Emily, 72, is forced to beg from her neighbours for scraps of food. Picture: Marcus Perkins/Tearfund
It’s been three days since pensioners Malahl and Emily last had a meal and their sense of desperation is growing.
Not only are they hungry but so are the five grandchildren in their care after their mothers died.
`Life is very difficult now,’ said Malahl, 76. `As we speak now we have nothing to eat.’
Begging for food has become their way of staying alive. The grandchildren, aged between seven and 14, also go from home to home asking for food.
Unlike many areas, bags of maize are available at this mill near Nkayi in southern Zimbabwe but their price puts them beyond the reach of most people. Picture: Marcus Perkins/Tearfund.
The grandparents did have some money saved but such are Zimbabwe’s economic woes that when they went to the local mill to buy grain, Emily, 72, was told her cash no longer had any value and she returned empty-handed.
The problem is mills will only accept payment in foreign currency, such as US dollars or South African rand, rather than Zimbabwe dollars.
And even if they accepted Zimbabwe dollars, the inexorable rise in prices has pushed grain beyond the reach of most people.
Malahl holds millions of Zimbabwe dollars but they weren't enough to buy the family food. Picture: Marcus Perkins/Tearfund
The one source of help for the family is the local church in the form of a Tearfund partner, which we cannot name due to ongoing threats to its security.
Despite their advancing years, Malahl works the land and his wife sows seeds they have been given by the partner. They are hoping for a good harvest in April.
Another source of help is Sarah, a church volunteer, who looks out for five families in the village, visiting each twice a week.
Sarah helps her neighbours when they are sick and if they need assistance she cannot provide, she contacts the Tearfund partner to see if it can.
Our partner is helping thousands of other families in similar ways but it’s work that needs your continued support.
Emily with Sarah, a church volunteer who, as part of a Tearfund-supported volunteer care programme, visits neighbouring families caring for orphans. Picture: Marcus Perkins/Tearfund