Dindi and Mashambanahka

10 February 2012

 

Dindi Clinic

Dindi Clinic is in a remote area near the Mozambique border.  In 2005 CUMC built a new clinic and staff housing here.  We travelled 3 hours, over tar and rough dust roads to visit Dindi Mission, its schools and the clinic.  Med Paks with drugs specifically packed for Zimbabwe were presented to the clinic staff. 



Waiting to see the nurse at Dindi



Dindi countryside



Between Dindi and Mashambanahka




Learning under a tree, Mashambanahka



We continued on to Mashambanahka Mission and here also presented a Med Pak.  At Mashambanahka we toured the mission and learned that they need to build three school blocks for the recently started secondary school.  The secondary school classes currently meet in the church, under trees, and sometimes in primary school classrooms.  At the end of the visit to the Murewa area, the team assessed the potential projects we had visited, we voted to partner with Mashambanahka to build a new school block.  A team from CUMC will travel to Zim for several weeks in the spring of 2013 to help with the project.



Between Mashambanahka and Murewa



Leaving Mashambanahka, we drove through an emerald green landscape under azure skies.



Unpacking, repacking



Med paks and other supplies and gifts are brought into Zim in suitcases brought as extra luggage by team members.  Excess luggage gets paid, but this time there was a snag.  Zimbabwe now has a 40 % customs duty on the assessed value of goods coming into the country, even if for humanitarian purposes.  Some supplies were allowed through duty free, but others were held at customs for three days and finally released after much work by local friends and several trip back and forth to Harare and the airport.  Once the suitcases of goods and supplies arrive then the sorting begins, school supplies and all else divvied up for the places we visit.