Growing Up in Zimbabwe:
The Memories We Carry
Sometimes heritage isn’t found in a monument or a history book. Sometimes it is found in the places we played, the food we ate, the people who raised us and the ordinary days we never realised we would miss.
Some memories never really leave us.
Ask a Zimbabwean about childhood and chances are the conversation will quickly become a collection of memories. A dusty road. A school uniform. Afternoon games with friends. The sound of someone calling your name from outside the gate.
Family gatherings that seemed ordinary at the time but feel precious years later. The familiar voices, the smells from the kitchen and the places that seemed to hold our entire world.
Childhood in Zimbabwe was different for everyone, but many of us carry memories that feel strangely familiar. We don’t always realise we are living through memories until years later, when we suddenly wish we could experience one ordinary day again.
The Streets We Grew Up On
For many children, the neighbourhood was a world of its own.
After school, there was often little need for a formal plan. You simply went outside. Friends were nearby, games appeared almost automatically, and the afternoon seemed to stretch forever.
Streets of Glen Norah, yards, open spaces and school grounds became places where friendships were formed and childhood stories were created. Sometimes all you needed was a ball (chikweshe), a few friends and somewhere to play.
School Days
School memories have their own language.
The early morning rush. Uniforms. Assembly. Teachers whose names are still remembered years later. Friends sitting beside you. Lunch breaks, sports days, school trips and exams that once felt like the biggest problems in the world.
Some memories make us laugh. Others remind us of how much we had to learn. Together, they form an important part of the story of growing up.
Moments That Stay With Us
Sometimes the smallest experiences become the memories we treasure most.
After-School Games
Football, skipping, running around the neighbourhood and creating games from whatever was available. Nobody wanted to be the first to go home.
Family Gatherings
Relatives arriving, food being prepared and conversations continuing long after the sun had gone down. There was always someone with another story to tell.
Sunday Mornings
Getting dressed, visiting family, church, lunch and the familiar rhythm of a Zimbabwean Sunday. Ordinary routines that became part of who we are.
Some memories begin in the kitchen.
The food we grew up eating can take us back to a particular home, a familiar voice and a table filled with people we love.
The Food We Remember
Food has a special way of preserving memories.
Sadza, vegetables, meat, beans, roasted maize, sweet potatoes and meals prepared by parents and grandparents can take us back to a particular kitchen, a particular home or a particular time in our lives.
Sometimes it isn’t even the food itself that we remember most. It is who prepared it, who sat around the table and what everyone was talking about.
“You can leave Zimbabwe, but sometimes a smell, a song, a meal or a familiar word can take you straight back.”
Memories travel with us
The People Behind the Memories
Childhood memories are rarely just about places. They are about people.
Parents. Grandparents. Brothers and sisters. Cousins. Teachers. Neighbours. Friends. The aunt who always seemed to have something cooking. The uncle whose stories everyone knew.
Eventually, some of us moved to Harare or Bulawayo. Others left for South Africa, the United Kingdom, Australia, the United States or somewhere else in the world.
Homes changed. Streets changed. People moved on. But the memories travelled with us.
What Do You Remember?
Heritage is often associated with monuments, museums and historical events. But heritage also lives in ordinary memories: the games we played, the languages we spoke, the food our families prepared, the stories our grandparents told us and the places where we grew up.
These experiences may never appear in a history textbook, but they are part of Zimbabwe’s story. Tell us about the Zimbabwe you remember — the people, places, traditions and little moments that still live with you today.
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