By Bethany Hammond, Project Management Associate

I’m going to have a hard time reconciling this trip. I’ve traveled to over 30 countries in my 39 years. But this one was different.  

In early April, I traveled to an isolated, rural community in northern Zimbabwe to visit a people group called the Doma. My assignment was to listen to community members share about the challenges they face in their daily lives. While my co-workers at HOPE Zimbabwe had given me good context, I was in many ways unprepared to witness the poverty and physical danger that the Doma people endure each day.  

Bethany (right) with a savings group member named Jimmy and his family

The Doma people have lived for years on the margins of Zimbabwean society. Their area near the Zambezi River is so remote that they weren’t affected by the COVID-19 pandemic! They live off of the land, between what they can grow, forage, and sometimes hunt—though they aren’t allowed to hunt any animals from the nearby conservation area.  

They come into daily contact with wildlife that destroy their crops and cause them physical harm or, sometimes, death. I’ve never visited a community that faces such stark challenges.  Continue Reading…