Making a difference, One Village at a time
One Village-Amai is the creation of local wellness leader, entrepreneur and coach Chipo Shambare.
She now calls Ottawa home, but always remembers where she came from — a village in Zimbabwe.
One Village aims to improve health and reduce poverty, working one village at a time. With an emphasis on community participation, traditional ways of life, self-help and self-knowledge, One Village will first focus on the village of Timuri.
The small non-profit organization is Shambare’s tribute to her mother, who died tragically when she was visiting her daughter in Canada. “Amai” is the Shona word for mother.
Shambare’s 65-year-old mother was killed in May 1988 when she was hit by a car after running onto Carling Avenue after her eightyear-old granddaughter, who was not injured.
Shambare’s goal is to help the people of her village create for themselves healthier lifestyles and develop skills to heal and transform their lives.
Given Shambare’s personal knowledge of the village way of life, her plan is to gain trust and listen to the expressed needs of community members in Timuri. Funding for this first stage of the project will allow One Village to ship books, supplies and nutritional supplements to the village. One or two people (including Shambare) will travel to Zimbabwe to set up libraries and create a train-the-trainers initiative, working with women and youth leaders.
The nearby Chivaraidzo Home for orphans and vulnerable children will also benefit from the shipment of supplies and books to Timuri. Chivaraidzo does not bring the children together in a typical orphanage setting, but rather seeks to have them housed in homes across the community, so that they stay in touch with their own cultures, religions and ethnic groups. Chivaraidzo supports the children with food, health support, clothing and school fees.
Shambare has travelled to her African home a number of times, and what Nelson Mandela once said about going home rings true for her. He said, “There is nothing like returning to a place that remains unchanged to find the ways in which you yourself have altered.”
She adds that, “I see that landscape and physical buildings of my childhood home have changed, but the people and their inner landscape have not. Many of the same struggles we faced when I was a child still remain among members of the community. I see this because I have changed.”
While self-help and community development will be important tools for change, One Village will include a strong educational component, providing specific information on living with HIV/AIDs, reducing infectious disease transmission, basic personal and community hygiene, clean water, dental hygiene and the importance of healthy African diets. Shambare is also a trained nurse and mid-wife.
Among her many interests and causes, Shambare is a member of Ottawa’s community choir, Big Soul Project, known for its upbeat and inspiring concerts.
The choir, along with its funky house band, Deep Groove, will perform a fundraising concert for One Village on Sept. 12 at Fourth Avenue Baptist Church. Like all Big Soul Project concerts, it should be a great evening of gospel, reggae and soul music, with lots of opportunities to sing along and even dance in the aisles.
Tickets are available from the Ottawa Vocal and Dance Performance Academy, (613) 722-1010, by calling (613) 699-0288 or on PayPal at this link: chiposhambare.com/wp/ fundraising-concert-sept-2015/
One Village is a non-profit organization, but is not a registered charity and therefore cannot provide charitable receipts for donations. However, donors can be assured their contributions will go directly to the work in Zimbabwe, as there are virtually no overhead or administrative costs. Chipo Shambare volunteers her time to One Village, as do others who work with her.