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A Trip Around the World at Assembly Site

BULAWAYO, Zimbabwe — Near the center of the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair grounds, where the Mennonite World Conference Assembly was held, a "Global Village" displayed cultural artifacts from around the world.

While thousands of visitors enjoyed the displays, behind the scenes another purpose was accomplished. Twenty-three youth from four continents worked together to create and staff the sites, forming relationships and insights into each other's lives.

At each kiosk, built to resemble a Zimbabwean home, visitors sampled food, art, and stories from Latin America, Africa, Asia, or North America. At Latin America's booth, youth served "mate" tea from Paraguay. From Africa came paintings, carvings, and baskets. At the Asia booth, children especially enjoyed getting "tattoos" of painted henna.

The kiosks also served as places of conversation, relaxation and rich cultural encounters.

"One morning, a Zimbabwean girl asked over and over to taste and hear about mate tea," reported youth steward Carissa Sweigart from the U.S. "She returned for several days to be the server and tell others about the tea from South America."

At the Africa booth, Dingulwazi Ndlovu of Zimbabwe remembered a conversation with a North American visitor about marital rites.

"In Zimbabwe, if I go to visit my prospective mother-in-law, I dress up and greet her with special respect. In North America, my visitor said, he could show up in his old T-shirt. We would never do that here."

"We got to meet a cross-section of people who attended the conference," exclaimed Mthokozisi Ncube of Zimbabwe. "We had something they wanted to hear about."

The young people arrived in Bulawayo on July 28 for a week of orientation and work directed by Barbara Khumalo of Zimbabwe.

"We shared our life stories, worshipped together, and learned about Zimbabwe," she explained. "Then we set to work creating the kiosks. We had to use our imaginations and trust each other."

Many youth stewards agreed that the highlight of the program was building relationships with one another.

"We lived together, worked together, played together. We really got to know each other well," said Alissa Bender from Canada. "Now we have friends from around the world we can connect with."

The group also shared challenges. As they constructed the kiosks, they wondered: would materials they needed arrive? Would the structures, delayed several days, get built in time?

Through the Global Village, the youth put into practice the theme, "Sharing gifts in suffering and in joy." In just three weeks, two of the 10 youth from Zimbabwe faced deaths in their immediate families. The group felt the void these new friends were facing.

They also created a lively setting for the exchange of gifts from many nations.

Youth stewards included: Alissa Bender, Suzanne Bender, Karina Derksen, Nonhlelo Dube, Jessica Goldschmidt, Angie Janzen, Thomsanqa Khanye, Mwamba Lubozhya, Jesper Mbole, Vesper Mbole, Likwa Ncube, Mthokozisi Ncube, Sikhanyisiwe Ncube, Dingulwazi Ndlovu, Mthulisi Ndlovu, Caroline Moyo, Ntombizakhe Moyo, Londiwe Ngwenya, Andrew Schrock, Joyous Sikalima, Lulangilo Sikapande, Carissa Sweigart and Luc Wienss.