VADOMA

In the confines of Western Zimbabwe, Mashonaland Central Province lives the Vadoma tribe who have adapted to the most dreadful and treacherous conditions. The Vadoma tribe is a group of Indigenous people, ethnic groups that are descended from and identify with the original inhabitants of a given region, in contrast to groups that have settled, occupied or colonized the area.  Doma communities stand out as the best recognized, most disadvantaged community and usually referred to as “marginalized persons, groups ‘

The Doma people derogatorily referred as ‘Ostrich People’ experience discrimination and have limited access to food, social services, professional and sanitary health support despite a prominence of disabilities in the community. The area is a vast expanse of thick forests infested with ferocious beasts and reptiles. Lack of specific laws on indigenous people’s rights and the non-inclusion of indigenous people’s concepts in the country’s Constitution worsen the situation. ’According to United Nations (2016) Statistics, there are about 1 050 Doma people making up around (0, 03) percent of the country’s population.

In Kanyemba area of Mbire, is a land of the Doma people who still dress in threadbare clothes, some shirtless and barefooted. Inhabited by primitive people who struggle to make ends meet, distant from civilization; they are a shadow of life that our ancestors used to live. Dwellers survive on hunting gathering, men hunt for animals whilst women and children dig for roots. Roots are served for breakfast and lunch, meat from the hunt is reserved for supper. Previously there have been various reports of man devoured by lions, hyenas, cheetahs, crocodiles but the government is oblivious of such communities. Perilous beasts, lions in particular attack people in cold blood in the night during their sleep. The leaders have centered and saturated the infrastructure in the Capital whilst other regions like Doma remain poor.

Baisai Karenga, Secretary of the Mariga area in the region said people are killed by the wildlife living amongst them, and they do not get assistance from authorities. The parks department says if it is a woman, they help, but if it is a man, they ignore. People have endeavored to resolve those surprise attacks from the by building houses with raised floors. The structures are suspended two meters away from the ground supported by wooden poles. Victims use removable stairway to enter and exit the house, the sides of the ladder have guard rails to prevent children from falling off the house. The staircase is removed in the night to avoid the carnivores’ species from entering into the house.

The land is enriched with black fertile soil but the farmers constantly encounter hindrance from herbivores. Animals ravish the plants day and night at will without ceasing hence their harvest is disturbed. Animals also break into homesteads and eat the community’s goats and other livestock, because there is no fencing to act as a safeguard .Hunters set snore around the field in an attempt to regulate the problem. This phenomenal problem is a bone of contention and has caused many subsistence farmers to abandon agriculture. Government is aware of this, but it takes no action against the predicaments.

Imagine living in a town without hospitals and clinics, where can people run to if their health is threatened, that’s how Doma people live. Children are not immunized against the six killer disease, they suffer from malnutrition due to lack of balanced diet. Women are in desperate need of maternity wards and specialized doctors to cater for pregnancy complications. Because there are no hospitals in the area, women walk a great distance to cross a river that borders their community, often giving birth along the way. The people suffer from a rare genetic condition called Ectrodactyly or ‘Lobster Claw Syndrome’ which causes toes to develop into two large toes rather than five.

In my observation supermarkets, banks and other commercial facilities are missing in the Doma region. Businesses have advanced their operations to these communities, but the indigenous people are not deriving any rewards. Their skills and knowledge competencies are backward since educational and training services are not easily accessible to them. Majority of the people are illiterate because of lack of schools for both primary and secondary education. I recall a case of a man who scratched his head after I asked him to disclose his age. Children do not have anything to do because they do not attend school. Lack of education has also led to ripple effects such as child marriage, with children wedding as young as twelve (12).

The International Labor Organization also stresses that the indigenous groups are not included in social dialogue on matters affecting them. Such factors have partly contributed to the failure to achieve sustainable development in Zimbabwe. If one should visit this part of the country, he/she may have an impression that there are no longer in the present Zimbabwe. Government need to elevate the living standards of these disinherited citizens. After thirty seven years of Independence in Zimbabwe, the government has shown ultimate incompetence, this part of the nation remain underdeveloped