Usually, Hwinei Tavengwa ’08 returns to campus after breaks thinking about the worsening situation in her home country, Zimbabwe.

“It’s upsetting [to see the state of the country],” Tavengwa said. “But I also feel helpless to some extent. I wish things were better but sometimes I feel like there’s nothing I can do.”

But this semester, Tavengwa has decided to take action. She is on a mission to raise money for impoverished schools back at home, where access to education is becoming increasingly rare. Tavengwa, who is an RA in Fauver, has been selling the works of a Ugandan artist, and sending ten percent of the sales to Kudzidza Hupenyu, a committee in Zimbabwe that channels the money to schools in high-density suburbs. Kudzidza Hupenyu, or Education for Life, is composed of teachers from different schools who decide where to allocate the organization’s money.

“We are targeting the less fortunate schools,” Tavengwa said. “Those that don’t have supplies and such. We are providing books and uniforms and other things like that.”

Tavengwa had been searching for fundraising methods when a friend from Uganda suggested partnering up with a Ugandan artist he knew. Tavengwa set up an arrangement with the artist where she sold his paintings and sent part of the proceeds to Kudzidza Hupenyu. After the first shipment sold well, she contacted him again to order more paintings.

“It’s a two-way thing,” she said. “I provide him with a market and then [we] get the ten percent.”

Her goal is to sell as many pieces of art as she can and to get more people involved. So far, the project has been a success. Since arriving back to school from the winter break, Tavengwa has sold over 50 paintings for $30 each.

“People have been really supportive and I’m really thankful for that,” Tavengwa said.

She has also talked to friends who want to get the program started at their colleges.

“Right now it’s just me, but I’ve been convincing friends to join me,” she said.

In addition to raising money, Tavengwa’s project has increased awareness on campus about the situation in Zimbabwe.

“I hadn’t been aware of the situation [in Zimbabwe], so talking to Hwinei made me really want to support the cause,” Stephanie Gomory ’10 said.

Though she enjoyed being at home with her family over winter break, the constant reminders of Zimbabwe’s dire situation made her trip home hard emotionally.

“After being here [in the United States], I was used to getting what I wanted,” Tavengwa said. “But at home, the electricity kept turning off, frustrating things happen all the time. Zimbabwe was such a beautiful country. And seeing it now, it’s painful.”

Zimbabwe is one of the most troubled countries in the world. Robert Mugabe, the country’s president, has rigged elections to ensure his continued power. According to the CIA’s World Factbook, Mugabe’s land redistribution campaign, which began in 2000, has wreaked havoc on the country, crippling the economy and causing shortages of basic commodities.