Godfrey Sachiti (Autobiography)

I, Godfrey Sachiti was born in 1980 in Manicaland province (Mutare district) in a small family of four, 2 girls and 2 boys.  I grew up in a rural area, that’s where I started my primary school.  When I was in grade 3 my father passed away, that was 1989 and I was 9 years old.  I continued with my primary school but life was becoming tough for us because there was no money for school fees.  I finished my primary and went to a secondary school.  At school my best subject was T.D. because I was very good at drawing pictures.  At Form 3 life then became tougher because now school fees were very high.  My sister stopped school at grade 7.  My twin brother and I were in the same class and same grade but he stopped at Form 2 and I was the only one going to school.  I suddenly stopped at Form 3 second term because of money.  That’s when I first came to Harare. At first I was asking for money to go back to school but I didn’t get it.  So I stayed with my brother.  He is an artist and I used to go with him to work, first helping him to clean his pieces and then he started teaching me to carve.  He is good at animals like Elephants, Rhino’s, Leopards, Lions and I used to carve some abstract creations.  It took about 2 years before I started getting some money to my mother and also buy food for them.  After a year I met with another friend of mine who would cross the border to South Africa with stones.  He took me the first time and then life became better for me because I was getting money to do it for myself.  I can also carve.  In 2005 that’s when I met my Angel, my beautiful wife Nyaradzo (Memory).  She was born in a small family of three, 2 girls and 1 boy.  Her mother passed away before we got married.  I met with Mr. Yvan in Jorberg at my work place and we agreed to work together.  For more information he knows me better.  I don’t drink or smoke and I go to church every Saturday.

Comment: (Yvan)

I met Godfrey at a curio market in South Africa selling Shona art.  Right away I got a good feeling about him so I asked him to come with me to Zimbabwe to collect sculpture. On the way to Zimbabwe, Godfrey told me of his family struggles and that of his friends.  When we got to Chitingwisa, where he lives, I saw first hand the extent of the poverty and the lack of life’s basic necessities.

All this really touched my heart especially when I saw the malnourished children.  Being a father of two myself I decided I had to do something to help them.  I called home and told my wife (Karine) what was going on.  She too was heartbroken and started gathering clothes and toys from friends and family.  When I returned home to Canada after being away for two months, I was surprised to see what had already been gathered.

This is how the idea of starting a sponsorship and charity program was developed.  With the help of my Partner (Bryon) we put together a plan to make sure the help goes directly to the people that need it most.  We have employed Godfrey as our representative in Zimbabwe and have entrusted him to distribute clothing and other necessities provided by our program.