I have always wanted to do a second trip to Zim with ZPSF and when Johan asked if I would be willing to drive the bakkie to Bulawayo and then assist with the deliveries in and around Bulawayo I did not hesitate to agree to making the trip as it would give me the chance to spend a week with my sister and hopefully meet up with some “old” friends.
My wife dropped me at the warehouse in Malelane early morning Saturday the 14th June where Johan and Linda were waiting with the bakkie and the truck. It was at this time that I found out that their son, Frans was on his way to Johannesburg in their Fortuner to collect Linda’s Mom and sister as Linda’s niece was having an 18th birthday party, in Bulawayo the following Saturday.
With the bakkie packed and the truck ready we departed for Messina at about 9.00am and made our way, via Bushbuckridge, Hoedspruit and Tzaneen to the N1 and our overnight stop in Messina. I was fortunate to have Linda as a passenger, and she kept we wide awake with her stories of her numerous trips to Zim with her late father. The trip was uneventful but as we got closer to the border the countryside became dryer and dryer and there was not much game to be seen even thru the Hoedspruit area.
Once on the N1 Frans met up with us and we all proceeded to overnight in Messina where I stayed with an old friend from my days in Rhodesia customs.
Early the next morning we all met up and drove to the border and arrived at about 8.00am to start the border crossing process. I must say that the SA side is exactly as it was many many years ago BUT the Zim side has been transformed into a modern border post with the latest electronic systems but still the whole episode took us 2 hours. Thankfully we had Frans with us as he knew the “ropes” and apart from the time issue there we no hassles.
I cannot say the same for Johan as he had to go via the commercial route and the whole crossing to him 4 hours. It would seem that there was a major backlog on the SA side. Frans and his passengers plus Linda and myself waited on the outskirts of Beit Bridge until Johan arrived 2 hours later.
We set off to Bulawayo with Johan in front with the truck closely followed by Frans and then Linda and I. The road is exactly the same as it was 2 years ago and made the going extremely slow. We had to make 1 stop on the way as ZPSF had been donated 50 pockets of oranges and we needed to collect these someway out of Beit Bridge.
After a long and slow trip we finally arrived at Linda’s sister Caroline’s house, in Bulawayo just as it was getting dark. We hastily unpacked the bakkie as I was going to spend the week with my sister and wanted to get to her house as soon as possible. I finally arrived at her house at about 19.30pm absolutely bushed, tired and hungry. We chatted for a short while and I was showered and in bed by 21.30.
The next morning, we had arranged that I would go back to Caroline’s house and from there we would go to the warehouse and meet Angela and crew and assist where necessary with loading the truck. Once again Angela and crew were organised and the truck with Johann and Frans left for Gweru at about 10.00am.
The guys then loaded all the stock for the various kitchens into the bakkie and Caroline, Angela and her son plus me started the round trip to make the deliveries to the designated homes. I must state that in all the homes the foodstuffs were gratefully received and we were made to feel really special.
We then made our way back to the warehouse to drop off Angela and her son and then Caroline dropped me at my sister. My sister had arranged for an old friend of mine to come for supper and the 3 of us had a late-night reminiscing about the “old” days and partaking of a few drinks.
Tuesday morning Caroline collected me and we went to the warehouse to load some of the individual boxes for folks living in the various homes around Bulawayo. It was once again a humbling experience to see the absolute joy and sometimes tears as people received their boxes. It makes one realise how blessed one is. Caroline and Angela are absolute stars in that they really show a great deal of compassion and really made the folks feel special. I must make mention of the fact that every box contained a “power bank” and these were so appreciated by the folks as cell phones were in most instances their only means of communication and with the unreliable electricity situation the only means of charging their phones. Once again it just highlights how much thought is put into what the needs are of the old folks.
I was dropped off back at my sister after the deliveries as I had brought some work with me and needed to make a start on the issue so spent the afternoon on my computer. My sister had arranged for another “old” friend to come for supper so another great evening telling stories and enjoying the company. Another late night but oh so worth it.
