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Letter from the new British Ambassador in Harare – October 2009

Zimbabwe has been less in the news recently. The formation of the coalition government and the stabilisation of the economy have made for less lurid headlines. But that’s not to say the pressures on the elderly and frail in Zimbabwe’s care homes have lessened. Quite the contrary.

While economic activity has picked up and hyper-inflation disappeared, the stresses on the more vulnerable members of society – the very people whom Homes In Zimbabwe does so much excellent work to support - remain every bit as acute as they were in the dark days of the recent past. Life for these individuals, and for those that care for them, is the same desperate struggle it was before.

I have seen at first hand the excellent work which Homes In Zimbabwe and their committed staff do here on the ground. Their work is vital - a credit to the organisation and those who support them. They go to extraordinary lengths to ensure that every cent donated goes to those who need it.

Please continue to give it your support. The lives of hundreds of elderly people here in Zimbabwe quite literally depend on your generosity.


	Mark Canning British Ambassador, Harare

Letter from Nigel Kay – Chair of Homes In Zimbabwe

The BBC was recently allowed to report again from Zimbabwe. Its reports suggest that there are small signs of recovery after ten years of catastrophic economic decline. I was therefore particularly looking forward to my visit to the country in October to see for myself what changes had occurred since my last visit some 6 months earlier and how our humanitarian programme is likely to be affected during 2010.

Certainly the supermarket shelves are full again and there are many more vehicles on the roads now that fuel is no longer in short supply. With the final demise of the Zimbabwe dollar in January 2009, the world record inflation rate of over a trillion %, has actually been replaced with price deflation in US$’s; now the official trading currency of the country. This development has certainly made managing a business and indeed a charity easier. The resulting end of draconian exchange control regulations is also particularly welcome.

It was also a pleasure to visit a number of homes where our support has quite clearly transformed the lives of their residents. In two homes we have provided funds to enable them to employ competent managers and the resulting improvements have been quite staggering – better eating, cleaner wards and happier residents and staff.

Unfortunately however, the Unity Government is not succeeding and Robert Mugabe and his ZANU PF colleagues continue to rule the country with no regard for human rights or encouragement for inward investment now so vital for economic recovery. A reign of terror continues in the rural areas and greed and corruption within the ruling party knows no bounds. The country is effectively bankrupt and only the fortunate few who have US$’s can enjoy any semblance of the life enjoyed in Europe.

Prices in real terms increased three fold after the collapse of the Zimbabwe dollar. This has simply aggravated the already serious situation faced by the elderly and the residential homes they live in. Although the number we are supporting has dropped on account of deaths and the British Government repatriation scheme, we and the other charities who for over 5 years have ensured the survival of the homes, now face greater difficulty than ever in continuing to raise the funds we need on account of the global economic crisis. Typically donation income for most charities has reduced by a third since 2008.

Our ongoing food and fuel programme now supports over 1800 elderly people either living in residential care homes or at home where they are supported by SOAP – a voluntary “meals on wheels” service that operates in the Harare and Bulawayo areas. Homes In Zimbabwe is now the major source of funds for SOAP.

We take pride our overheads have remained at less than 4% of our donation revenue and that our aid programme in Zimbabwe is tightly controlled by competent, and with one exception, unpaid volunteers. We abhor and avoid the corruption that is so prevalent throughout Africa. The bulk of our donated food is imported from South Africa, saving at least 30% on the comparable cost of locally purchased food.

After 5 years of seeing a slow improvement in the lives of our pensioners through the generosity of our donors, we would be very concerned to see any curtailment in the vital work we undertake on account of financial constraints. I do therefore ask for your generous support to our work in 2010.


	Nigel Kay Chair of Homes In Zimbabwe

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