While the world celebrated love and mushy feelings, the first COVID-19 case was recorded in Egypt, making it the first case on the African continent. Immediately, the media was awash with aghast and worrisome reports of what the pandemic would mean for Africa. “A ticking time bomb” is what experts called it. All these gruesome predictions were not necessarily unfounded, regarding our overburdened healthcare facilities and already struggling economies. Challenges ubiquitous in the continent would only confound the devastation. For example, what would happen to those in crowded living conditions without reliable access to clean water, and not in the very least, how were most families going to afford a meal?

 

 

There were mixed feelings when the nationwide lockdown was announced in Zimbabwe. On one hand, it made sense in curbing infection spread whilst buying authorities time to map a way forward. On the other hand, there were concerns over what it would mean for our economy, which, already vexed by its own issues, was on life support. Would we able to resuscitate it after the pandemic, or the already fallen giant would finally breathe its last? Those were the two major hands whose members supported their respective stance quite vehemently in emotionally charged posts that made waves on social media. Perhaps that is what made the third hand invisible. I also would not have acknowledged its existence had it not been for the shoe cobbler who works just outside our house, and the fateful afternoon before lockdown where I happened to be passing his stall as he told his colleague, “I don’t think I can afford to feed my family after the first week of this lockdown”. We are now in Week 8.

No prizes for guessing what the third hand is, but in case you are still trying to figure it out: it’s hunger.

 

 

Zimbabwe has the second biggest informal economy as a share of its economy, contributing about 60.6% to the overall GDP. Most people do not have a basic salary and rely on informal trade to put food on the table. The COVID-19 pandemic could not have come at a worse time for the country; in December 2019 the World Food Programme announced that Zimbabwe was facing its worst hunger crisis in 10 years, with half of the population –over 7 million people– categorized as food insecure.

 

 

Meet Samantha Murozoki. I call her Sammy because she is my friend so I guess you can call her that too. Sammy is a Zimbabwean immigration lawyer who was working in South Africa but came home just before the nationwide lockdown. Moved by the plight of mothers in her community who confided of their struggles to feed their children, Sammy decided to start a relief kitchen from her house to make sure that families in her community ate at least once a day.

 

 

Sammy started her kitchen with 2kg of rice and 500g of beans that served 24 people. Since that first meal, the number of people doubled the next day to 48, and then exponentially to over thousands in the space of 30 days. At some point, she even had to barter her jeans and sneakers for food supplies. Her mantra was that no one would be turned away. 

Every morning, maize porridge with peanut butter is served to hundreds of children who wait eagerly in winding queues to be served in lunchboxes, plates and cups carried from their homes. And every evening, supper is served to struggling Chitungwiza residents who depend on Sammy’s kitchen for their daily sustenance. 

Observing social distancing rules such as sanitizing everyone, serving only one person at a time, and making masks a prerequisite for everyone coming to the kitchen, Sammy has made sure that accessing food is not only free but safe.

 

 

News about the impact Sammy was having in fighting hunger; a silent epidemic in the populous township of Chitungwiza, spread like wildfire on social media. Corporates and individuals around Zimbabwe rallied behind her efforts by making food donations and monetary contributions to ensure the relief kitchen continues. Her noble endeavor has been celebrated as valiant by many.

 

 

Forbes has recently released an article highlighting that the countries that have had quite notable successes in fighting the COVID-19 pandemic are led by women. The United States Bureau of Labor statistics estimated that 80% of healthcare workers are women. As humanity faces its darkest hour in this pandemic whose devastation to spheres of being has been pegged as worse than the World Wars, our frontline is literally mostly women.

 

We find ourselves in a bitter albeit opportune moment to rewrite history. It sucks that it had to take a pandemic for us to realize the power that women have, but since we are here, I guess that it is just as good starting point as any.

 

Africa celebrates her daughters who, like Sammy, are helping their communities to survive within this pandemic in their own way. To the women who are sharing their meals with a neighbor, to the young women who are helping to bring valid information about the pandemic to remote areas, to the young women who are volunteering at shelters that are helping victims of gender-based violence, and to those who will work tirelessly to read, edit, compile and translate all these stories: thank you!

 

And to whoever is reading this, I hope Sammy’s story encourages you that though humanity is facing its toughest fight yet, we can all find optimism and light in the tenacity of the human spirit. Even in the pits of lack, hunger and strife, generosity can still shine through.

 A young woman has single-handedly proven that to a whole country.

 

Daina Mandewo is a 23-years old final year medical student from Zimbabwe. She is passionate about global health and ensuring equitable access to healthcare for everyone. Her ultimate dream is to work for the World Health Organization. She is a volunteer at Open Tribe School  providing psychosocial support for a group of adolescents living with HIV/AIDS in southern Africa. 

Daina considers herself as a humorous person and believes that she could have made a career out of stand up comedy. She loves writing as it helps her to gather her thoughts and express herself. And she has published her first story when she was 10-years old in a local newspaper.