The Kapandura family suffered an unexpected and unimaginable loss on October 8, 2021. It lost a husband, a father, a brother, a son, and the main breadwinner of the family. Clever Kapandura worked for the Anti-Poaching Unit in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe for over 22 years and another 9 years at Wilderness Safaris team for over 30 years in wildlife conservation. He was dedicated to preserving the wildlife for both locals and tourists to enjoy. He provided for his wife, two sons and a daughter in a country filled with a joyful and hospitable people and natural resources but is plagued with economic turmoil, political repression and humanitarian issues.
Dickson Kapandura, Clever Kapandura’s second born child, received a track scholarship to attend Meridian community college in Mississippi in September 2021. His goal was to do all in his power to use his education and sprint abilities to make a better life for he and his family. He had to find his airfare to take up the scholarship in the U.S. He got a job with his father, Clever, to help finance his trip to the U.S. The pic shows Dickson kneeling next to a lion killed by poachers, during the time he worked with the Anti-Poaching Unit. His father sacrificed and paid for his trip to the U.S. offset only by what Dickson had earned in his stint with the Anti-Poaching Unit.
Dickson, was only in the U.S. for a month when he received the dreaded news that no child wants to or is prepared to hear. His father was trampled by a charging bull elephant that attacked while Clever Kapandura and two others were responding to a report of poaching in Victoria Falls. As difficult as you can imagine that to be, it was worse that Dickson could not go home to Zimbabwe for his father’s funeral. A year after he was here in a culture that was new to him, with no family and friends, while grieving the death of his father, the community college paid for a trip for him to return to Zimbabwe to grieve his father's death and to be with his family.
Dickson needs to go back home to Zimbabwe during the Christmas break between December 16, 2023 and January 8, 2024 in order to renew his student visa, which is currently expired. His mother and siblings are in need of financial assistance as well. There is extreme poverty in Zimbabwe which was made worse by the pandemic. I’m prayerfully asking God to raise at least U.S. $5000.00 to assist with Dickson's roundtrip fare home and back to the U.S. If there is any money left after the airfare is purchased it will be used to assist his mother and siblings who are struggling economically, without the family’s breadwinner, Clever Kapandura. Last week, I priced the round-trip ticket for Dickson to return home to Zimbabwe during the Christmas break. It was a whopping $3500.00. This family is desperately in need of your assistance and I beg you to donate whatever you can.
How did I become involved in this campaign? To this day, I have not met Dickson in person. We have only communicated by phone and text. Below is a FB post I did on August 20, 2023, which will put things in context as to how and why I'm standing in the gap for this young man and his family. My wife and I travelled to Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe in early July of this year.
[Who will stand in the gap for this young man? Who will come alongside him? Who will allow the Lord to use them as His hands and feet?
It's becoming clear to me over time that running is one of my mission fields. Most of you may remember the post about the Garmin watch that was given to the young man in Zimbabwe and how the Lord brought that together. During the handing over of the watch, the coach at Mosi-oa-Tunya High School said to me that there's another graduate from the school in the U.S. on a running scholarship. The coach then told me the young man's father was trampled by an elephant in Victoria Falls. I never got any details about the father's death. He didn't know where in the U.S., but he gave me his number and asked me to call him.
It's been just over 30 days since Donnas and I returned from our Victoria Falls-Athens-Santorini trip. It has crossed my mind several times to call the number. But the Holy Spirit, as only He can, impressed upon me this past Friday (August 18, 2023) after work to make that call. Just like He did when He instructed me to take the Garmin watch to Victoria Falls.
I called Dickson and found a respectful and grateful young man on the other end. I addressed the "elephant" in the room. I told him I was sorry to hear what had happened to his father. "Sir, my whole life changed that day, but I have to go on." I sensed he had a great love for and relationship with his father. I asked him when was the last time he went home? He has not been back home to see his mom and 2 siblings in the two years he's been on scholarship in Mississippi. *this was an error on my part* He's running 100m, 200m and 400m at William Carey University in Mississippi. I asked him why he hadn't gone home in the two years. He cannot afford it. I asked him how much was the fare. His response, "For now I don't know sir. The reason why I wanted to visit home is to renew my visa it's now expired so I don't know what to do. The person who paid my air ticket it's my daddy and now he is gone so I don't know what I can do." My heart broke.
I shared one of my FB posts about the Victoria Half marathon and the one about the gifting of the Garmin watch. His texted response, below, struck a chord with me.
"Wow I'm glad you had a good time in my country sir, hope one day you come back again. I wish my daddy was there he could have taken you to game drive and see lots of animals."
I had to find out who his dad was. I sensed the fondness for his dad. I was not going to ask him so I did a Google search yesterday, Saturday morning before I went out to run. What I found brought me to tears. River-flowing tears. I was moved with compassion. Here's the link to the story. His father was not the tourist.
Excerpt from Newsweek article below:
"We are extremely concerned because two people have been killed in one week alone," Farawo added, referencing the death of the member of an anti-poaching unit Clever Kapandura on Friday, October 8.
Kapandura, a member of the Victoria Falls Anti-Poaching Unit, was killed when he was attacked by a charging bull elephant while responding to a report of poaching in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe.
The team members who were with Kapandura at the time said they did not know why the elephant attacked the group, charging at them from a distance of 120 meters."
This broke my heart. I know I had to stand in the gap for this young man. I had to come alongside him. I had to let the Lord use me as His hands and feet. Will you?
I went for the Saturday run. I asked the Lord to use me as He saw fit. Yesterday evening after returning from meeting a missionary and his family from Jordan, Dickson reached out to me. It further broke my heart when he asked me if I had some clothes I could help him with for going back to college on Monday. Of course, I'm going to stand in the gap and come alongside him. Will you?
I'm still in fact-gathering mode. I have never done this in my life but I'm inviting everyone who reads this and is moved to help to come alongside to help this young man. I know if we partner with one another the Lord will do exceedingly abundantly beyond what we can ask or think, through His power that works in us.
I don't know what this will look like when it's all said and done but I'll let the Lord lead. If you want to stand in the gap, come alongside or have suggestions or ideas, please DM me.]
