“Orphan” wants to give back to the community

The notion that ‘home is best’ is a no-no for Nyasha*, a Zimbabwean woman who was trafficked to South Africa in 2009, at the age of 10. She only realised that she was in South Africa when she was seized by the police at Beitbridge Border Post (on the South African side).

Narrating her story to Limpopo Mirror, Nyasha said: “Back home, my mother passed away when I was very young. I do not know the whereabouts of my father. Different church members offered to take care of us. We are four in our family. Each member was looked after by a different church member. The one looking after me did not allow me to go to school. At the age of eight I used to work as a maid, making fire and washing dishes.”

She is currently being taken care of by the Christian Women Ministries (CWM) in Musina, a non-profit organisation that takes pity on vulnerable people.

Taizivei*, the eldest girl of the family who looked after Nyasha in Zimbabwe, used to work in South Africa, but Nyasha did not know what type of work she did. She was to find out when Taizivei trafficked Nyasha from Harare to Beitbridge, where she was intercepted at the border with Nyasha.

“The police seized us, and I could not say much to them. The trafficker (Taizivei) disappeared somewhere at the border. Later, the police handed me and other minors over to Save the Children, a non-profit organisation that supports the rights of children in South Africa.”

Nyasha was very happy to learn that she would be allowed to go to school. Back home, she had never attended school. She passed matric in 2020 and her goal is to become a teacher and work in South Africa.

“I really have something to offer the country that nurtured me. The community around the shelter assisted with food and clothes whenever our shelter was running low on these needs. If, by grace, I can train as a teacher, I would really want to come back to Musina and give back to the community,” said Nyasha, who has no desire to go back to Zimbabwe to live.

Though Nyasha passed matric, she cannot be accepted at any institute of higher learning. According to the CWM director, Jacob Matakanye, she must go back to Zimbabwe to get a passport in order for the CWM to assist her.

*Nyasha and Taizivei are not their actual names

News - Date: 07 March 2021

Bernard Chiguvare

Bernard Chiguvare is a Zimbabwean-born journalist. He writes mainly for the online publication, Groundup.

Email: [email protected]