Harare, 5 February: Movie star Vin Diesel once famously declared that he lived his life “a quarter mile at a time.” 2020 felt like that for me.In the first quarter of 2020 I lost two beloved family members, my grandfather (we called him Zambu after his totem) and my brother Tawanda whom we called T1.Those were the two toughest moments for me in 2020 (other than the virus). Days before Zambu’s passing on I visited him and we shared fond memories. I told him that I was visiting Chimanimani on a small assignment and I would see him on my return, a few days after New Year’s Day.Little did I know that it would be the last conversation we would have. I would see him again for the last time as we bade him farewell. The Lord had called him whilst I was on my way from Chimanimani. Ten weeks later, in March the Lord called T1, another painful loss. Life had to go on, comforted by the knowledge that time heals. I think I am getting there.Around March COVID19 struck the nation, with Zimbabwe recording its first death. Before then the news was awash with the devastating impact of the pandemic globally, especially in the global North and in South Africa which is closer to home.We heard many myths about how COVID-19 would have less of an impact in this hemisphere. I heard it all “good temperatures, better immune systems”. In my heart, I knew that it was going to be a tough time. As the cases rose Zimbabwe quickly went into lockdown on 30 March 2020. Lockdown would prove to be a test of mental strength and character. Luckily, I had a friend now-turned brother to stay with during that time. I also had my manager Priscilla, who would check in daily. I would not have made it if but for these people.People had to learn and unlearn some habits. I had to learn to drink a lot more water and wash my hands more often. Sometimes during the lockdown, I missed my family and friends but we kept in touch via the phone. One of my deepest fears during lockdown concerned how work would be done. The pandemic had cut all prospects of meeting with communities and other stakeholders. Work had to be done and in “smarter” ways.Fortunately GL transitioned quickly to working virtually because of our good information technology system. We put in many hours of qualitative work, updating the country website pages. We reflected on the work done with our local authorities since 2016. This culminated in a learning paper. I am proud to have contributed to this document. I found myself yearning to do something new. In my free time, I looked for opportunities to further my studies, a process that I am still undergoing. I read on various areas of interest from development studies to public administration and political science, all the while thinking of how this would fit into my work should an opportunity arise. This would keep me from thinking about the pandemic.The opportunity to go back to some kind of normalcy came in September when the government of Zimbabwe relaxed some regulations. With numerous donor deliverables, we had to come up with an execution strategy second to none. Together, with my colleagues Priscilla and Juliet we strategically thought about how we could achieve all this work in a short space of time.It dawned on us that our best hope of meeting deliverables, which would also lead to a greater devolution of ownership in our work, would be to build the capacity of gender focal persons in local authorities. We worked with our partners to conduct local-level activities, while we worked nationally. That proved to be the best decision ever.As a unit, we scored some big milestones including hosting the annual SADCProtocol@Work summit. As a result of our decade-long lobbying and advocacy efforts for temporary special measures at the local level the President supported a quota for women following a meeting with the Women in Local Government Forum (WLGF). I am proud to be a part of this history. I never thought that we would achieve such a feat. This victory taught me that we must never give up, no matter the circumstances.I had kept an eye on the COVID-19 statistics. It dawned on me that sooner rather than later the statistics would cease to become just numbers but be faces and names of people we knew. I was right. I kept telling myself that I had to be more cautious and vigilant. I told my family and friends that I loved them and because I loved them, they were not welcome at my house. We would have many more occasions to meet once this virus subsided. I hope that the vaccine comes soon. I can only look forward to a better year. I have learnt that you have to maximise the little time you have. Work hard, play hard and love like a baby. Tomorrow is not guaranteed.(Tapiwa Zvaraya is the Local Action for Gender Justice Zimbabwe Coordinator).
