Dundee Rotary members moved by Zim skills project success
DUNDEE businessman Alan Calder McNicoll first got to know Zimbabwe in 2008 through his passion for wildlife.
Horrified by the “horrendous inflation” gripping the southern African country, he returned the following year to work on a lion conservation project. He later became a project ambassador.
Desire to help Zimbabwean people
But the more he got to know the country, the more he wanted to do something to help the local community.
He was particularly struck by the “dire straits” facing an orphanage. Keen to help, he went home, raised money, took it back out there and bought some white goods. He painted the inside of the orphanage where boys were sleeping eight per tiny room.
When a Norwegian organisation stepped in and built a more substantial facility, he continued to donate and raise money for staff.
The staff was being supported by Scripture Union, which then shifted its focus to another part of Zimbabwe where there were problems with starvation.
Getting Rotary Club of Dundee involved
After meeting two women from Sweden in 2014, McNicoll co-founded a fundraising group called Champions for Children.
He raised more than US$80 000 for the orphans. However, as the years went by, and with staff now being supported by the Norwegian organisation, he decided to look again at something that would benefit the wider community.
Meeting a man from a local university in Zimbabwe, and by now a member of the Rotary Club of Dundee, McNicoll came up with a number of ideas focusing on sustainability.
Presenting a number of suggestions to Dundee Rotary's International Service Committee, which in 2017 was chaired by Rotarian Dai John, the committee decided to support the idea of a market garden because it had the best opportunity to skill up street children.
It was hoped this would generate revenue and be self-sustaining and enduring.
Crucially, the proposal was very much in line with Rotary's aims to support international humanitarian aid, education and environment.
It also had to meet Rotary's “four-way test” — is it fair, is it true, is it beneficial to all, and will it help to grow relationships and friendships?
Getting the market garden off the ground
In May 2018, a district grant application was produced and submitted to Rotary District 1010, appropriate training and governance requirements were met, and a district grant of £4 500, the maximum amount available at the time, was approved.
This sum, matched by a Rotary Club of Dundee contribution of £5 000 and an in-kind contribution from the Rotary Club of Gweru in Zimbabwe to the value of approximately £1 506, produced a project budget of £11 006.
Having obtained funding, work commenced on the procurement and construction of a polytunnel.
Overcoming challenges
However, successive challenges had to be overcome first, which dragged the project out.
During 2018-19, difficulties arose in safely transferring grant funding to the Rotary Club of Gweru.
A civil unrest was caused by deteriorating economic conditions in Zimbabwe.
In March 2019, the original polytunnel was destroyed by Cyclone Idai, requiring the sourcing of material and construction of a replacement.
Between March 2020 and the end of 2021, the global COVID-19 pandemic impacted on the project.
A land-use dispute then resulted in the dismantling, relocation and reconstruction of the replacement polytunnel.
An aquaponics system was then added due to concern over the availability of sufficient water for crop irrigation at the original location.
However, these challenges were further compounded by economic instability in Zimbabwe.
This, together with associated high rates of inflation, resulted in increased costs, regular power outages for up to 18 hours per day, and affected Gweru Rotarians' ability to devote time, effort and personal resources.
Dundee Rotary trip to see the project
Having not long being to Zimbabwe to see the 400 square metre polytunnel project for themselves, McNicoll and John say the tenacity, determination and resilience of the Gweru Rotary Club project team in achieving this outcome cannot be overstated.
At the time of their visit between March 27 and April 7, the polytunnel was producing its first crop of cucumbers, with a crop of tomatoes approximately six weeks from harvesting.
The difficulties of doing a project like this in Zimbabwe can't be underestimated,” said McNicoll, 74, in an interview with The Courier.
“It's in turmoil, there were financial embargos for a while. We couldn't get money in. There were severe political difficulties that we had to side step a little bit. It's not an easy place to pull off something like this. There were times I felt like banging my head on brick wall and I had many sleepless nights. But absolutely, it made it more gratifying to see it come together.”
An emotional experience
John, 63, who is ex-RAF, describes McNicoll, who sells sleeping bag liners, as an “African old hand”.
But he admits it was quite emotional — especially for McNicoll — to see what was originally a two-year project, finally come to fruition.
With the project dragging on since 2017, there had been times when some in the Dundee club started to doubt if it would ever happen.
“I was overwhelmed by the determination and resilience of the people,” said John.
“We knew that already from our dealings with them from afar and by Zoom. But meeting them face to face, that extraordinary determination to get things done in the face of huge adversity — that really struck me. Their ability to run the centre on a shoestring budget. They are extremely resourceful. Yet the sad thing is a country like Zimbabwe has all these resources — human capital, geology, minerals, agriculture, climate
— it's all there. But it's a basket case when it comes to government or misgovernment.” Details of the Dundee trip to Zimbabwe
On March 27-28, McNicoll and John travelled from Dundee to Gweru via Edinburgh, London, Johannesburg and Bulawayo.
They were met at Joshua Mqabuko Nkomo International
Airport by Rotary Club Gweru president Thomas Murehwa and Tendai Medanzi — the Gweru project team leader.
They were driven for 170km to Antelope Park, a short distance from Gweru.