Children in Our Midst: Voices of Farmworkers' Children. INSTITUTION Save the Children, Harare (Zimbabwe)
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DOCUMENT RESUME ED 443 615 RC 022 475 AUTHOR McCartney, Irene, Ed. TITLE Children in Our Midst: Voices of Farmworkers' Children. INSTITUTION Save the Children, Harare (Zimbabwe). ISBN ISBN-0-7974-2075-4; ISBN-0-7974-2032-0 PUB DATE 2000-00-00 NOTE 177p. AVAILABLE FROM Save the Children (UK), P.O. Box 4689, Harare, Zimbabwe; Tel: 263-4-793198-9; e-mail: [email protected]. PUB TYPE Books (010) -- Opinion Papers (120) EDRS PRICE MF01/PC08 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS Adolescents; *Agricultural Laborers; Child Labor; Child Rearing; *Child Welfare; Educational Attitudes; Elementary Education; *Family Life; Foreign Countries; Health Education; *Poverty; Preadolescents; Preschool Education; Rural Areas; Rural Family; *Rural Farm Residents; Rural Schools; *Rural Youth IDENTIFIERS *Zimbabwe ABSTRACT For many years, farmworkers in Zimbabwe have been a marginalized and neglected community. This book describes the lives of hired farmworkers' children in their own words. Over 850 children aged 10-17 were interviewed or wrote essays in English or Shona. Nearly all the children were in elementary school in grades 4-7. Many farm children undergo experiences of loss and deprivation, work, marriage at a very young age, and lives constrained by poverty and geographic isolation, yet they show no self-pity and have hopes for the future. 2th introduction discusses the need for nongovernmental organizations and development workers to listen to the opinions and-priorities of the people who receive their assistance, including rural children, who have home and work responsibilities from an early age. The book is divided into nine sections that explore through the testimony of farm children issues of childhood; family life; the home, health, and preschool education; the farm; work; education and aspirations for the future; recreation; culture and history; and conceptions of the wider world. Each section includes background to the topic, the children's words and writings, and commentary and explanatory notes in the margins. A final section lists the names of the participating, children, their farms, their schools, and their teachers, and briefly describes the work of Save the Children (UK) in Zimbabwe. (Contains photographs and children's illustrations.) (SV) Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. BEST COPY AVAILABLE tr (L a4- e.7.: kerf5-01; ildren 1Ps U S DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS Office of Educational Research and Improvement EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY CENTER (ERIC) El This document has been reproduced as received from the person or organization <UrCrs onglnating it CI Minor changes have been made to W improve reproduction quality Points of view or opinions stated in this TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES document do not necessarily represent INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) official OERI position or policy Children inourMidst (.4 Children inourMidst Voices of farrnworkers children researched and edited by Irene McCartney WEAVE R (115Save the Children -PRESS- Published by: Save the Children, P.O. Box 4689, Harare with Weaver Press, P.O. Box 1922, Avondale, Harare in the year 2000 © Save the Children (UK), 2000 Design and layout by Font line Electronic Publishing, Harare Printed by: Preci-ex, Mauritius Cover photographs: Bester Kanyama The photographs on pages 1, 2, 3, 7. 8, 9, 10,11,12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 18, 19, 31, 32, 33, 34(top), 36, 38, 39, 42(right),43 45, 49, 52, 56, 71, 72, 76, 92, 94, 97, 98, 123, 146, 149 and 150 are reproduced by kind permission of Bester Kanyama. Photographs on pages v, xviii, 4, 6 (12), 28, 34(bottom) 41, 42(left), 54, 73, 87, 89, 93, 95, 100, 103, 108, 121, 151, 152, 153, 154, 155 156 and 157 are by Irene McCartney. All the drawings are done by children who participated in the programme. All rights reserved. No parts of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior permission of the copyright holders ISBN:0-7974-2075-4 (SCF) .L.91 :Thlt ISBN: 0-7974-2032-0 (Weaver Press) tY . t_121i1 This publicationwas conceived and funded by Save the Children, Harare on behalf of the children of farm workers whose lives have so often been ignored. t: L. 6 V This publication has depended on the hard work, enthusiasm and honesty of over 850 children and the book could and would not have been produced had they not participated so willingly. We hope it will serve to make their lives, and the lives of all the children who live in farming communities, better understood and better supported. terWe are also very grateful to their headmasters, their teachers and the farm owners for their co-operation. At its inception, the research for the project depended upon the generous assistance of the three SCF field workers: Andrew Muringaniza, Josephine Mutandiro and Irene Mutumbwa; as well as Di Auret and Tisa Chifunyise. Amos Meki, Maxwell Hakata and Stanley Marimo deserve special mention for arranging and taking me out on field If trips. ;.