Once again I am witnessing the works of love and service that are taking place in Africa and in particular in the country of Zimbabwe. The mission we visited recently resembles a hive of activity with an abundance of honey. The partners in this sweet work are our missionaries in Africa on the one hand and all of us Greeks, mainly from Greece and Cyprus, on the other. We recently tasted such a honey at Easter 2010 through the experiences of the Mission of the Metropolis of Zimbabwe. A group from Thessaloniki, Yiannis with a rich social work of offering to people with special needs, Efthymia, a toolmaker in a private clinic and Katerina, an ophthalmologist, we set out for this country of South Africa. We thank our partners Mr. Konstantinos Moschou, ophthalmologist and Manolis Garanis, optician, for the donation of glasses to students with visual impairment, and the pharmaceutical company Alion for its donation of pharmaceutical material, which was allocated for the care of patients in ophthalmological cases. Below are a few country characteristics to make us aware of the situation of our destination. Area: 390,580 square kilometres, Population: 14 million inhabitants, Life expectancy: 38 years.
It is the 3rd poorest country in the world. 80% of the population lives below the poverty line. It has one of the highest literacy rates on the continent, 90.7%. In 2008 it had the highest inflation rate in the world: 231 million percent. 66% of the population is engaged in agriculture. The population is involved in agriculture. AIDS. 1,000,000 children have been orphaned by the scourge of AIDS and others are dying of hunger, malaria, chickenpox and cholera. With this and other information we arrived in the country’s capital Harare. There we were greeted with warm and generous hospitality with much love by the Bishop of Zimbabwe, Mr. George, his mother Mrs. Adriana and his colleagues, especially Mr. Nestor Nestoros, Consul of Cyprus, whom we thank from the bottom of our hearts, because Bishop George and all the aforementioned opened not only their homes but also their hearts to us. The first stop of our visit was the missionary center of St. Nektarios near the capital, surrounded by the Holy Church, the school, the polyclinic and the teachers’ offices. There the work of educating the indigenous children, catechesis, medical care, monthly distribution of food, clothes and shoes and weekly distribution of rations is carried out. On Wednesday we had the pleasure of attending one such food distribution. It was an emotional day for us. A thousand poor families waited patiently and in orderly fashion to receive the bountiful food goods distributed by Metropolitan George in anticipation of the Easter celebration. Men, women and children with their arms full of various and rich goods returned to their homes relieved and satisfied! Our next stop was the village of Warren Park, where a new core of Orthodoxy is being formed. The residents were happy to welcome us and greeted us with traditional African song and dance. Our own feelings of joy were indescribable when we came into contact with these people by distributing food for the Easter celebration. As much as possible – due to the short time of our stay – we also treated patients with eye diseases. Our next stop was a beautiful area of lush vegetation, Morondera. There we were very surprised to visit another newly established Missionary Centre, the Church of St. George, whose inauguration took place on the feast day of the Saint and is a donation of the late George Prantzos, brother of the President of the Brotherhood. On the same plot of land there is a banquet hall and a polyclinic facility building as well as a nice surrounding area. I would like to point out that in recent years the Diocese of Zimbabwe has been in a remarkable growth mobility with the establishment of new churches, schools and various institutions with strong spiritual, educational and charitable activities. In the person of the Metropolitan Mr.
George, I saw a missionary who bent over the burning problems of the people of this country, who gave his life to serve tirelessly the poor fellow man, the one whom the rest of us have forgotten even exists, for whom no one ever spoke, no one ever thought of him, nothing was given to him, so that he could live and walk with dignity in his life. So it is this fellow human being that this missionary thinks of and cares for, opening his arms to more and more poor people in Africa. This is how this work goes on and this is how love triumphs again in this corner of the earth with its known and unknown agents. Unknown contributors are all the supporters and helpers of the charitable and social work, an equally important part of this whole effort. When people’s arms are open to charity, the following dynamic happens: the expectation of future paradise is momentarily dampened and the present itself transforms each moment into paradise! I wonder, now that we are going through these critical moments in our country and we have all undoubtedly suffered a deep and silent humiliation, whether it is not time and a good opportunity to pay more attention and listen to the faint voices of African children asking for help, which are becoming more and more faint and are only extinguished by death. Have we been carried away by the sirens of euphemism and forgotten to listen to the voice of the “poor forgotten fellow human being” who appeals to us for help by dying? Through the experiences and impressions of my trip to Zimbabwe I was given the right answer to my burning questions. As long as there are, and I hope there will be, other strong voices of the children of Africa – those who survived – expressing their gratitude to the Greek donors with kindness and love, it will be worth living and struggling with dignity thanks to the well-known charity and generosity of our race. Many times we pondered if this world could be changed! Especially now that humanity is in its great impasse, this question is more relevant than ever! Already coming home, we, the small group from Thessaloniki, with a nod of our eyes understood that we had undergone this change. From our experiences in far away Zimbabwe we were now convinced that this world with love alone can change! This filling of love we experienced. We experienced it at the food distribution, when people’s arms were filled with goods, our own souls were filled at the same time with the thought that they would not return home hungry. We experienced it in the distribution of clothes and shoes, and the thought that they would have clothes to wear warmed our souls as well. We lived it when in their introduction to Christ our own souls were gladdened and comforted. And we also experienced it in their embrace, in their touch, in their smile. I wondered, I wondered why we had so much joy, such joy that we were humbled. The answer was clear. We met our forgotten brother, the one we had forgotten centuries ago, and we found him again. Although we wronged him, he did not retaliate, he forgave us and embraced us. That is why our joy is indescribable! Katerina Alexandrou
