Jenny's Call to Zim Answered

Zimbabwe, A Mute Nation By Talia Day

2009-02-19T12:02:00.000-08:00

Zimbabwe, A Mute Nation

By Talia Day

When a proud man falls to his knees,
Silent tears rolling down his dark face,
His hands pointed to the heavens,
As he looks upon a bag of meal,
There must be something amiss

In humility he shuffles forward,
A chief in his bearing,
A slave in his posture,
An honour bound soul to his family,
He kneels at thou soled feet

Patches toil his knee,
Dusty and grey, his bare feet chipped as rock,
Older hands than his years do tick away,
The face of an elder, an endangered generation,
The forgotten people’s King

The elders do gather,
Their ways slow, pained, deliberate,
For in hunger movement is restrained,
A fish at the bottom of a cold pond,
They gather in indaba, hushed syllables to decide

The hush of the wild does reveal a city of voice,
Cow bells do tinkle! Tinkle! Tonkle!
A goat whickers at a scrawny cock,
The crickets sing their weary song to dogs of rib and bone,
The bush choir of a lost village

Ever lost dew, till another morn,
The shadows do begin, moving, dancing, higher,
Heat shimmers pausing only to lick away the last vestige of moist,
The golden orb a mother and a murderer,
Time does pause and exhale in Africa, the Red land

The fathers have been to ancestor,
In dust and bone they have conferred,
The mothers hold their snotty nosed children,
Their bellies beyond tantrum of emptiness,
They wait with the patience of Africans

“It is agreed.” The old bones do croak

Respectfully they come forward
to speak their family’s identity,
With slow and comprehending reverence,
their acceptance of food so simple, Meal, samp, beans
They come armed with grateful wheelbarrows,
To fill the mouth of hunger unforgiving

These people should be the future leaders,
They carry no pity in their pockets,
Their hearts not hopeless and forlorn,
The only slaughter in the mind is the ritual goat of a long lost son,
Returned with new family to old

The air shimmers with the laughter of young,
Playing imaginary in cardboard Ferrari boxes,
The pubescent unschooled eager for learning, revere the books,
As a snake seeks the sun,
The children of a new generation learn goodness through gratitude

The voices of Africa’s women rise up in a crescendo,
With the natural rhythm and beat of sound,
They sing the praises of the Lord who forsake them,
Only to return in bags of salt and pap,
Conceived in the land, the songs of the saved eternal

The beautiful land of green and red,
Fallen into despair by a tyrant’s hand,
The people do live in chains bound in honour,
To seek the vanished crumb in an empty plate,
For a small few, tonight they will sleep with bellies full,
For others God has left them,
He has turned a deaf ear, To a mute nation

The world cries only dry tears for
This remembered Rhodesia
Our forgotten Zimbabwe

Written by Talia Day 21 years on her return from Zimbabwe
daughter of Jennifer Des-Fountain

Gratitude and Appreciation

2009-02-19T08:56:00.001-08:00

It is commonplace to begin by asking the condition of health when writing a letter, however, for us there is no need for that, because we strongly believe that the Almighty God will keep on protecting and blessing you in the remarkable job that you are doing for His people.

We may be blind, but cannot fail to see the gift of selflessness within your heart. The
extent of your philanthropic gesture is very moving and inspiring. What you did for the
impoverished and destitute of Zimbabwe deserves a medal. We therefore commend you
wholeheartedly as it is our wish that the South Africans and the world can learn from
your benevolent efforts.

Download the Pdf, to read further.

Isuzu Truck deliver supplies to Zimbabwe

2009-02-18T08:32:00.000-08:00

When Jenny Des-Fountain asked for assistance on radio 702 with her mission to provide food for starving villages in Zimbabwe, she did not count on such an amazing response. She soon realized she needed a truck and that is how Isuzu Trucks got involved.

On hearing that Jenny was sacrificing her 50th birthday gift to help others; Isuzu Trucks felt that this was the perfect opportunity to assist, even though it may only be a small part of her mission. “In times like this, it was an easy decision to make. By providing the vehicle and a driver to transport the goods to Zimbabwe, we could contribute in a small but meaningful way, without heavy, unplanned cost implications” said Laureen Stock, Customer Care and Marketing Manager.

“The fact that our new Isuzu NPR400T AMT had just been launched in October last year and a demo unit was readily available worked to everyone’s advantage. We would also like to thank Johann Harmzen for agreeing to drive the vehicle and protect our asset on this potentially hazardous journey” comments Craig Uren, Chief Operations Officer.

We admire Jenny’s courage and determination in following through with her mission and we’ll update the story in due course.

To Zim, with love, Jenny...

2009-02-08T06:52:00.000-08:00

When 50-year-old Jenny Des-Fountain thought about the perfect gift she would like to have for her birthday, an entire country came to mind.

The decision however, was not fueled by pretty images of pearly white beaches and azure waters, rolling green hills or 18th century architecture; it was the image of a destitute mother and her child scraping the bottom of a pot in rural Zimbabwe...

Read the whole story.

Make a donation

2009-02-07T11:06:00.000-08:00

INA McDonald Attorneys Trust Account:

First National Bank

Account No: 565 1000 9090

Branch: 253742

NB! NB! REF# ZIM AID

Please attach this reference, your name and contact details so that we can give you a report back on the mission.

E-mail to jenny@quantum-leap.co.za.

Jenny Des-Fountain will drive tonnes of donated food to Zimbabwe

2009-02-07T11:02:00.000-08:00

"It has been amazing to realize how much people want to give, but they just don't know how,"

Jenny and her friends intend to give ongoing assistance to the village. To contribute, contact 082-308-7181 or jenny@quantum-leap.co.za

One-Woman aid mission to Zim

2009-02-07T10:58:00.000-08:00

But a party was the last thing on Jenny Des-Fountain's mind as her half century approached. "It just didn't seem meaningful when Zimbabwe was going through what it was going through," the blond life-coach says.

"So I just got hold of my friends and said: 'Come on guys, bring a bag of mealie-meal [maize porridge powder] along', and they did.

Original BBC Story

Recent News

2009-02-06T09:16:00.000-08:00

When Jenny Des-Fountain turned 50, she asked for food – lots of food. The birthday gifts she most desired were rice, tinned protein and cooking oil. It wasn’t that Jenny was hungry, but she...

Download the Pdf.

"So I just got hold of my friends and said: 'Come on guys, bring a bag of mealie-meal [maize porridge powder] along', and they did.

Original BBC Story.