Learning about "Chabadza"

"Chabadza" is a Shona word that means, at least according to one interpretation, "working together." It is "a clarion call used by families working in the fields when they need help. Chabadza can also be initiated by people who are willing to offer help to a family engaged in any other agricultural work."

I first encountered the reality of "Chadabadza" quite unexpectedly when helping to unload sacks of meal at Mutsago in eastern Zimbabwe in January 2007. This was part of a Volunteer in Mission experience with ZOE Ministry, undertaken while the General Commission on Communications was meeting--and working--in Zimbabwe.

As we arrived at Mutsago, children began flocking to where the truck carrying the sacks of meal stopped. As the adult volunteers began to carry in the sacks of meal, we almost had to compete with the children who were eagerly helping to carry the sacks of meal--usually one sack per child.

The protocol seemed to be for the boys to carry a sack of meal on their shoulders, while the girls would carry it on their heads. They helped as long as there was need of their assistance. They probably unloaded as many sacks by themselves as we did.

I was not surprised by their eagerness to come and see what was going on. The area around Mutsago offered a great deal of scenery but apparently little to do. I could remember the complaints that I uttered in childhood that "There's nothing to do," and I suspected that there was a Shona equivalent for such sentiment.

But the children were not coming to get a look at these peculiar strangers from a far distant land. Instead, they were there to help--without being asked or directed to do so. It was unlike anything that I could imagine back home in the United States.

I shared this experience with someone with more experience in Zimbabwe. He introduced me to the concept of "Chabadza," saying that it simply means that everybody helps until the work is done. Another interpretation is that "Chabadza" means that we are "obligated to help," if only for a short time. My own variation is that "Chabadza" means that we "can't not help!" Perhaps the best biblical example is the story of the Good Samaritan in the New Testament, who stopped to lend the help that he could.

As I anticipate my Volunteers in Mission trip to Zimbabwe, I trust that it will be an experience of "Chabadza," with the opportunity to worship with the people of the Streamview United Methodist Church, to work at the Zimunya Skills Training Centre, to visit children at the Fairfield Children's Home, and to talk, pray, and plan with others interested in and committed to work in Zimbabwe.

I cannot stay and work until all the problems or difficulties are solved, but I can do what I can at least for a little while. And the journey will continue, with a new blessing of friendship, partnership, and help--with "Chabadza."