The first trip for 2020 has just been completed by Dave Austen who did the round trip and Hannes Botha who assisted with the stock purchases and packing of the boxes in Zimbabwe, he also does all the Bulawayo and surrounds deliveries. A huge thank you to both for all your work and effort. Please enjoy reading the trip report along with some of Dave’s adventures.
This was the first trip in the history of the ZPSF that we did not have Maize to distribute to our Golden Oldies due to the horrendous shortages. Although we loaded the boxes with Cereals, its just not the same. We have reduced the time frame between the trip to between 5-6 weeks, this means we will be doing 8 instead of the usual 6 trips in 2020. We are also looking at trying to bulk up the boxes so that these aid boxes last longer, however all of this is funds dependent. But we are doing our best and will never give up.
I am sure most of you are aware the situation in Zimbabwe currently is critical and help is desperately needed by all.
A small snippet of an email we received recently from two of the Golden Oldies we support:
Sidney Alison Aged 70
Joey Aged 70
We are truly very grateful to you the donors, for the Parcels that we receive from ZPSF on a bi-monthly basis. We will always be eternally grateful to, Hannes Botha and his great team of staff and volunteers who so very
faithfully and labour at all times of the day and night to make it possible for these parcels to be packed and delivered. The drivers of all the transport from S Africa to Zimbabwe and return, which entails crossing the Boarder with all the hassles that they endure that we may so very blessed with such great love and compassion.
Joey and I would not be able to survive without this wonderful support from ZPSF that we receive every 6 weeks. Yes we have a fair story to talk about, I suffered 3 heart attacks starting from 2018, during 2009 /2010 over night we were robbed of all we had and owned, as we had incurred such great medical costs that we had to use all our savings and to sell what we could to pay for a Pace Maker to be fitted.
After which Hannes came to visit us, as he had heard of our situation, and that I was still in recovery mode, when Hannes gave us our first blessing of a Parcel and has been doing so since and continued so even now. So from Joey and I we owe a debt that we could never repay and will be eternally grateful to Hannes and his team for all they are doing for us the Pensioners in Zimbabwe under major constraints.
With all our thanks and appreciation.
Best regards
Sid And Joey
These food hampers serve 2 purposes.
1 They supply much needed food to the pensioner.
2 The pensioner then knows that someone cares about them
Cathy Buckle – On the situation in Zimbabwe from her point of view
“Hungry Zimbabwe and the scorpion in the sink,” is my Letter From Zimbabwe today. Please visit http://cathybuckle.co.zw/ for previous letters and www.lulu.com/spotlight/CathyBuckle2018 to order my books. For book orders exclusively in South Africa, go to http://burbleonline.co.za/c/272
Dear Family and Friends
When I put my fingers into a black china bowl of water in the sink to scoop out what I thought was a leaf, I found myself holding a small black scorpion. A yelp of alarm, a few unrepeatable swear words and a quick flick of my wrist left the scorpion running around the sink, its stinger poised, and me realizing what a close call I’d had. The thought of a 30km journey on eroded, potholed roads to the nearest health facility which very likely wouldn’t have electricity or water, would probably not have doctors, definitely wouldn’t have medicine and with no cash in my purse to pay for any help I needed, made the reality of life in Zimbabwe very frightening.
This is the fact of the shocking situation Zimbabweans are trying to survive in the second collapse in our country in just over a decade. A situation where the taps are usually dry, the power is almost always off, banks have no money, fuel stations are mostly dry, over half the population needs food aid and the rest of us can’t afford most of the food in the shops. Drought or not, it’s fair to say that Zimbabwe is again in a state of deep failure.
In the past fortnight we have seen scenes in Zimbabwe not witnessed since 2008, things we thought, hoped, prayed we would never have to see again. We have, yet again run out of our staple food: maize meal.
It’s not as if we didn’t know this was coming; for months International Aid agencies have been calling for donations, warning of hunger, starvation and even famine. Meanwhile our government has been talking about it, promising no one would go hungry and putting a positive spin on the looming disaster in interviews in Davos, but all of that did nothing to stop us going full speed into the brick wall.
Speaking in Bulawayo two weeks ago our Agriculture Minister, (Former Air Force Commander, Retired Air Chief Marshal) Perence Shiri, said there was only 100,000 tons of maize left in the country’s grain reserves. Zimbabwe consumes 80,000 tons of maize a month which meant that a fortnight ago there was only enough maize left in the country for five weeks. The cold hard fact of the situation now is that Zimbabwe needs to be moving twenty thousand tonnes of maize into the country every single week.
For the past fortnight there has been no maize meal to buy in the shops. Empty shelves have been filled with rice, an unaffordable option for most people. In urban areas you see queues of hundreds of people outside supermarkets waiting for the chance to buy one 10kg bag of roller meal. As deliveries come in the queues swell, tempers flare, queue jumpers push in and in a ridiculously short space of time the sales stop and the managers say they have nothing left, everything’s been sold. Exactly as it was twelve years ago, every dirty trick in the book is being played. Mysterious night time loadings from back doors, cars with tinted windows and an instant black market has emerged.
In a nearby rural area the Headman called the whole village to a meeting to relay the news that International Food Aid was about to come. Representatives of two hundred families in the village gathered and were told that every family was going to be given international food aid once a month for the next four months. This would consist of 10kgs of maize meal per person in the family and an unspecified amount of cooking oil and dry beans. The Headman proceeded to make a numbered list of all the two hundred families in that village.
