“Tolerance, inter-cultural dialogue and respect for diversity are more essential than ever in a world where peoples are becoming more and more closely interconnected” – Kofi Annan
After being accused of teaching politics to her pupils in Zimbabwe, geography teacher Martha Musonza Holman was beaten up and thrown into jail. In 2001, with the help of a Welsh friend, however, she escaped, fled her homeland, and, like many of her fellow countrymen, set up home in the UK—in the South Wales market town of Abergavenny.
Despite her experiences and the circumstances that led to her leaving the country, Martha “wanted to do something back home to encourage sustainable livelihoods, to help eliminate inequalities in households by engaging women in community development projects, especially as parents of disabled children”. So she established the charity “Love Zimbabwe” and the Community Interest Company “Love Zimbabwe Fair Trade”. The latter trades in Arts and Crafts produced by mainly female artists from Zimbabwe, and ensures they receive a fair price for their products, enabling them to earn sustainable incomes, while the former raises funds for the people of Chinamhora Village in Domboshawa to ensure their sustainability. It focuses on food production, health, education, and sanitation and helps the local community adapt to climate change. In 2009, it established the Chinamhora Community Centre. This provides the village with educational facilities, including a library, workshops, and meeting rooms, as well as internet access, a sensory room, and visitor accommodation. It encourages the inhabitants to be independent and to live sustainably, the intention being that the village should produce enough food not just to sustain the inhabitants but to enable them to trade.
Martha’s passion for social justice extends to her work in the Anti-racism Action Group funded by the Welsh Government. Her commitment to change has been recognised, and she has provided ideas to support the organisation’s Anti-racism Action plan as well as moderating literature for learners with additional learning needs. This is part of the Welsh Government’s agenda for creating an Anti-racist nation by 2030. Martha believes in the power of education and feels strongly that people deserve equal opportunities, and diaspora Zimbabweans, black and white, should work together to improve conditions for the poor people in Zimbabwe. Love Zimbabwe Charity aims to reach a wider audience of people, including celebrities, who have an allegiance, affection, or concern for Zimbabwe.
In addition to her love of Zimbabwe, Martha also has a love of teaching and young people. Not only has she worked in Pupils Referral Centres in South Wales, attended by pupils who are not able to attend a mainstream school, but she has spoken to pupils in over 300 Welsh schools, introducing them to Fairtrade, ethical consumerism, and poverty, based on her own lived experience. As she says, “the moment I talk to them about my background, about being African, they want to know more about Africa”. So to enable young people to learn more about each other’s cultures, she has established an exchange programme and anthropology students from the University of Wales Trinity Saint David have visited the village with her, helping with community projects such as creating organic, permaculture “keyhole” gardens. As one of the students, Brydie Parks, has observed, “…I was able to help the community in different ways. Being able to help someone and seeing how much of an effect this has is really rewarding and changes your perspective on the world”.
Over the years, Martha has received various awards, and in 2022, she won Hub Cymru Africa’s prestigious individual volunteer award for, according to the judges, having “left something tangible on the ground to be proud of“. As the head of Hub Cymru Africa, Claire O’Shea, acknowledged Martha and all of the award winners had “done so much to ensure global solidarity between Wales and Sub-Saharan Africa…”
Love Zimbabwe Fair Trade is a Harmonious Enterprise that makes money but focuses primarily on the harmony between the planet and its people. It addresses SDGs 1 (No Poverty), 2 (No Hunger), 3 (Good Health and Well-being), 4 (Quality Education), 5 (Gender Equality), 6 (Clean Water and Sanitation), 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth), 10 (Reduced Inequalities), 11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities), 13 (Climate Action), 15 (Life on Land), 16 (Peace Justice and Strong Institutions), and 17 (Partnership for the Goals).
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