Joshua Muswere
WOMEN in Bulawayo will have an opportunity to engage in conversations around breast health and wellness through a breast cancer awareness session aimed at promoting informed choices, confidence and supportive communities.
Scheduled for Saturday, 24 October, it will bring women together through movement and discussions on breast health, as cancer awareness initiatives continue to highlight the importance of education and support for those affected by the disease.
Fadzai Gamble, founder of R263 Pilates, a wellness facility in Bulawayo said bringing women together was designed to create a welcoming space where women could connect, share experiences and learn about their well-being.
“This is an opportunity to bring women together for conversations about breast health and create a supportive environment through movement. We want women to come and leave this event feeling empowered, informed and connected,” she said.
Gamble said the initiative also presented an opportunity to make a meaningful contribution beyond the event itself, including potential support for local breast cancer initiatives.
She emphasised the importance of ensuring that women recovering from cancer treatment have access to appropriate physical activities, while recognising that their needs differ.
“After cancer treatment, I think it is important for us to distinguish between Pilates as a supportive form of exercise and medical rehabilitation,” she said.
Gamble said although breast cancer survivors had attended classes at the facility, the intention was to create an environment where women recovering from treatment could explore movement to help improve their strength, posture and confidence.
Gamble said the facility hopes to work with physiotherapists, healthcare professionals and breast cancer support organisations to develop suitable programmes for women who may benefit from carefully guided exercise.
Beyond cancer awareness, R263 Pilates is also looking to contribute to sports development, injury prevention and the growth of the country’s wellness sector.
Gamble said Pilates was often misunderstood as an exercise exclusively for women or a form of stretching, yet it could help athletes develop coordination, body control and movement efficiency.
She said these qualities are important across various sporting disciplines, including football, cricket, tennis, rugby and athletics.
“Athletes don’t just need to be powerful. They also need to move efficiently and control their bodies,” she said.
Gamble said the facility had begun engaging members of Bulawayo’s sporting community and was exploring partnerships with clubs and teams to introduce reformer Pilates into athletes’ conditioning programmes.
While exercise cannot guarantee that athletes will avoid injuries, she believes appropriately designed conditioning programmes can contribute to injury prevention and improved physical performance.
She also hopes to train local Pilates instructors, create employment opportunities and contribute to sports and wellness tourism.
Gamble said her decision to establish the facility was inspired by her own experience of Pilates while living in England, where she discovered its benefits for physical strength, posture, confidence and general well-being.
“I am proudly Zimbabwean. My family roots are here, and this is where I was born, so why shouldn’t people back home have access to this too?” she said.
She explained that the name R263 reflected the facility’s focus on reforming how people think about movement and exercise, while the number represented Zimbabwe’s international dialing code and the pride she has in the country.
Gamble said she wanted to make Pilates accessible to more people, regardless of their fitness levels or previous experience.
“You don’t need to be flexible, you don’t need to be an athlete and you don’t need to have exercised before. You just need to be willing to start,” she said.
She added: “I didn’t want to simply bring Pilates to Zimbabwe. I wanted to bring something to Zimbabweans we could be proud of.”
