1. We would start by mobilising teams- experts in Healthcare, Logistics, Finance, Education built up of people with a can-do and solution-based attitude to get things off the ground. Online monthly meetings held where strategies plans and ideas of how to implement the projects in order of priorities and get them off the ground would be held. This would be a massive operation that would take dedicated people with something to offer and give back freely.
2. Accurate information from the ground and a reliable transparent team that would unearth what is really needed on the ground to get everything up and running again. What resources are needed, what industries should be resuscitated first to provide the materials we do not need to import and what training is needed to be able to get all hands on deck? Close work with the government would need to take place and the abolition of bribes and backdoor methods would need to be enforced to achieve the objectives.
3. Campaign management and finance teams which will coordinate the collection of funds and resources needed for the rebuilding project. Strict measures put into place to ensure that no resale of these materials or mismanagement of the monies will take place once landed into the place to help people. An experienced board of trustees with a clean track record who ensures the appropriate release of funds and accountability back to the nation of every penny with consequences and taxing financial repercussions for failure to adhere at any of the responsible positions.
4. Less talk more action group of people who are tired of philosophising and analysing and are prepared to put the work in place to get the solutions off the ground.
As I have watched Zimbabwean people fulfil huge projects, business ventures ambitious globally as individuals, I can only imagine what we can do when we operate corporately in one accord on this one assignment! Oneness as a people is what is needed, a house divided against itself cannot stand!
Have I worked it all out? No! Do I have all the answers? No, but I believe that if you and I come into agreement that we want and are prepared to do this, with God leading and directing us, nothing will be impossible for this great nation with people who have overcome so much to achieve.
I have a dream! Nehemiah Project Zimbabwe