Sunday 05th February 2012
Mazzy’s Blog
September 2010
I retired in January 2008 as a paediatric nurse and moved out of London to the Oxfordshire countryside, and at last I was able to start working on my lifelong dream – to set up a children’s home in Zimbabwe. Prior to my retirement, we had had a number of meetings in London to set up a Board of Trustees and register as a Charity in UK.
In January 2008 I set off for Zimbabwe to start setting up the home and renovating the house I had been so generously given for the purpose by some exiled Zimbabweans.
Initially, I discovered a huge amount of red tape and trying to wade through all the bureaucracy and rules and regulations was quite a challenge. As a foreigner I am viewed with suspicion and as a charitable project there are a great number of people who believe that unlimited dollars are available. Every step moved very slowly and as soon as I got over one hurdle, I was presented with another. Builders and workers competed to deceive and "rip us off." It has been a roller coaster of a journey fraught with so many problems that I would never have imagined possible. It has certainly been a major lesson in patience, tolerance and endurance!!! I also have an added problem that I can only stay in the country for 6 months of the year until my work permit is approved.
In the summer of 2009 we had a meeting in London with the family who had donated the house. Their son had unexpectedly returned to Zimbabwe and I found the goal posts had changed regarding the property. A number of factors, including the costs of renovations, electricity and water, were proving to be very expensive and eventually it was decided by the Board in London to pull out of that house and to find another property once the paperwork was completed and permission to operate was granted in Zimbabwe.
Since January 2010 I have been fortunate enough to work with a lawyer who is an expert at showing me how to jump through all the hoops and is very knowledgeable in the maze of bureaucracy that surrounds every move! He also has set up a children’s home, with a Board of Trustees, so is very familiar with the problems that I have faced over the past 2 years. With his help (which he is giving gratis), we are in the process of setting up a Board of Trustees in Zimbabwe and registering as a Charity there, and we are awaiting permission to proceed. When this comes through, I will return to Zimbabwe to continue the project.
It has been agreed that, when I return, I will rent a property for about a year until we are established. I have been strongly advised not to buy a property in the country, cheap though it is until the situation there becomes more stable and secure. I am keen however, to purchase a plot of land and construct a village of mud huts. They will, of course, have electricity and water, but it will also mean that the children can be brought up in surroundings with which they will be familiar. Also, this is likely to be a less costly exercise than originally envisaged. We have also been warned by our lawyer that getting permission to operate as a children’s home could take some time. However, as children needing a home and education are bursting at the social services seams, he is confident that this process will be accelerated. Once we start, we are hoping to start on an intensive fund-raising operation.