MY STORY - THE PRICE OF SURVIVAL IN ZIMBABWE

By: [Chiedza Kambari], Deputy Organising Secretary – Midlands Branch, ROHR Zimbabwe

31^st July 2026

My father held a diploma in Business Management, a qualification that should have opened doors, that should have given our family dignity and stability. Instead, he sat at home for ten long years: skilled, educated, and willing to work, yet unable to find a single job anywhere.

I will never forget 2008. We had gone three days without a single meal. Desperate to keep us alive, my father walked all the way from Marondera to Harare miles and miles on foot, just to beg for help from relatives. He came back with a little money someone had given him, bought a small sack of mealie meal, and for the first time in days, we had something to eat. Not long after, he was called to work as a teacher. We thought things would finally get better. But every month, his salary was so small it could not even cover the bus fare to Harare, let alone feed and clothe us properly. Life stayed hard, year after year.

When the unity government was formed, we dared to hope. We celebrated, believing things would change, that jobs would return, that food would be affordable, that suffering families like ours would finally breathe easier. But today? Things are far worse than they ever were.

To ZANU-PF: we ask you, please have mercy on your people. See the hunger, see the wasted skills, see the parents walking miles on foot just to feed their children. We are not asking for special treatment, we are asking for a country where hard work is rewarded, where education counts for something, and where no one has to choose between starving and suffering.

My father’s story is not unique. It is the story of millions: educated people forgotten, hard work unrewarded, hope slowly starved away while a few live in plenty. This is not the future we dreamed of. And until we build a nation that truly cares for every one of its citizens, we will not stay silent.

About the author
Chiedza Kambari is a human rights activist based in the United Kingdom. She is the Deputy Organising Secretary of the Midlands Branch of the UK Chapter of Restoration of Human Rights (ROHR) Zimbabwe.  She can be contacted by email at kambarichiedza@gmail.com OR at Chiedza.kambari@rohr-zimbabwe.org