I had arranged to meet an old school friend, Dave Vernon, that I hadn’t seen for 50 odd years for coffee Wednesday morning. He picked me up at my sisters and we went to have a coffee and a chat. It amazed me how much of those school days that we both remembered especially the characters that we were at school with. I invited Dave to Sunday lunch at the Byo Golf Club as my sister had made a booking for us.
I spent the rest of the day on my computer and attended a bible study held at my sisters house. Early to bed as had arranged to accompany Caroline to do the deliveries to the Moth Cottages at Esigodini Thursday morning.
Caroline picked me up at 10.00 am and we drove thru to Esigodini and were met by a few of the folks and once again it brought it home to me that some of the folks are in a desperate situation and rely on the boxes from ZPSF.
I was dropped back at my sisters at about 12.30pm and carried on with my work tasks. Bed early as it was quite cold.
I took Friday off from my delivery duties as I was meeting another “old” friend that I used to play hockey with. He was taking me to OM’s Sports Club to meet some of his friends. The club is a bit run down to what I remember but still has quite a large bowls membership.
Saturday morning I went with my sister to a restaurant called “The Veranda” for breakfast and to meet some of her friends. The prices on the menu, when converted were quite something. A normal wimpy breakfast, with nothing special was equivalent to R260.00 so decided to have an omelette and coffee. We chatted so long that we decided to have tea and cake and forgo lunch.
Saturday afternoon we went to visit an old friend of my sister and more tea and cake. The lady lives by herself in this large old house and is quite happy to be by herself with numerous servants running around.
Saturday night was a quiet affair with a friend visiting my sister.
Sunday I went to church with my sister at the Whitestone School chapel and sitting in a pew next to my nephew my sister arrived with a lady and asked if I knew who she was. I had no clue but nearly fell on the floor when it was revealed that it was someone who had been in the same class as me from junior school thru senior school and I hadn’t seen her since leaving school. What an amazing occurrence and makes the whole trip so much more rewarding. Also met one of the recipients of our boxes and he could not express his gratitude enough.
Sunday lunch at the Byo golf club and meeting new friends and having a few drinks which was really special. Thereafter a lazy afternoon in preparation for the trip the next day.
I was picked up at 06.00am Monday morning and we all congregated at Caroline’s home and packed the vehicles in preparation for the trip back. Johan had already left in the truck so Frans and I could at least travel at a reasonable speed until we caught up to the truck on the way to Beit Bridge. We had to stop and make a delivery to a lady living by herself on a farm along the road. Apart from the numerous road blocks and toll gates the trip was uneventful.
Once again we had the valuable assistance of our friend Robert to help the truck thru the border formalities whilst the rest of us carried on with the border crossing. Luckily there were no issues and we were thru in a reasonable time. It had been arranged that Frans and I would proceed to Louis Trichard and book into the overnight accommodation and wait there for Johan to arrive with the truck which he duly did at about 19.00. We had a few drinks and supper and an early night.
Tuesday was an early start and an uneventful trip to Malelane and we arrived at the warehouse at about 2.30pm and Vera was there waiting for me.
In summary it was a really fulfilling trip although quite tiring for me as 2 days of driving with the required levels of concentration was quite telling. It really was a godsend to have Linda as a passenger as she is a fountain of knowledge about all sorts of topics and made for a lot of discussions and helped pass the time in a constructive manner.
Once again the organisation of the entire operation was something to behold when you take into account that it is basically Johan, Linda and one lady in the office who achieve so much. One cannot question their dedication and commitment to those folks in Zim who rely so heavily on the food parcels that are delivered every 2 months.
Thank you, Johan and Linda, for the opportunity to assist with this wonderful cause and also the chance to spend time with my sister and of course meet up with old friends.
May God bless you both and allow you to keep on doing what you do.
Ron Heiden.
Head office South Africa contact details:
Linda Schultz – linda@zpsf.co.za / zpsf@zpsf.onmicrosoft.com – (C) 079 6082676
Johan Schultz – johan@zpsf.co.za – (C) 082 4979328
Section 21 Co Reg. 2007/034036/08; NPO Number 096733; Section 18A PBO No 930031642
