Zimbabwe Day
A report by Kay Collier
On Saturday 22nd April the Friends Group held a Zimbabwe Day Celebration from 3pm to 7.30pm.
The event was held to give an opportunity for people from Zimbabwe who are living in England
to remember their Independence Day which was on 18th April.
The event was well attended by both English people and Zimbabweans and comprised all ages – from
the very young to the elderly.
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During the afternoon we were entertained by a wonderful group called Blessings. Some of the members
originally came from Kadoma but all are from Zimbabwe. The group all live in England now. This group
are just starting out in the music scene and have made a CD. They are always looking for opportunities
to perform. They sang and played Zimbabwean music. Some were dressed for us in their national style.
This all made for a lovely atmosphere. People sat and listened as well as getting up to dance.
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We had a non-alcoholic cocktail bar to quench our thirst. This is run by youngsters from
Cornerstone,
the inter-church youth group in Stevenage, and one of the members of the Link. The money raised from the bar
goes to support secondary school fees for several girls, in Kadoma.
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A video was shown. It had been taken a few years ago when youngsters from Stevenage went out to Kadoma.
We saw some of the school children they had met. The children in the video were singing a song thanking Stevenage
for supporting them in their education. One of the members of the band said that he had taught at the school
being shown in the video.
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Food was also part of the celebration. This was cooked, Zimbabwean style by Joyce, a Zimbabwean
lady. We enjoyed delicious pot roast beef and butternut squash accompanied by Fair Trade tea and coffee.
We were very pleased to see the Mayor of Stevenage and his wife. The Mayor gave a speech.
It was lovely to see people from different countries and backgrounds having a good time together.
This was a very blessed event.
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