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| The new Watira family house |
TellZim Reporter
BIKITA –
The United Methodist Church (UMC) recently intervened in a dire humanitarian
situation by building proper houses for four Bikita families that had been
living under deplorable conditions since March 2019 when Cyclone Idai hit their
area.
The
handover of the houses was done on December 19, 2020 in the presence of senior UMC
leaders including Bishop Eben Nhiwatiwa and Masvingo district superintendent Rev
Jairous Mafondokoto as well as members of the church’s Bikita Circuit.
The
five roomed houses, which were handed over to families in the Musukutwa and
Chirorwe areas of Bikita Rural District Council wards 20 and 21, were built
under the UMC Cyclone Idai Rehabilitation Program.
The
beneficiaries were the Muziro, Watira and Machingura families all of Ward 20,
as well as Ratidzo Zvenyika of Ward 21.
In
her remarks, Ratidzai Zvenyika said she was glad that year 2020, with all its
difficulties, had ended on a good note for her as she now had good
accommodation.
“I
have experienced the love of God firsthand. This is one gesture I had not
expected and I am glad that as family, we now have a proper roof over our head,”
she said.
A
controlled number of villagers turned out for the handover ceremony in keeping
with social distancing rules in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
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| The new Chigweshe family house |
Rehabilitation
of the families was made possible courtesy of the partnership between the UMC Zimbabwe
West Annual Conference and the Baltimore Washington Annual Conference of the
United States of America.
The
church donated all building materials and paid eight builders and eight
assistant builders in full for the construction.
The
predicament of the families was brought to the attention of the church through
the Circuit lay leader Jimmy Muzondi, Bikita circuit pastor-in-charge Rev Jacob
Mushukuto and Rev Mafondokoto.
The
Zimbabwe West Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church seconded UMC On
Relief (UMCOR) to spearhead the rehabilitation programme, with Dr Morgen
Jeranyama being tasked to assess the homesteads as consultant.
Construction
was done with professional supervision from UMC Masvingo member Cassian
Mutsambiwa, an architect, while the beneficiary families were tasked with
moulding their own bricks, gathering sand and other requirements in keeping
with the church’s Chabata concept.
Other
community members were also mobilized to assist in the project as volunteers in
order to give the project a collective dimension.
“All
the collective efforts led to a milestone pillar of tangible Christian works.
We thus were proud to witness a sure demonstration of love as God handed over
the completed houses each with three bedrooms, a sitting room and a lounge with
a sizeable verandah to the beneficiaries,” said Rev Mafondokoto.
He
thanked Bishop Nhiwatiwa, the Baltimore Washington Conference, Rev Mushukuto and
all stakeholders who worked hard to make the project a reality.
UMC
is a mission-driven Church whose existence in Zimbabwe dates back to 1897 and
is driven by the mission, ‘Making
Disciples of Jesus for the transformation of the World’.
