Zimfest and The Good Sheppard Centre

At the end of August on a truly sunny English day, Zimfest was held in London. Its purpose was to celebrate all things Zimbabwean: Zimbabwean charities, Zimbabwean politics, Zimbabwean music, Zimbabwean food and Zimbawean people came together to form a hearty cocktail of enlightenment, entertainment and good will.

WeZimbabwe is the charity that make this event possible every year. Vimba were invited to help with the organization before and on the day, and we feel fortunate to be part of this year’s success.

Our aim for the day was to raise awareness about Vimba, as well as launch our very own clothing label ‘Love Africa’, from which all proceeds go to the various organisations that we support.

WeZimbabwe also provided us with a financial donation for helping with the preparation of the event and for enlisting volunteers to help on the day. We would like to extend our thanks to all at WeZim for this donation, as well as giving us the opportunity to be a part of this great festival’s tradition and culture. We would also like to thank our amazing friends and Vimba supporters who helped make Zimfest the success it was.

All the proceeds from the day went to The Good Sheppard Centre, an orphanage which is located in Chinhoyi, Zimbabwe. There are 64 children at the centre and they rely on donations to feed, clothe, school and house these children. The centre is run by Colin and Ann Harper along with other volunteers.

The monthly overheads are around £400, and in addition there are clinic bills, transportation costs, school fees and uniforms, voluntary staff wages and electricity and water costs. All these can outweigh the monthly overheads.

The crisis in Zimbabwe has made running the centre very difficult, buying food and clothing and other necessities for the children is increasingly more complicated as prices change daily and necessities are often unavailable.

Vimba’s contribution will principally help with providing protein into the childrens’s predominantly ‘Sudza’ diet, and paying for school fees and 0-level exams.

click here to learn about how the donation was used.

click here to see photos from The Good Sheppard Centre.

click here to see photos from Zimfest 08