With a voice that carries the wisdom of generations and a heart filled with unwavering hope, Tendayi Madzunzu is empowering Zimbabwean women in Manchester through her organisation, ZIWO. More than a community leader, she’s a force of nature, a beacon of hope, and the embodiment of resilience.
Arriving in Manchester as an asylum seeker in 2003, Tendayi experienced first-hand the challenges faced by Zimbabwean women building new lives in a foreign land. But rather than be defeated by hardship, she chose to build a community, a haven where cultural identity is celebrated, skills are nurtured, and voices are amplified.
What she did do was decide to create a movement in the way. As she said: “Our mission is to have our voice heard. Our mission is to provide culturally appropriate services that take into account our culture.”
That ethos is the foundation of everything that’s come to pass with ZIWO. But more than a support group; it’s a force for change to get more women’s voices into the discussion. With every step they take, they think of the question, “How can we get our voices out there?”. They create programmes, but weekly online meetings combating isolation and vibrant celebrations of Zimbabwean independence, ZIWO is weaving a tapestry of resilience and pride.
What kind of challenges are they facing on their journey to have their voices heard? What does the path to success actually look like? As Tendayi is quick to remind people, “If life is free of challenges”.. .“then we will ro.”
They’re working to get people to believe that they should never be afraid to speak, what with: there is little of value in a world without that people cannot see and understand. Tendayi and ZIWO take pride in making a difference in the system of change through all aspects of life for anyone who walks through the door.
Their dedication hasn’t gone unnoticed. In collaboration with Power to Prosper (P2P), ZIWO has been given to them the power to put this into effect. Tendayi likes to convey her P2P journey as the same story from the Good Samaritan. Just like them, people went past them without stopping to support what they were doing, “It’s none of my business.” That is when P2P arrived. Cleaned up the wounds, and made a place for them to recover.
As part of the P2P network, ZIWO and other groups will also work to spread, inspire, guide, and support one another.
P2P has also given ZIWO more. A space. The place where they plan to put this to effect in ZIWO, as Tendayi has said that they have been given 100k for the Mama Village project.
Although as a person and organisation, they are in uncharted waters from here on out with their projects, they want more than anything for this to effect everyone’s day to day lives.
The future is uncertain to Tendayi, they have her light bulb moments that she speaks with joy from, but there is one certainty about this group. And as she so beautifully put it “But will knock because we are not going back and we are here to stay.”
And as Tendayi and her ZIWO family continue to build a community of hope and resilience, they remind us that even in the face of adversity, their message rings true:
everyone deserves the opportunity to be heard.