Healing a Home: How the Chiwa Family Found Each Other Again

By Sebastian Mupa & Ronald Magweta

For decades, the sound of laughter was rare in the Chiwa household in Mukorera Village, Buhera District. 

Tambudzai (55) and her husband, Winmore (55), lived under a heavy cloud of conflict. Raised in a polygamous home without the opportunity for an education, Winmore did not see the value of schooling or the importance of nurturing family relationships. He remained distant from his children, leaving Tambudzai to shoulder the full burden of raising and providing for them.

“To keep my children in school, I had to work in other people’s fields,” Tambudzai recalls. 

“I would leave home early and come back exhausted, but I had no choice because I wanted a better future for them.”

Their home was marked by silence, tension, and survival rather than love. There was little connection between husband and wife, and even less between father and children.

Everything began to change in 2024 when the couple attended World Vision’s Celebrating Families training under the Let the Children Come (LCC) Grant. The programme, which brings caregivers and children together to rebuild relationships and promote positive parenting, challenged them to confront their past and reimagine their future as a family.

“The training reminded my husband of the days we were courting,” says Tambudzai. 

“It sparked something we had lost a long time ago. After the sessions, we started spending time together in ways we never had before. That’s when I knew things were changing.”

For Winmore, one session in particular became a turning point. Reflecting on his past behaviour, he began to see the pain it had caused.

“I realized that what I was doing to my family all this time was wrong,” he admits. “Sometimes you may think that what you are doing as a man is right when you are totally wrong.”

In a powerful act of accountability and restoration, Winmore chose to personally pay 300 dollars in lobola for his wife, a responsibility he had neglected for decades.

“I wanted to do the right thing and show my wife that I respect her,” he says. “This was something I should have done long ago.”

As their relationship began to heal, the change quickly spread to their children. Their eldest daughter, Jessica (32), could hardly believe the difference in her father.

“When we spoke on the phone, I could hear the change in his voice,” Jessica says. “I even asked them if they had joined a new church because he was no longer the same person.”

Tambudzai smiles as she remembers that moment. “We told her, ‘It’s not a new church. It’s Celebrating Families."

For their 17-year-old daughter Melissa, the transformation was felt in a deeply personal way. When she received her Ordinary Level results and passed one subject, she feared her father’s reaction. In the past, it would have been anger and disappointment. Instead, she experienced something entirely different.

“My father sat down with me and asked what I wanted to do next,” Melissa says. “He gave me time to think about my future. I felt supported for the first time.”

A new culture is now taking root in the Chiwa family—one where education is valued, communication is open, and children are encouraged rather than criticized. Jessica is now preparing to rewrite the subjects she did not pass, motivated by the support she now receives at home.

Today, Tambudzai and Winmore are not only rebuilding their own family but also helping others do the same. Drawing from their journey, they have become a source of guidance within their community.

“We always share our story with other families who are going through what we experienced,” says Tambudzai. “We tell them that change is possible because we have lived it.”

They recently counseled a local man and his two wives who were struggling with conflict and violence. Through continued engagement, the family has begun to live more peacefully.

“When they face challenges, they now come to us for advice,” Tambudzai adds. “It makes us happy to see other families finding peace.”

Reflecting on the journey, Winmore speaks with conviction about the change in his life. 

“My family is now united. There is love in our home. I have learned to listen, to support my children, and to respect my wife. This training changed me.”

The Chiwa family is one of 20 families transformed in Mukorera Village and among 200 families reached across five Area Programmes in Zimbabwe through the 2024 LCC Grant Cohort 2. Through this support, homes that were once filled with conflict are becoming places of safety and belonging.

“Before, children would run away from home when there was conflict,” Tambudzai reflects. “Now, our home is a place where they feel safe and loved.”

The story of the Chiwa family is a powerful reminder that when families are given the opportunity to heal, they can rebuild trust, restore dignity, and create a future where children can truly thrive.