IM in Zimbabwe– Four Decades of Sustainable Development Aid

Thunder rumbles in the distance beyond the mountains, but here on the hillside the sun shines down on a landscape of low bushes and scattered trees across the dry earth. Miriam Kapenzi walks ahead, leading the way along the narrow path to her home. Just up ahead, with a sweeping view of the valley, stands a pink house with a wide veranda. Nearby, goats graze in a small paddock, and a lush kitchen garden sprawls in front of the house, abundant with cabbages, tomatoes, pumpkins and maize. Lemon trees heavy with ripe fruit frame the scene. Beside the main house stands a traditional outdoor kitchen, with smoke curling lazily up through the thatched roof.

Miriam settles herself on the veranda, catching her breath after the walk and adjusting her white headscarf. Pointing back towards the towering peak that rises behind the house, she says:

“Up there is the stream we use for irrigating our crops. It was IM that taught us how to build the water pipes. I built them with my own hands after my husband passed away back in 1997. I’ve been managing on my own ever since.”

A goat bleats loudly, calling for its kid. Miriam smiles warmly and continues:

“And those goats you see there – they’re the descendants of the first goat I received from IM, back in 2010 or 2011, I think.”

A Zimbabwe Scarred by War

Life on the mountainside in Nyanga, eastern Zimbabwe, appears almost idyllic. Yet on the road here, we passed crumbling huts and derelict shacks, stark reminders of widespread poverty. Why such stark contrasts?

To understand, we must look back – specifically to 1985. It was then that Barbro Cluley, working for IM, arrived in Manicaland province, in a Zimbabwe still reeling from a brutal war of independence. Unemployment was high, poverty widespread, and social unrest often erupted into violence. The country was also suffering under the weight of an HIV/AIDS epidemic and high infant mortality rates.

A few years earlier, IM had responded to a request from two local priests by donating 200,000 SEK to help rebuild a farm and two vocational schools destroyed during the war. Barbro Cluley’s task was to inspect how the funds had been used.

What she found was a struggling start: some activities were underway, but much more was needed to restart education and agriculture. Over the following years, container after container arrived from Sweden, carrying school desks and benches, sewing machines, looms, school supplies, and all manner of tools and equipment.

Within a few years, one of the vocational schools was thriving, training tailors, seamstresses, bricklayers, carpenters, furniture makers, and shoemakers. IM also funded a health clinic, built with help from a local women’s group.

Meanwhile, the large estate, Jenya Farm, came back to life: crops were planted, irrigation systems repaired, and new water channels dug. By 1992, the farm boasted 220 hectares of cultivated land, employed thirty workers, and had launched an agricultural training programme.

School Fees and Savings Groups

In the years that followed, IM’s operations in Zimbabwe expanded further. Several orphanages received support and supplies from IM, and many children had their school fees covered, especially in the early 2000s.

One such child is Tabanda Chingaga, Miriam’s nephew. After losing both his parents to AIDS at the age of ten, he came to live with his aunt.

“But Tabanda had no one else, so of course I took him in.”

“It was a very difficult time for me,” Miriam recalls. “My husband had already passed away, and I had my own children to care for. But Tabanda had no one else, so of course I took him in.”

Tabanda, who has now joined Miriam on the veranda, smiles affectionately at her.

Miriam continues:

“I managed thanks to IM. I received a pregnant goat and was asked to pass on some of the offspring to other families. Before long, I had a whole herd, providing milk and income. I also joined a savings and loan group organised by IM. Through it, I gained both capital and vital skills – in farming, poultry keeping, animal husbandry, and irrigation. It laid the foundation for everything you see here.”

Miriam gestures proudly across her land. The pride in her eyes is unmistakable.

Over One Million Orphaned Children

During Tabanda’s early school years, his fees were fully funded by IM. Once Miriam’s finances stabilised, she was able to take over paying for his education herself. Today, Tabanda is studying to become a mechanic at a two-year programme in nearby Mutare.

“If IM hadn’t supported Miriam so she could take me in, I’d probably have ended up living on the streets.”

“If IM hadn’t supported Miriam so she could take me in, I’d probably have ended up living on the streets – or worse, I might not even be alive today,” Tabanda says soberly.

His story is, sadly, far from unique. The AIDS epidemic of the late 1990s and early 2000s devastated the country, leaving an estimated one million children orphaned. Many were forced to leave school to support themselves and their siblings, trapping them in cycles of poverty and homelessness. Vulnerability to exploitation, child labour, and sexual violence was also widespread.

Clubhouses and Sewing Machines

Supporting children and their caregivers became a major focus for IM. In addition to paying school fees and providing materials, IM ran HIV/AIDS awareness campaigns, supported income-generating projects at schools, and encouraged the establishment of school kitchen gardens.

Recognising that women were often those caring for orphaned children, IM also prioritised creating sustainable livelihoods for them. Numerous women’s craft groups received tools and materials, and their crafts were sold in IM’s shops in Sweden.

Many of these groups are still active today. In Chipinge, we visit a clubhouse built by IM in 2004. Nelsah Kupangwa shows us around. She was there from the beginning when IM provided sewing training.

“The income we earned allowed us to send our children to school.”

“IM staff taught us how to sew, and they gave us sewing machines, tables, and fabrics. The income we earned allowed us to send our children to school and care for all the orphaned children in the village,” she says.

But the training extended beyond sewing and business skills – it also included gender equality, gender-based violence, child marriage, and sexual health and rights.

“We learnt that we have the right to take our place in society. Today I am the chairwoman of my church, and many of the other women also hold leadership positions,” Nelsah says with a smile.

Knowledge That Endures

The legacy of IM’s work is alive and well – and perhaps most importantly, it is knowledge that has proved the most lasting. Knowledge that no one can take away.

Recent years have brought major challenges: cyclones, droughts, extreme inflation, and the Covid-19 pandemic. Yet the resilience built through economic empowerment and education has helped communities weather the storms.

And perhaps that is the true answer to why Miriam, living in the mountains of Nyanga and having been part of IM’s projects, can sit proudly on her veranda overlooking her thriving fields, while others in nearby villages still struggle in poverty.

Aid is not about providing for the day – it is about creating opportunities for a lifetime. When resources, skills and support reach those who need them most, the foundation for empowerment and hope is laid. IM’s work in Zimbabwe is a testament to how sustainable aid can change lives – and continue making a difference long after the original effort has ended.

Miriam, Tabanda, and Nelsah are just a few of the many whose lives took a new direction thanks to the support they once received. And this is the essence of true aid – giving people the tools to shape their own future.

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Footnote: Due to cuts in the Swedish aid budget, IM will phase out its operations in Zimbabwe during 2025. Depending on future funding from Sida, all partnerships in the country may be suspended indefinitely.