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Theseus Shambare
Tendai Maduwa, a renowned actor with a successful career in Hollywood, recently returned to his rural hometown of Mutoko.
The familiar landscape felt both comforting and foreign — a stark contrast to the glitz and glamour of his life abroad.
Yet, it was here, amid the simplicity of his childhood, that a dream was born.
“I realised that while I had achieved success in film, something was missing,” Maduwa reflected.
“I wanted to give back to the community that shaped me and create opportunities for young people who might not have the same chances I had.”
Inspired by his journey, Maduwa envisioned creating Roots Academy, a film school in Mutoko, where aspiring filmmakers could learn their craft and tell stories that would resonate worldwide. However, the idea was met with scepticism.
Many doubted the feasibility of such a project in a remote area with limited resources.
But Maduwa remained undeterred.
“I knew that there was untapped talent in Mutoko,” he explained.
“I wanted to provide a platform for these young people to showcase their abilities and pursue their dreams.”
With unwavering determination, he rallied support from family, friends and the local community, embarking on the challenging task of fundraising and planning.
Now, the countdown to the academy’s launch in 2025 has begun. The school will start by enrolling Form One students, with plans to offer a one-year certificate programme in filmmaking.
“This academy will have Forms One to Six. We are starting with Form ones in 2025, which we are currently enrolling. Our Film School Programme offers a one-year certificate course that focuses on the practical aspects of the film business.
“Instead of relying solely on theoretical knowledge, students gain hands-on experience by creating films from start to finish. They learn everything from idea generation to distribution, ensuring they are well-equipped for the industry.”
Diaspora-driven development
Maduwa is one of many Zimbabwean expatriates who have found success abroad and are now investing back home. In recent years, Zimbabwe has seen a surge in developmental projects funded by its diaspora, from urban homes to agricultural enterprises.
In Dick village on the outskirts of Hwange, Michael and Constance Padiwa have transformed once-barren land into a thriving aquaculture project.
With financial support from their son Tinashe, who works in Zambia, the couple drilled a 60-metre deep borehole to sustain five fishponds.
“After having visited him in Zambia, we were impressed with what we saw him doing abroad,” said Mrs Padiwa.
“He has established himself as a well-known farmer in Kafue.
“He employs more than 100 people at his farm in the foreign land, so we asked him to replicate the same back home.”
The couple now has five fishponds that measure 20 metres by 10 metres at their homestead.
Since 2022, the Padiwas have been harvesting tilapia fish that fetch between US$2,50 and US$4 per kilogramme, setting them on a path to significant profits.
Staying rooted
For some Zimbabweans living abroad, like Sharon Muriva, working overseas is both a financial necessity and a way to support family back home.
Muriva, a nurse in Midrand, South Africa, migrated in 2014 after training at Chitungwiza General Hospital and working briefly at Harare Central Hospital.
“My husband got a managerial job with a haulage company in South Africa, so I followed him,” she said.
“Getting a job as a foreigner wasn’t easy, but I eventually found work at a local hospital.”
Despite settling in South Africa, Muriva and her husband regularly visit Zimbabwe during school holidays to be with their children, who live with her mother in Chitungwiza.
The couple also runs a thriving agricultural business in Murewa district, where four full-time workers manage a five-hectare vegetable farm producing lettuce, tomatoes, onions and cucumbers. Their produce, supplied to one of Harare’s largest fast-food chains, earns the family US$10 000 weekly.
“Besides having time with kids, we have invested in agriculture back home in Murewa district,” she said.
“My father and mother-in-law oversee our projects. We’ve even installed a cold room at our Chitungwiza house to store the produce before deliveries.”
Finding success abroad
The Makoti brothers — Tendai, Tinovimba, and Takunda — have also made a name for themselves in South Africa’s meat industry.
Tendai, the eldest, moved to South Africa during the period of hyperinflation and worked his way up to managing 70 stores at Food Lovers Market. Eventually, he invited his brothers to join him, and together they launched Makoti Market, a retail chain matching their former employer’s standards.
“We employ dozens of South Africans, proving that Zimbabweans are not here to take locals’ jobs, but to create them.
“We are actually creating jobs in South Africa while contributing to the building of our country back home,” said Tinovimba.
However, the call to return home continues to ring in their minds.
“Home is always home,” said Tinovimba, who is now working in the United Kingdom. “We decided to invest back home.
“After having drilled a solar-powered borehole that is assisting our village, we opened a butchery in the Harare’s Central Business District early this year.”
While Tendai remains in South Africa, Takunda is overseeing the family’s new butchery in Harare.
“We want it to be bigger and better as we prepare to return back home,” said Tinovimba.
Challenges of migration
But not all Zimbabwean migration stories have been smooth. Some have fallen victim to human trafficking and exploitation, lured by false promises of well-paying jobs.
International Organisation for Migration (IOM) chief of mission Ms Dyane Epstein said they were focusing on creating legal pathways for migration.
“In search of economic gains, Zimbabweans are migrating to other regions like the Middle East, where the Zimbabwean Government has intervened to ensure that its people are able to return home after falling victims to human trafficking,” said Ms Epstein.
She said the creation of “legal pathways for migration” meant facilitating the movement of individuals from one country to another legally, whether they are doctors, nurses or professionals in other fields.
In 2022, more than 100 Zimbabwean women enslaved under the guise of domestic work in the Gulf region were freed after the Government intervened to facilitate their repatriation.
“We aim to reduce irregular migration and promote safe, humane movement for professionals across borders,” she said.
Regional cooperation to manage migration
Public Service, Labour, and Social Welfare Minister July Moyo said there was a need for regional collaboration on migration.
“We receive a number of migrants who come to Zimbabwe and we send out migrants to other countries, both regionally and internationally,” he said.
“We have legal instruments that can protect our people who are migrants and the people who are also migrants coming to Zimbabwe.
“We have set up centres so that we can educate our people about the dangers and the advantages of migration, and these centres are now operating in Bulawayo.
“We do not like migration that involves human trafficking, which is abominable. We want to work with them to make sure that we reduce this and where there is such human trafficking, we want to bring back our people, as we have done from the Middle East.”
The Government has also entered bilateral agreements with other countries, including Rwanda, to ensure safe migration.
As part of one such deal, 160 Zimbabwean educators have relocated to Rwanda, with plans to recruit more professionals in various fields.
Meanwhile, the Zimbabwe Health Service Board reported that in 2021 alone, over 2 200 medical personnel, including 900 nurses, left the country to seek other opportunities abroad.
South Africa, the UK and Canada are major recipients of Zimbabwe’s healthcare workers.
A return to roots
While many Zimbabweans abroad have found success, the desire to return home remains strong.
Maduwa’s dream of establishing Roots Academy in Mutoko symbolises the potential for diaspora-driven development.
As the academy prepares to open its doors in 2025, it stands as a testament to the enduring connection Zimbabweans feel to their homeland, no matter how far they roam.
“We are building something meaningful here,” Maduwa said. “For me, it’s not just about success abroad — it is about creating opportunities at home.”
Tinaye Agere
Online Reporter