% Very particular thanks are also due to Rosalie Wilson for her meticulous help with the editing and for her constant encouragement and support, to Pauline Brine of Fontline for her patience and flair and to Ian Bampton for scanning in all the many illustrations. When translation was necessary, as it was on very many occasions, this was done by Taurai Piano who worked diligently to retain each child's voice and was always very willing to assist whenever it was necessary. And thanks are also due to Dr Emmanuel Chiwome for helping us with the translation of the proverbs and songs whenever this rr'4"41' was possible which was not always the case. Finally, I would like to thank Chris Mclvor, the Director of Save the Children, for his decision to record the children's voices, and for offering me the opportunity to do so, as well as for being so openly available to discuss ideas and , suggestions whenever it was necessary. \t. to et!, I.M. rnY f+ - 1tNr vi Corn itrt5 note tot The children's voices in this book have been recorded mainly through their own writing in English and in Shona. A small number were collected through interviews. Nearly all the children were at primary school, and we worked with children from grades four to seven. We have attempted to retain the freshness and individuality of each opinion or experience as told by themselves. Although minor grammatical and spelling mistakes have been corrected, we chose not to smooth these out entirely as we felt this would give a distorted picture of their age, education and vulnerability. Many of them are not used to writing about themselves or giving their opinions. The freshness of their speech and of their perceptions often reveals itself in their use of metaphor, simile and phraseology. We asked them to be as honest as possible, because, as we told them, it is only through making their experiences known, that the lives of future children living on farms might be improved. They all undertook the tasks set them with great seriousness and a sense of responsibility. We hope that they will be heard in the same way. I.M. vii Glossary xi Introduction xiii I am a child 1 Our families 9 Our homes and well-being 37 The health worker 61 The pre-school teacher 63 Mupurasi: our farm 65 Our work 75 Education: hopes and fears 89 Sometimes we have fun 113 Our customs 125 The wider world 141 Appendices Who they are 149 Where they live 156 Where their schools are 157 Who their teachers are 157 (1. Bibliography 158 Save the Children (UK) 159 9 ix Glossary ambuyagrandmother mazambiacloth worn round the waist babafather mazhanje/muzhanjefruit of the mahobohobo or wild loquat tree Blair toilets low-cost, appropriate technology pit latrines whose Mazoebrand name for orange squash construction limits the spread of communicable diseases mbezoan adze or plane; a cutting tool chabutacard game mbira thumb piano made in small gourd which acts as a resonator is chigure/zviguremasked dancer mbuya - grandmother; also term of seniority and respect chinamwariinitiation practice mowawild spinach chimurenga freedom, the liberation movement mudyakari/mujakariwild vegetable: Cleome monophylla dagga mbanje or marihuana murunguwhite person derere leaf vegetable similar tp spinach n'angaa healer, a person who uses spiritual powers to heal or dhukuscarf tied round the head seek out the cause of illness or wrong-doing dombo/matomborock, stone nhodochildren's game like jacks GMB Grain Marketing Board nhungu/nhuguruwild fruit: Flacourtia indica hachafruit of the muhacha (mobola plum) tree nyevheleaves from a wild plant (Cleome gynandra) from which hoshorattle relish is made hot-seating - when schools run two concurrent timetables with nzeve mushrooms two groups of children e.g., the first group might attend in the pfukocalabash used for drinking beer mornings, the second during the afternoons pole and dagga traditional round rooms/houses made with hutefruit of the mukute (Syzygium) tree poles; earth used as plaster, and thatched with grass huverabbit runi see nyevhe jeko - scythe sadzathick maize-meal porridge kanzotaleaves used as relish Scudsbeer made to a traditional recipe and served in plastic con- lobolabride price tainers colloquially called scuds because they resemble the missile madhongidonkey Surfwashing powder mahewuthick home-made beer teteaunt maputi - roasted dry maize tsubvufruit from the wild cocoa or chocolate berry tree maputi sweets popcorn Vapostoria religious sect named after the Apostles matamba fruits from the wild orange tree ZESA Zimbabwe Electricity Supply Authority matohwefruit of the mutowe (Azanza garckeana) tree zvikirwa/svikirospirit medium or prophet 10 xi sm 10Aft 40..) 41,1itt I%AMCtiVni One of the problems associated with development work is that the people who are the targets of our assistance often become objects, statistics, recipients of aid.