Progress... is moving forward

Things are happening. It's fantastic. People are jumping on board all over the place. Literally, from distant places like Canada and Denmark, to 'home', Zimbabwe.

Kwapi (Idaho Coordinator) mentioned a significant mechanism for maximising the effectiveness of the day when we Play for Zimbabwe: take pictures! Even if only a handful of people gather where you are, a single photo can validater your purpose and help in the aftermath by showing we still all love our country and want to represent it now matter how far we travel.

Behind the scenes, planning is ongoing. Venues are being confirmed gradually, and other considerations are being dealt with one by one. These include:
- music (having the sounds of home livens the atmosphere and really adds to the celebratory nature of this event)
- refreshments (again, the flavour of home would be ideal, but otherwise anything to give us energy and a heart-warming feeling)
- publicity (mostly word of mouth, but the net is a powerful mechanism, and posters can be fantastic promotion. If anyone needs the logo emailed to them contact play4zimbabwe@gmail.com )
- security (mainly for the big events, because there's always the potential for people to get worked up. Please note however, this is meant to be an enjoyable event so leave the past where it belongs and bring only your enthusiasm for the future.)

It's amazing to see how united Zimbabweans remains despite the geographical divisions, and this is really going to be the start of something better for the nation.

fantastic enthusiasm! Who's where...

So far we have 12 coordinators internationally, and hundreds of people joining the various Facebook, Hi5 and MySpace profiles for the event.

TORONTO, CANADA: Anja Kortenaar (University of Toronto)
Toronto Coordinator
ALLEROD, DENMARK: Thorben K (Denmark)
Allerød Coordinator
JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA: Chanel Bruford (no network)
Johannesburg Coordinator
BIRMINGHAM, UK: Tsitsi Madanhire (University of Hull)
Birmingham Coordinator
BRISBANE, AUSTRALIA: Michael House (Zimbabwe)
Brisbane Coordinator
PITTSBURGH, USA: Kiki Cherry (Pittsburgh, PA)
Pittsburgh Coordinator
IDAHO, USA: Kwapi V (Idaho)
Idaho Coordinator
NEWCASTLE, UK: Warwick Green (Newcastle UK)
Newcastle Coordinator
CHICHESTER, UK: Dane Kaagman (Zimbabwe)
Chichester Coordinator
PERTH, AUSTRALIA: Lucy Jarvis
Perth Coordinator
CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA: Emma Jarvis (Zimbabwe)
Cape Town Coordinator
GRAHAMSTOWN, SOUTH AFRICA: Jess Jarvis (no network)
Grahamstown Coordinator

There are plenty more places where games can happen, and plenty of people who could be coordinators in their location, so jump on board and let us know so we can help get the word out for you. Organising an event is as easy as you want it to be - the smallest and simplest events will just be a gathering of Zimbabweans and friends with a game of backyard cricket and unity celebrated with food and music.

Email: play4zimbabwe@gmail.com

The Handbook

While preparations for the Perth event are being carried out, it might be helpful for everyone else, everywhere else, to see what's needed to get something going where you are:
1) Talk to people about it
2) Get a team together, either to help organise (if you need it) or to help promote it or just to guarantee they'll be there - all the people I've spoken to have promised the latter without hesitation.
3) Find a venue. It can be anywhere, from the small and intimate backyard to the spontaneous game on a street (watch out for traffic) to your nearby park, or school, or university. If it's one of the latter, book it (and watch out for booking fees - if you can get a business owner or community group to cover that then go ahead with it!)
4) get players and teams together
5) get support - again business owners and community groups will help, whether it's by putting up a poster for your event, spreading the word, providing refreshments or just joining in. Remember if you do get any sort of sponsorship help, do a little advertising for them in return (if you want them listed on this site, contact Lucy via play4zimbabwe@gmail.com )

Remember, the emphasis is on enjoying being Zimbabwean and being together to represent a country we all love, so do it all with enthusiasm!

grassroots and weeding

'Play for Zimbabwe' isn't public yet (solely because I want a picture to grab attention and brand the idea - I promise it's coming, but at a suitably Zimbabwean pace). But what is abundantly clear is that everyone is excited about it - everyone is excited about the opportunity to show their pride and recognise the importance of their nationality. These first few days are significant (please note the idea 'Play for Zimbabwe' was only born eight days ago) first for testing the response to this suggestion and for establishing an action plan to make it a reality.

'Play for Zimbabwe' is realistically simple, do-able and appealing, particularly for the 'born free' generation of Zimbabweans who, in recent years, have learnt to network extensively to re-affirm their identities and sense of belonging.

I am as impatient as the next person to see this fulfilled - it would be great if everything was ready "yesterday". But it's important to be practical too - so time to write to Cricket Australia and inform them of the event, out of respect for the game and for their team.

The idea

Australia won't be playing cricket against Zimbabwe this September, and many Zimbabweans are no longer playing for their country. The situation in Zimbabwe is such that people can barely think about the future let alone plan for it. The situation is such that today millions of Zimbabweans live somewhere else. And they all reminisce about what their nation could be.

The 'Play for Zimbabwe' idea grew from the desire to do something to recognise the significance of Australia's decision and of the diasporic Zimbabwean community.

It recognises that Zimbabweans, wherever they are, are tired of hearing only bad news and of feeling like all their battles are always against something. It recognises that Zimbabweans, like all people, want to feel they have something worth celebrating. It recognises that the youth of Zimbabwe, wherever they are now, are always looking for ways to show their love for their nation.

'Play for Zimbabwe' is a celebration that allows us to do that. And it can happen anywhere. It is happening everywhere.