Love to Zimbabwe
Traveling is always an adventure and this trip was no exception! Our team of 6 - Tom, Jennifer, Sonja, Jeanne, John and Ceallaigh trekked all over Zimbabwe spreading photo love for 10 days! We have included some highlights here. We have SO many wonderful stories and memories that we would love to share with you! If you are interested in hearing more (because you are headed to Zimbabwe yourself and want some advice, interested in our work or going on a Print the Love trip, or something else!), let's set up a coffee date! In person or virtual!y. Email Ceallaigh at ceallaigh@printthelove.org.
When asked about their experience on the trip, here are some responses from the team:
“I was overwhelmed by how amazing the people were – welcoming and warm – even in such tough circumstances. I feel that I have developed a whole new level of respect for the creativity people exhibit when trying to survive in difficult circumstances. It is an amazing experience!”
“The residents of Zimbabwe are absolutely beautiful, grateful, happy, and generous. The way that they take care of each other as a community is incredible. The trip truly was a life changing experience that brings an unmeasurable amount of joy to so many people.”
“It was awesome! The trip of a lifetime!”
“Seeing the kiddos’ and some of the elderly friends’ eyes light up when they saw their photo of themselves was my favorite part. Also, I will remember so many things! The children. The train ride. The little boy at the orphanage who crawled right up in to the van and started to “chat” with me. Feeding the giraffes. The rhino and elephant encounter. The incredible views during the Jabulani hike. Great conversations with team members. Welcoming hosts and guides. Truly a unique experience!”
“It's an incredibly rewarding experience giving people a photo of themselves, and it's an amazing way to connect with people while traveling. Ceallaigh does a great job planning so I'd highly recommend it!”
Zimbabwe Trip Highlights:
Zimbabwe is an incredible country - in its people, culture, and natural landscape.
We gave away over 2,700 photos! The joy of giving away photos is profound - both for the giver and the receiver.
We included protectors with each photo, thanks to a donation from UltraPro! So that the photos can last for generations!
In addition to the photos, we gave over 100 custom note cards to school children made by elementary students form Minnesota with the message, "You matter!" written in Shona.
Over the 10 days on the ground, we stayed in 5 different cities in Zimbabwe - Harare, Norton, Shangani, Bulawayo, and Victoria Falls. We stayed at 2 local homes, a safari lodge in the bush, a small hotel, a train, and a resort. We meet such wonderful people and recommend all the lodging! See links above.
We traveled in many taxis, vans, and jeeps, flew in 7 airplanes, spent 17 hours on an old sleeper train, ate lots of sudza and peanut butter rice, saw a dam being built, survived the Jabulani zip-line and watched John jump off a bridge. We visited one of the 7 natural wonders of the world, Victoria Falls, fed giraffes and witnessed a pangolin walk at Wild is Life (a must do in Harare!), and saw more incredible wild animals on a safari (elephants, lions, hippos, hyenas, rhinos, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, impalas, kudus, wildebeest, warthogs, and birds) than we can count.
We gave away photos at the Zimbabwe Farm Project (a wonderful organization!), a market, 5 schools, 2 orphanages, 7 neighborhoods, an old persons home, and a health clinic.
Our drivers (Rhodes, Amon, Daniel, and Melody to name a few) were awesome! They contributed to our mission in remarkable ways.
And a HUGE thank you to all our amazing donors who helped make this trip happen!
