Hello and Thanks! I appreciate your reading further about how I came to know Fanwell and why I am asking for
your help for this GoFundMe project.


In May 2019 I was traveling in Africa. While at Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe I first met Fanwell Sibanda. He was selling curios and souvenirs in a tourist market. There was something special about Fanwell and we immediately became friends.
After sharing our respective stories, he invited me to visit his village in a remote rural region 43 km from Vic Falls.


Two days later, with his close friend Kelven as driver (see above photo), we rented a car and headed to his village.  Fanwell was eager for me to meet his wife, Rangarirai, his children, and the rest of his family and friends that live in the village.  I was impressed with how everyone works together, sharing the limited resources they have.  Car ownership is rare so the villagers walk if they have a job and the children walk to school. There is no public electricity available. (They use solar panels to charge their inexpensive cell phones so they are somewhat “plugged in” like the rest of the world!). What farming they do is done by hand or with cows or donkeys.  Their small huts are used mostly for sleeping. Living, cooking, cleaning all happen outside.  Cooking and heating water are done over an open fire. There is a small community well that provides limited water and is operated manually.


Fanwell’s story is like many in this region. Because of global warming and climate change, drought conditions have forced him to abandon farming as his principal livelihood. (The photos included in this story give you a feel for the arid conditions that now exist.  The photo that follows is Rangarirai with a dairy cow.) As a result, Fanwell has to spend his weeks in Victoria Falls, away from his family, working at the market for his family to survive. Many in the area have been forced to do the same, creating a situation where little money can be earned.


During my visit, Fanwell commented ‘if he only had a well’. Then he would be able to raise enough vegetables and livestock that he could sell those additional products to the local restaurants.  He could go back to living in his village and off the land.  


After returning to Victoria Falls, I thought about Fanwell and his situation.  Even though Fanwell had asked for nothing from me, and treated me solely as a friend, I realized if he had a water well it would potentially change his life.

The next day I contacted Fanwell and asked if there was any way he could raise the money for a well.  Of course, no one in the village has money. The government does not have the capacity to make loans. NGOs in Zimbabwe function with limited capacity due to the country’s instability and potential for corruption. It was clear that Fanwell did not have sufficient resources for this project.

I recognized an opportunity to make a difference so I offered to help him financially to get the water project started. My intention was to donate the first $2000 and initiate a fund raiser for the remainder of a total estimated project cost of $12,000. However, I wanted to know he had “skin in the game”.  He quickly agreed and sold two of his ‘beasts’ (cows) for $500 total and made a deposit with a local well driller.  The photo following is one of the ‘beasts’ he sold.


Several weeks later the company was able to schedule the boring of the well.  I advanced Fanwell an additional $4000 to drill the well because without a successful well we could not go forward with the project. (To clarify, of the $4000, $2000 is my donation and hopefully the other $2000 will be covered by the fundraising campaign.) We were thrilled that at 70 meters deep they found sufficient water for irrigation, a water yield of approximately 400 gallons per hour.  What a relief!


So now we are ready to move forward with the next phase, that being getting the water out of the well and into the fields. That will include installing a well pump, pipe, electrical wire, solar panels, storage tanks, and irrigation lines.  Fanwell will also need to purchase seed, more tools, and other supplies for planting and raising his crops. It will likely be a few months before he has sufficient income to provide for his family.

Again, we estimate the total project cost, including the well drilling, will be approximately $12,000.  Since Fanwell has already put up $500 and I am donating $2000, my goal was to raise an additional $9,500. However, my sister Linda and her husband Larry suggested we contribute additional donations as a memorial to our father/father-in-law John Klein. John was also a farmer of crops and livestock from Harlan, Iowa. He passed away in June 2019.  We thought it would be fitting to donate an additional $900 in his memory.

So now our goal is to collect $8600 in this ‘gofundme’ campaign.  It is my intention to manage incoming funds and disperse them to Fanwell as the work progresses.  Fanwell provides me with pictures of work performed and receipts of parts and supplies purchased.  First dollars in will be used for upcoming work until the project is complete.  Last dollars in will be used to offset cash advances I have already sent him. I plan to discontinue the fundraising when we hit our target of $8600. Because of the instability in Zimbabwe and their financial systems, I have been transmitting the funds in US dollars via Western Union.

I would like to make an additional comment. Early on I told Fanwell I was concerned that the other villagers may be jealous if he becomes substantially more profitable than they. He shared my concern. To avoid this, and because of the closeness of the community, he feels it is important that he share a substantial portion of his water with the village. We also met with the village chief. He agreed with our plans and gave us his approval to move forward. It is my belief that this project will not only help Fanwell and his family, but also benefit the rest of the village.


Thank you for reading Fanwell’s story. Most of us want to give back. Sometimes we are frustrated because we wonder how much of our contributions to nonprofits ends up making it to the people we want to help. One of the reasons I tackled this project was that I knew every dollar was going to help the people who needed it, not as a hand out but as a hand up. I appreciate any contribution you may consider to assist us in this endeavor.


Please feel free to contact me for additional information.  I will be happy to provide.   Just click on the contact button that follows below my name.