Binga

Binga, Zimbabwe. 2012.

It’s easy to stereotype a country by how the news portrays it. We imagine the USA to be burgers, fries & Hollywood tans; we think Australia is all about those funny hats & Fosters lager. I guess I wasn't the only one to think that Zimbabwe was all about controversial politics. I certainly didn't imagine that I'd see a Bible in a local Zimbabwean dialect on my travels.

In Binga I sat down with a young guy who was really enthusiastic to show me his Bible. And his favourite Bible passage, in the book of John. A moment where I realised afresh that people are people, all over the world.

There’s drought in this area, as in much of the country. Food and water are scarce and the number of people reliant on food packages grows each year. Even when small local charities help, they can’t provide rain or control the weather.

But Zimbabwe reminded me that I love talking about the Bible with other people. I chatted to a farmer who wanted to tell me all about her love of tea. I got to know a student who was doing work experience with a charity and enjoyed writing as much as me. We often think that someone across the globe would have nothing in common with us, but people are people, all over the world.

It strikes me that although pictures are stories; it’s people who tell them. And each of us has a story to tell. Where we’ve come from or where we are going - what’s just happened to us or what’s affected us for a long time. Words are powerful and stories are too. 

For the young guy reading John, this story was his favourite and as he told me so, it wasn’t about the poverty in Binga. It wasn’t about the drought or the difficulties of farming. We shared words together; we shared a love of the same book and I forgot about the stereotypes.

One year on, and I'm realising how much my perspective of Zimbabwe has changed. This picture reminds me of the real interactions that occurred across the globe, and how amazing that one book can create a great conversation. 
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This post is part of "A Picture is a Story" and other posts can be found under the label, below.