The news of food aid had come from the Chief of the district, representing twelve villages each with an estimated two hundred families. From village to village the people were called, the lists made and one person from each family told to go to a central distribution point at a school seven kilometers away. Representatives of two and a half thousand families gathered, arriving early in the morning and then they waited, and waited. At 4pm an announcement was made. There was only enough food for five families from each of the twelve villages; only sixty of the two and half thousand families would get food, everyone else must go away and try again next week.
Zimbabwe is restless, people are desperate but there is no sign of relief from our government. We are still crippled by the 2% tax on every bill we pay, every item we buy, every service we use, every mouthful of food we eat. It seems we just keep on putting our hand into the bowl with the scorpion.
Until next time, thanks for reading this Letter From Zimbabwe, now in its 20th year, and my books about life in Zimbabwe, a country in waiting, love cathy. 7th February 2020. Copyright © Cathy Buckle. http://cathybuckle.co.zw/
For information on my books about Zimbabwe go to www.lulu.com/spotlight/CathyBuckle2018 . For archives of Letters From Zimbabwe, to subscribe/unsubscribe or to contact me please visit my website http://cathybuckle.co.zw/
For book orders exclusively in South Africa, go to http://burbleonline.co.za/c/272
We are an officially registered Non-Profit Organization and Section 21A in South Africa and are registered with SARS as a Public Benefit Organization in terms of section 18A the Income Tax Act (Which means all South African donations are issued with a Tax Certificate and can be claimed back). PLEASE LET US KNOW IF YOU WOULD LIKE A TAX CERTIFICATE STATING ALL YOU DONATIONS. PLEASE NOTE THEY ARE ISSUED BASED ON OUR FINANCIAL PERIOD SO THE CURRENT ONES ARE FOR MARCH 2019-FEB 2020. They will be issued once our Financial Year End has been processed, so from about mid-April 2020. UK supporters can be issued with a Gift Aid Certificate via Betti-Ann McLean and the USA account is now a Registered 501(c)3 organization and as such Tax-deductible receipts available for USA donors via Alice Short.
Please Note for a Tax Certificate I require the following:
- Physical Address
- Contact Number
- If Business – Registered Name, Comp Number
- Private – Initials and correct Surname
Our Various Banking Details:
Our new general PayPal account Link – https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_s-xclick&hosted_button_id=LN6DPRGAPQ9B2&source=url
SA Account
ZIMBABWE PENSIONER SUPPORTER FUND
FIRST NATIONAL BANK
MALELANE BRANCH
BRANCH CODE 270952
ACCOUNT NUMBER 62239042906
SWIFT CODE FIRNZAJJ
Please if you make a Donation to this account is you can send a mail to myself linda@zpsf.co.za so that I can send you an acknowledgement of Donation.
UK Account
ZIMBABWE PENSIONER SUPPORT FUND
HSBC BANK PLC
SHAFTESBURY BRANCH
A/C No 71282786
SORT CODE No 40-41-01
Please if you make a Donation to this account is you can send a mail to Betiann at betiann1@sky.com so that she may send you an acknowledgement of Donation.
USA ACCOUNT
ZIMBABWE PENSIONERS SUPPORT FUND – USA
A Registered 501(c)3 organization. TAX-deductible receipts available for USA donors.
Donations via Paypal, use the following link:
USA address to post cheques
3901 Hillwood Way
Bedford TX 76021
To request additional information, or receipts,
email Alice at zpsf.usa@gmail.com.
Australia Account – Rhodesian Association of Western Australia
Rhodesian Association of WA
P & N Bank
BSB 806 015
Account No. 0181 1882
Please include name and ZPSF in the reference. Acknowledgement will be given in our quarterly newsletter. If a receipt is required, please let Doug know at admin@rhodesianassociation.com
As a Fund we rely solely on donations to do what we do. We receive no funding from any Government organization. A huge THANK YOU to all our supporters out there who continue to enable us to keep doing what we are doing. Your support is invaluable to us and we at the ZPSF would never be able to sustain our regular supply of relief parcels if it were not for donations such as yours. You our Donors ensure our wheels keep turning, you are all truly amazing. THANK YOU and God Bless.
If you have any queries, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Teamwork is the ability to work together toward a common vision. The ability to direct individual accomplishment toward organizational objectives. It is the fuel that allows common people to attain uncommon results. ~Andrew Carnegie
The 3 most important pillars of our cause:
UNIQUENESS – being one of a kind and knowing that the ZPSF is driven by good will and very passionate members.
TRANSPARENCY – enforcing the rule that all members must be fully informed before taking part in this noble venture.
ACCOUNTABILITY – Having a traceable paper trail for every cent handled, and regular revues conducted.
Kind Regards
Linda Schultz
Director – Fund Raising & Awareness for the Zimbabwe Pensioner Support Fund
(C) 079 6082676 (T) 013 7900934
Fax to Email – 086 267 8499
Section 21 Co Reg. 2007/034036/08; NPO Number 096733; Section 18A PBO No 930031642
Alone we can do so little, together we can achieve much more!!!!
Director: Hannes Botha
084 5893221