September and October is fire season. In Zimbabwe it is custom to burn off the land to get it ready for spring planting. Some people believe that it brings the rain. In September of 2015 a wildfire swept through the farm and burned down the teen girls’ house and the two chicken barns and a number of the worker’s homes. A local man had started a fire to scare lions away from his herd of goats but the wind was strong and the fire quickly became a wildfire and spread.
Fire is a real danger at Eden Children’s Village so we cut the grass, which grows to almost 8 feet tall, all around the orphanage and then burn firebreaks to protect the buildings. We are always on the lookout for fires during this time and if we see smoke someone goes to investigate and everyone who is able goes to help fight the fire if it is coming our way. In a period of four weeks we will go fight 4 or 5 fires. All the workmen jump into the trucks or onto tractors and we take matches and go light a fire across a field in front of the approaching fire. It is hard and can be dangerous work, but it’s necessary to protect our buildings and our neighbours. I’ve helped fight fires around our neighbours’ farms and it’s great to see the community come together to help one another.
