Praying for a good harvest

Nicholas Mukokota has started his own vegetable and herb garden with the help of CAFOD in Zimbabwe [Alessandra Magri]

With power-sharing talks in Zimbabwe at a standstill, CAFOD takes a look behind the headlines at how the economic crisis is affecting ordinary people

When Nicholas Mukokota became ill and lost his job as a builder in rural Zimbabwe he didn’t know how to support his family.

“I was too ill, and couldn’t find the strength to work”, recalled the 46-year-old, adjusting his straw hat shading him from the blistering sun.

Nicholas and his wife Agnes found out that they were both HIV positive. They got in touch with Seke Rural Home Based Care, a local organisation backed by CAFOD.

“Seke helped us to get medical care and provided us with food. After a while I regained my strength and started farming to feed my family”.

Selling vegetables

With the help of seeds and fertiliser from Seke, Nicholas planted maize and has started a vegetable and herb garden.

Nicholas crouches down in the middle of his vegetable plot. Pulling some wet grass out of a bucket, he spreads the mulch onto the ground around some leafy green sprouts to keep them moist.

“I managed to harvest about 150kg of maize and thanks to this garden we were able to eat vegetables most days”, he recalls.

“Occasionally we even managed to sell a few vegetables at the local market. But transport has become too expensive so we can’t afford to go anymore".

Nicholas is one of thousands affected by the political and economic crisis crippling Zimbabwe. With inflation running at 231 million per cent most people cannot afford to buy the basic food they need.

Nicholas and his family received an emergency food pack when food was scarce. CAFOD, through its local partners, has distributed food to more than 70,000 people across the country.

“The only food we have at the moment is the maize meal, beans and cooking oil we received from Seke”. We are very grateful for the food we received. It has kept me and my family alive and well enough to farm”.

Nicholas hopes to grow more vegetables in the future, and also wants to protect his crops from animals with a wire fence. “The main problem is not being able to buy seeds because there are none in the shops”, he says.

For his wife Agnes, her dream is simple. “I pray for an abundant harvest so I have enough crops to feed my family and some left over to sell so I can send my children to school”.

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