Thank you for taking the time to read my story, as we are desperate for help to survive. My daughter Darlene is helping me with the Go Fund Me page. Please donate and / or pass on and share our story.

My name is Ernest Hatchett, and was born in Germiston South Africa on the 5th November 1948. Our family moved to Rhodesia in 1958. I was educated at Cranborne Boys High and got my GCE M Level in 5 subjects. Completed my 9 months National Service in 1966. During this time I stopped at a road accident to help when a car racing down the road hit myself and five other people who had stopped to assist. It was the drivers second hit and run offence. For my help, I landed up in hospital with a broken tibia and fibula and a smashed knee cap.

In October 2004 I was attacked by an elephant in Kariba, resulting in serious damage to my shoulder. I now have limited use of it, and I cannot change a light bulb or pick up anything heavy. I have to try to pull start a generator daily when the electricity goes out.

I worked for Old Mutual Insurance Company for 40 years. On retirement I was advised to commute a third of my pension, which I did. A few months later the Zimbabwe Dollar crashed, making it worthless, resulting in my monthly pension being US$30. As the minimum allowed was US$50. I was paid US$1500. in a final settlement.

I managed to get a job and worked for an Insurance broker, Eaton & Youngs. It was while I was working for them that I had to go into hospital for my aorta operation. During that time, COVID broke out worldwide and Zimbabwe was badly hit. Two months later I went back to work and the manager told me they were retrenching me, that was in April 2020. Many businesses closed down and it was impossible to find work, my age also working against me. I am now 77 years old.

With not being able to find work my wife and I have had to sell our house, to a buyer who deals in property. He will pay us monthly for 10 years and we are able to live in the house until we die. This only has two years left.

I was having difficulty in hearing and went for tests to find that I was totally deaf in my right ear, and had to buy a hearing aid which cost USD$900.

In 2020 I started getting numbness in my feet and went to see my doctor Sharif, who immediately sent me to have an MRI scan and it was discovered that I had an abdominal aneurysm which was closing off my aorta and had only about 6 days before I would die. I was rushed into hospital and had major surgery to fit an aorta bypass and had 70 stiches to close the wound. I was in major pain for about 2 months. Six months later I was getting pain and swelling on my stomach which turned out to be surgical hernias. These had to be surgically removed. When most of the pain had subsided, I still had a pain in my side. After being sent for a CT scan, a further hernia was discovered. The doctor said, because of my age, he would not operate. I now have to wear a hernia belt which is helping. I am also a type 2 diabetic and am on daily medication. The medication that we have to take daily, keeps getting more and more expensive.

In July 2024 my knee finally gave in, having been a constant issue since being hit by the car. Dr Bowers did a knee replacement, the cost of the operation and hospital came to USD$17 000.

In July 2025 this year, I have had cataracts removed from both eyes.

Unfortunately our house is in desperate need of structural repairs and maintenance, that we cannot afford.

Because of the electricity problems in the Country we had no choice but install solar power at a cost of US$2 400. As we only receive power for about six hours a day if we are lucky. This has finally cost us all of our entire savings.

Crime is extremely high in Harare with armed robberies, car thefts, theft of telephone cables as well as electricity cables. We have been robbed on numerous occasions while we have been at home. To help protect us, we have had to have an alarm system installed.

With all the unfortunate operations I have had in the last couple of years, we have exhausted everything we have.

Any donation to help us survive in Zimbabwe and to get some urgent repairs to our house would be greatly appreciated.

I currently get US$50. per month from NSSA (National Social Security Authority, my pension) and some money from our house we live in that we sold, we have no medical aid, and are struggling every day just to survive. Thank you so much.