From stones to water: (Daphne Brown raises money for provide water to remote Zimbabwe villages).

When Daphne Brown's mother died she left some money to the Miriam Dean Refugee Trust, a small organization working in Zimbabwe. Brown, who lives in Datchworth, Hertfordshire, UK, learned that the money had been used to provide water for the tiny village of Gwava in the Masvingo region.

She had a growing desire to visit Gwava, but, as it was so remote, could not see how to get there. One day, from a TV holiday programme on Zimbabwe, she learned of a travel company which was willing to arrange individual itineraries. They agreed to arrange one for her if she could find somewhere to stay. The Trust that had organized the borehole contacted another mission near Gwava which agreed to look after her.

At Gwava she was received with great warmth, but soon discovered that while the borehole provided plenty of water for drinking and washing, it was not connected up to irrigate the fields, She immediately decided to help them purchase the missing equipment--pump, pipes, taps and hoses. She hired a technician from the nearest town and waited to see it all fitted. `It was a very moving moment,' she says, `when the headman turned on the tap to send water, via the large but hitherto unused storage tank, into the fields.'

As one of her hobbies is video filming, she recorded all that had happened and, on returning home, showed the video to various friends. People were so moved that, before long, she had been given over [pounds sterling] 1,000 to help another village in the same way. Within three months she was back in Zimbabwe in another remote village--Mhihwa--selected by the Trust. `They had to walk five kilometres to fetch water--one hour there and two hours back carrying it.' She had taken a surveyor with her and they soon found a suitable site for drilling, marking the spot with a heap of stones. She also managed to revisit Gwava where she found village life transformed. `There was a whole field of vegetables, beautifully mulched and healthy, and they supply a large area with produce.'

Once home, more donations kept pouring in and she knew she had to make a third visit. This time she provided boreholes for the villages of Nzemba and Chirove and again the sites for them were marked with stones.

Brown has called the video she has made about the four villages, From stones to water. Things haven't stood still and she says she now has enough money to provide water for two more villages--and will shortly be setting out for Zimbabwe again.