One of the dedicated and quite amazing team of carers based in Zimbabwe has recently retired and sent us this report – it encapsulates the work that ZANE undertakes and is testament to the love and compassion which the ZANE donors pass on through the ZANE teams to the ordinary men and women struggling to survive in Zimbabwe having lost everything through absolutely no fault of their own.
If you are already a donor, we thank you – if you would like to become one please follow the link below and know that every amount given, no matter how large or small, will be used to the utmost good in just the way this report demonstrates.
After 20 years, this is my final report for ZANE. A strange feeling indeed!
Rather than the usual account of what is happening to the many ZANE beneficiaries who fall under my umbrella I would like to share a little goodbye encounter that I had with you. I think it epitomises all of our work with and for ZANE and certainly tells the story of what it’s all been about for me over these many years.
When I handed the last envelope, with the last $100 in it, to the last beneficiary on my list, for the last time, the other day I told the lady the enormity of that moment for me. She immediately put her hands over her face and started crying, which started me crying, and said that she would never be able to thank me enough for everything I had done for her over many years. She said I had found her when she was at her lowest ebb, couldn’t afford food, couldn’t buy her medicine, had a huge pile of bills she couldn’t pay, didn’t know what to do, had no one to turn to and that I had saved her from certain death and given her something to live for again. I then said what I have said thousands of times to hundreds of beneficiaries over the last 20 years: “I am just the messenger.” Well that started her off crying again and she said “you don’t understand, it’s not just about the money. You are my friend, a voice on the end of the phone, a car at the gate, someone who cares about me, someone who finds answers to every problem I have, someone who has always got time to listen to me.”
I know that you have all heard me say it scores of times to donors at functions when I have come to do the UK talks:
We know every person on our lists, we know their children’s and grandchildren’s names, we know their pets’ names, their medical conditions, their hopes and fears and the things that they love to talk about. ZANE isn’t just about the money, it’s so much more than that, it’s about the people and the very strong relationships that we build with all of our beneficiaries. For me that has been the beating heart of ZANE since the very first day I started 20 years ago.
My phone rings at night and before dawn in the morning, it rings at weekends and on public holidays and when I’m on leave. ZANE is the lifeline for so many people who have lost everything, again and again and again, in our broken country and it’s been such a privilege to be able to give dignity and hope to people in the hardest times of their lives.
Thanks to all of you, the ZANE teams, the donors and beneficiaries, for your friendship, support and advice over so many years and I wish you all the best in the future.
* Names and images may have been changed for privacy reasons
If you are already a ZANE donor, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. If you are not a donor but would like to be, please follow the link below and know that every donation, however big or small, goes directly to where it is most needed. If you would like to help but can’t donate, please join the ZANE family and ‘like’ or ‘share’ our posts or write us a Google review – every positive step helps spread the word about the life changing work ZANE does.
Thank you – Nicky Passaportis ZANE Australia
Please donate to support pensioners struggling to survive in Zimbabwe
Any assistance is greatly appreciated and goes a long way to giving our pensioners a better quality of life and lift the pressure of money worries which is very debilitating emotionally.
(Donations made to ZANE in Australia, are tax-deductible)