3 December 2021

Ben Freeth reports in his latest newsletter from Harare that conditions continue to be tough and there’s a high level of despondency and frustration. He says “the country desperately need change, but it’s extremely difficult to achieve given the stranglehold that the regime has on the country and its citizens.” He notes that November marked four turbulent years since the 2017 de facto coup that catapulted Emmerson Mnangagwa to the presidency. His promise of a “new Zimbabwe” that is “open for business” remains unfulfilled. Ben also gives an update on the progress of the MCF’s projects in Zimbabwe.

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25 August 2021

Dear Colleagues and Friends

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We apologise for the long delay since our last newsletter but it’s been a very challenging time for everyone.

Our chairman, Claire Freeth, became very ill and suffered from delirium as a result of severe pneumoniacaused by the exhaustion of my father’s degenerating condition. She was admitted to hospital, after whichshe needed two months of complete rest. Fortunately she’s now fully recovered, which is a great relief for usall.

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31 MARCH 2021 - Easter Newsletter 

Dear Friends

I am always amazed at the multiplying power of a single seed.
Whennurtured in the right conditions, it can transform itself and yield so verymightily.

Such is the case with our open-pollinated seed crops anddemonstration plots this year.

In fact, in one instance, one single maize plant, grown from just onesingle open-pollinated seed, has yielded five good cobs!
Each cob hasperhaps 200 or more kernels or seeds
on it.

4 FEBRUARY 2021

Dear Friends

In the struggles of 2021 all over the world, I want to share a story of a friend and very brave younglawyer in Zimbabwe.

I have known Fadzayi Mahere for the last decade and more, when she took her first tentative steps asa lawyer defending human rights in the dark world of the Zimbabwe justice system.

I visited her when she went on and worked at the International Criminal Court in The Hague - butthen came home to Zimbabwe to face the horrors of being at the receiving end of the abuse herself.