FMT in partnership with The Global Institute For Tomorrow (GIFT) brings you Covid-19 “healers” from Zimbabwe.

Just as Covid-19 reached Zimbabwean shores, members of the Joanne Masowe eChishanu apostolic church, led by Moses Gwasiria of Highfield in Harare, set out to provide 20,000 of its congregation with rice.

To achieve this goal, most of the church’s women gathered in small numbers, to comply with social distancing measures, as they sought to bring aid to the local community.

Wearing face masks, each of them left with a bag of rice in their hands to help families in need of food aid.

Since national Coid-19 lockdowns came into effect in the country, the number of people in need of food aid has grown, as livelihoods have become critically affected. What’s more, the country was facing a shortage of food at the time.

Since then, acts of generosity and charity, like those of this local church, have been crucial in maintaining the community’s well-being.

Annie Mpalume started her professional photography career in 2007. She studied Photojournalism and Documentary photography at the Market Photo workshop in Johannesburg, South Africa. She returned to Zimbabwe in 2008 and was a freelance photojournalist for 3 years. Since April 2011, she has been working in a Newsroom for The Daily News, an independent publication. View her portfolio here.

‘The Other Hundred Healers’ is an initiative by the non-profit organisation GIFT. The 240-page, full-colour, hardcover book can be purchased here at US$40 per copy for a minimum order of 20 copies.