Volunteers in Mission (VIM) Team Trip
to Zimbabwe

November 2006
Catprints Sweater

My souvenir sweater, made in Zimbabwe by "Jaywalker Original Handknit"

Topics

Reflections


A friend asked, "What made the strongest impression on you?"  My reply: "The contrasts, I think. We saw beautiful faces in tattered clothing, hovels and mansions, lush flowering gardens and burned-over fields, parched dust and muddy torrents, delicate handwork and massive stone carvings, oxcarts and airplanes. And amid it all, the people's incredible cheerfulness, eagerness to learn, willingness to help others, making do and getting by.  Such endurance under suffering calls us, both to offer what assistance we can and to live in greater gratitude for our many blessings."

Many people have asked me what the weather was like, puzzled by pictures of volunteers in short sleeves with students wearing pullover sweaters. While we were there, I found the temperatures very pleasant, only once or twice getting over 80° F during the day and dropping into the 50's or 60's very quickly once the sun went down. The air was quite dry, except when it had been raining recently. So it was nowhere near as hot and humid as (say) the Washington, DC, area in August!  Hence, the lightly-dressed volunteers. On the other hand, many of the students start their morning walk to school before the sun comes up, while it's still quite chilly. In placing my hands over the hands of students during their crochet lessons, I also noticed that even on the hottest days, some had cold, stiff hands. My guess is that when the body doesn't have enough food to fuel it, it expends less on generating heat.  In other cases, the sweater may have served to cover holes or ripped seams in the dress or shirt beneath.

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©2006-2007 N. J. Taber