By the end of 2008, inflation had skyrocketed to 231,000,000%, unemployment reached 80%, and the Zimbabwean dollar was basically worthless. Violence ratcheted up during the 2008 presidential election, with despot Robert Mugabe using every means at his disposal to stay in power. Although the consensus is that Morgan Tsvangirai actually won the election, Mugabe refused to give up the office and mounted a brutal campaign of violence against the opposition that left more than 30 people dead and hundreds wounded. As if life weren’t unbearable enough in Zimbabwe, a cholera epidemic broke out in August 2008, killing at least 565 people and infecting another 12,000. Fortunately, world opinion turned against Mugabe, ultimately forcing him to consent to a power sharing agreement with Tsvangirai.

Just last week, my friend Victor Sibanda, who lives in Victoria Falls in the southern part of the country, emailed an update on the current situation:

Victor "Veneto" Sibanda

“We recently had the COMESA Summit here in Victoria Falls and we had our roads revamped and the pot holes on the roads that had become so big to be called ‘dish holes’ were sealed and that has been the positive thing that our town has benefited since the unity government. We are very grateful for the development. Among other things that are beginning to change face are the foot ware and clothing shops that were restock a few days before the Summit began.

Supermarkets are restocking and the prices are now packed in South African Rand and this makes the items affordable such that we have stopped going to the neighbouring countries for shopping and are now supporting the local shops. Other cities and towns are still cheaper than Victoria Falls as what seems as tradition but strange enough there are still challenges in the money making system. Salaries are ranging from $30-$150 per month from domestic to professional level respectively and this still makes buying bread at $1.00 a challenge. This may be due to the fact that the as the economy stopped for a while and is restarting afresh the other unscrupilous methods of income are crush so now the straight method makes one feel the pinch as $1 can not be inflated as before. The great news is that corruption is on its knees for a while. Tourism this month is low and not as busy due to the off season period. Our winter is simply chilly at night and warm & sunny during the day.”

In the face of great adversity during the toughest economic times, Victor opened a tour agency, Veneto Adventures. In addition to arranging for tourists to visit all the well-known attractions (Victoria Falls, Chobe National Park, sunset cruises on the Zambezi River), Victor introduces visitors to the “real” Zimbabwe. Most recently he arranged for a woman to visit visit the “old peoples home” where she donated some groceries and subsequently sent clothes for the elderly via post. Victor also generously donates a portion of his income to helping others. To date, he has provided funds for a football academy for underprivileged kids, a soup kitchen for the homeless, school fees for orphaned kids, community projects including a vegetable garden and irrigation facility, and has even donated treated mosquito nets to those in need.

I am in awe of the Zimbabwean people. Their resilience and enduring faith is an inspiration, and I wholeheartedly recommend a visit to this country, which has now been removed from the “travel watch/warning lists” of most countries. And should your visit include Victoria Falls, please consider using the services of Victor Sibanda; I am quite sure that he will provide you with an unsurpassed tour experience and you’ll be helping others at the same time. Victor’s contact information is as follows:

Veneto Adventures
Shop # 9, Sopers Arcade
Parkway Drive
Victoria Falls
Zimbabwe
+263 11 754 875
+263 11 590 753
email: veneto.adventures@gmail.com

And if you visit Zimbabwe, please do email me or leave a comment to let me know about your experience.

I met Victor last year when I backpacked around the world for six months. I spent about a month and a half in Africa and realized my childhood dream of going on safari. The other destination I had always dreamed of seeing was Victoria Falls, so when I planned my safari, I also booked a side trip to Zimbabwe. All the arrangements had to be made prior to leaving the U.S. because the tour operators and hotels will no longer accept the local currency, as it is virtually worthless. Consider the following:

• The regime is surviving by printing money. The German firm Giesecke & Devrient holds the contract for printing Zimbabwe’s currency and they have been delivering bank notes at a rate of Z$170 trillion each week. Last month Giesecke & Devrient decided they would no longer print bank notes for Zimbabwe, bowing to pressure from the German government.
• John Robertson, a respected Zimbabwean economist, estimated inflation in July 2008 to be forty to fifty million percent.
• An egg costs $50 billion Zimbabwean dollars and withdrawals from ATM’s are limited to a maximum of Z$100, about the cost of a loaf of bread.
• On August 1, 2008, the government devalued the Zimbabwean dollar, making Z$10 billion worth ZW$1
• Shops can only cash checks if the customer writes double the amount, because the cost will go up by the time the check has cleared.
• Most credit card companies will instantly cancel any card used in Zimbabwe

At the time I booked and paid for my trip, the situation in Zim was not yet dangerous, but by the time I was scheduled to to visit, the situation had deteriorated. I contacted the company that had handled my reservations and asked their advice, explaining that I would rather lose my money than put my life at risk. The tour operator assured me it was still safe to travel to Victoria Falls, as it is located in the far south of the country and had not seen the violence so prevalent in the capital of Harare.

So I went. And I was not disappointed. As I have written previously in this blog, Victoria Falls is one of my favorite destinations, not only for the scenery and animals, but also for the genuine friendliness of the people. Victor was one of those friendly people. At the time he was working with Shearwater Tours and he helped me make the best use of my short time in Zimbabwe, arranging for a sunset cruise on the Zambezi River, a day safari at Chobe National Park in in neighboring Botswana, and advising me on all manner of things such as visiting the falls on both sides of the Zimbabwe/Zambia border, the best places to shop, and where to go for an Internet connection. He even helped me when I needed to obtain samples of the local currency to take home for a friend who is a collector of international money.

Since helping me, Victor’s firm, Veneto Adventures has hosted more than 850 tourists. Although he continues to book tours through Shearwater, Victor explains that Veneto is more like a host than a tour company: “We meet and and greet our clients at the airport, bring them to town/hotel, facilitate their bookings, answer their inquiries, solve any problems they may encounter, and generally act as their point of contact until they leave Victoria Falls.”

In his email, Victor asked for my help to get the word out about his business, specifically asking me to write about him on my blog and asking for my ‘requirements’ to do so. Although I can, without hesitation, recommend Victor to anyone planning to visit Victoria Falls, I’m afraid he overestimates the reach of my blog. However, there are other things I can do to help. I will write to the popular online travel website, Journeywoman.com, to recommend his as a personal guide. I will also put his name and contact info on Lonely Planet’s Thorn Tree forum. Of late I have made inquiries and was amazed to learn that travel to this area of Zimbabwe is still considered quite safe. Should you plan a visit to Victoria Falls, you can contact Victor Sibanda at:

Veneto Adventures
Shop#9 Sopers Arcade,
Parkway Drive
Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
Phone: +263 11 754 875 or +263 11 590 753
Email: veneto.adventures (at) gmail (dot) com; vicveneto (at) gmail (dot) com; or vicveneto (at) justice (dot) com

In return for my assistance, what I ‘require’ of Victor is simple. Because he is one of the few Zimbabweans fortunate enough to have access to valuable foreign currency, I ask only that he donate a portion of his profits to help other Zimbabweans who are destitute, starving, and homeless. The only way this planet is going to make it is if we begin to help one another, one on one.