Imagine walking 6, 10, 15 miles or more to the nearest borehole and carrying the water back to your village on your head.

Imagine living in a thatched roof hut with wood poles, mud walls, and dirt floors.

Imagine living in a village without access to water or electricity.

Imagine ongoing exposure to droughts, fields and gardens with limited crops, and exposure to tropical diseases.

Imagine living somewhere near Lake Kariba but not being able to afford to buy a fishing permit.

Imagine living among elephants, buffalo, and hyenas but not being permitted to hunt.

This was the life of thousands of children, youth, and elders 30 years ago when I lived among the Tonga people in Binga, Zimbabwe, in Southern Africa. 30 years later, this is still the same life for the thousands of Tonga people who live in the villages of the Zambezi Valley.

30 years ago, I sat down with 17 Tonga elders and recorded their stories in a book, The People of the Great River. Known as “Bamulwizi,” the “people of the great river” lived along the banks of the Zambezi River in northwestern Zimbabwe. In 1957, they were forcibly displaced when the river was flooded to make way for Kariba Dam and Lake. Their days of hunting, fishing, gardening, and farming near the Zambezi River were over.

From 1986-1994, I lived among the Tonga people as a Toledo Diocesan Mission Team member, learned their language and traditions, and visited them in the villages where they were resettled, 12-30 miles from the Zambezi River. Impressed by their memories of living along the banks of the Zambezi River and having heard some of their stories of displacement and resettlement, I was tasked by Silveira House Jesuit Center to document their stories.

Now, 30 years later, so much has happened. The book helped inspire young Tonga women and men to form a community-based advocacy organization in 2002 named – “Basilwizi Trust,” meaning “the People of the Great River,” a name borrowed from the book. Since then, Basilwizi Trust has sponsored programs that respond to the concerns, fears, and aspirations of the Zambezi Valley Tonga. Their efforts led to the official recognition of the Tonga language in Zimbabwe, which is now taught at the university level. The Tonga version of The People of the Great River is now part of the academic curriculum in schools throughout Zimbabwe.

When I heard about the success of their advocacy work, I started the nonprofit The Tonga Literacy Project Inc, with the assistance of my family, friends, and two members of Basilwizi Trust, Isaac Mumpande, MPH, and Charity Nyelele, PhD. Over the past few years, The Tonga Literacy Project has helped Basilwizi Trust publish 6 books in the Tonga language for use in Zimbabwean schools. We also helped re-publish English and Tonga versions of The People of the Great River for the schools and to raise awareness about the Tonga people.

Now, 30 years later, I have returned to my 8-year home in Binga, Zimbabwe. This time, I visited with my wife, Linda, so she could experience firsthand how the Tonga people have so powerfully influenced my life. On this return visit, we were celebrating the 30th anniversary of the publication of our book, now in its 4th version. We carried portraits of each of the 17 Tonga elders who helped write the book. We could share one of the portraits with Kapu Muchimba, the only surviving author of the original group. He was so gracious and reminded us of how important it is that the Tonga language has survived. The portraits were some of the many powerful illustrations in our book designed by artist Loes Roos.

Our drive to Binga from Victoria Falls took us over 7 hours due to the potholes on the road, a trip that used to take us closer to 5 hours. On our way into Binga, we met Martha, the wife of one of our Tonga authors who died a few years ago. Martha waited by the side of the road for over 2 hours just to say hello to us. In addition to sharing how happy she was to greet us, she shared how she and her village neighbors were dealing with terrible hunger due to the drought.

Jessie, a member of one of our women’s groups and church community, was also going to be at the side of the road to say hello. She wasn’t there, but we were able to drive to her village only to find out she was in her garden, where she would sleep that night to protect her few crops from marauding elephants.

Visiting with the Tonga people last week was full of learnings and surprises for Linda and me. We witnessed some of the poverty and hardship of the Tonga people, but we also experienced some very hopeful signs. Many people who were young when I first lived there are now fully employed and able to help their families in the villages. In fact, it appears that many young people have succeeded in school and now live in towns where they can find work.

Repeatedly, we heard those employed telling us how blessed they are that they have work and can use their meager earnings to help their parents, grandparents, and young children who remain in the villages. One only needs to be with Tonga people for a brief time to learn how rich they are in the ways of the heart. They are the most open, resilient, friendly, hospitable, humorous, and gracious people we have ever met.

We spent much of our time with members of Basilwizi Trust and were moved by their dedication to the development of the Tonga people. While they remain frustrated that piped-water schemes from nearby Lake Kariba and electricity from Kariba Dam benefit only those in towns and not those in their villages, Basilwizi team members spend their time and resources in the Tonga villages along the Zambezi Valley, where they promote self-help projects for better health, access to water, education, the Tonga language and culture, women’s rights, and advocacy for their needs. Two Basilwizi staff members particularly, Danisa Mudimba (acting director) and Pottar Muzamba (field coordinator) coordinated our days in Binga and shared their excitement in successfully promoting the indigenous Tonga language.

While in Binga, we also officially launched our new video documentary produced by Dublin-based Lensmen Production and narrated by Michael Hanly, the editor of our original book. The People of the Great River documentary tells the dynamic story of the struggle of this Tonga community in Zimbabwe for their language rights. It was shortlisted for three international film festivals. We were very honored to meet with Chief Sinakatenge, one of the contributors in our video. The Chief shared how pleased he is that his son wrote one of the books we helped publish, a book about Tonga customs and traditions.

We also met one-on-one with Tonga Member of Parliament, Fanuel Cumanzala. Fanuel deeply shared his commitment to the ongoing needs and concerns of the Tonga people. Our meeting and video launch with the leaders of Basilwizi Trust took place near Binga on the banks of Lake Kariba, a great place to honor the Tonga ancestors who continue to inspire Tonga youth to this day. Isaac Mumpande, a prolific Tonga writer, and deeply committed humanitarian and public policy advocate, cheerfully began our meeting and proudly displayed all the books published by Basilwizi Trust with the assistance of the Tonga Literacy Project, Inc. Isaac was working in the UK when he was encouraged by Sr. Janice Mclaughlin of Silveira House to return to Zimbabwe to lead the Zimbabwe Indigenous Language Promotion project.

30 years ago, Tonga was a threatened language and almost extinct. It was only taught up to the 3rd grade in school. Thanks to the advocacy work of the Chiefs and Basilwizi Trust, the Tonga people are now very proud of the survival of their language, traditions, history, and identity. They are proud of and grateful for their own Tonga authors and poets. During our visit, we met Tonga people who are now teachers, lawyers, nurses, priests, religious sisters, authors, drivers, tourist guides, and even a Member of Parliament.

Keep your eye on the Tonga people. They are moving forward in ways of development. They have preserved their language, culture, and identity. They are deeply committed to educating their children. If resources become available to keep their children in schools, someday we’ll see safe drinking water and electricity in Tonga villages and lives that are much less burdened by wildlife, hunger, and disease. Let’s just hope this will happen in less than another 30 years.

This is why, with so many challenges and changes in the lives of the Tonga people, it reminds me of one of their profound proverbs, “The dawn brings many things.”

-Mike Tremmel

To learn more about the rich history of the Tonga people, purchase your copy of the book today.

All proceeds from the sale of the book help support local Tonga authors and the publishing of their books.

Tremmel, together with the Tonga Literacy Project Inc., commissioned Lensmen Productions to make the video, which Ayumi Miyano directed. The video is available to all free of cost on YouTube Tonga Literacy Project: