Friendship Benches – The Power of Listening
On Saturday, March 16th, a photo exhibition will open in the choir of the town church. The expressive images portray grandmothers in Zimbabwe. With their willingness to listen, they overcome loneliness and save lives. A silent revolution – from bank to bank, day by day, word by word. This idea could become a model throughout Africa and beyond.
What is happening in the gardens of clinics and hospitals around Zimbabwe's capital, Harare, is a silent revolution in a country where mental health problems are stigmatized, worse even than AIDS. In Zimbabwe, one in six people is infected with HIV. Often more debilitating than the virus itself is its companion. Kufungisisa, they call it here. It means: When you think too much. Almost a quarter of the population is said to suffer from it. The worries are overwhelming. Mismanagement and corruption have made Zimbabwe one of the poorest countries in the world. The suicide rate in Zimbabwe is higher than in almost any other African country.
Help for the mentally ill is only available to a fraction of those in need. Then, psychiatrist Dixon Chibanda began placing grandmothers, like Gogos, such as Melenia Matokoi, women with wrinkled faces, on the benches of clinics, with patience and time to listen. The wisdom of these old women is perhaps Zimbabwe's greatest treasure. They give time, they listen, they are there for each other – and they save lives.
The idea might serve as a model not only in Zimbabwe. Zeitenspiegel photographer Rainer Kwiotek has compiled the most expressive images from his photo essay for this exhibition. The accompanying reportage is by Zeitenspiegel author Isabel Stettin.
The photo exhibition is open until Easter Monday during the town church's opening hours:
Sat – Sun 9:00 AM – 6:00 PM
Open – Fri 1:00 PM – 6:00 PM.