Making a Difference
Using the experience gained in China, a Zimbabwean student has set up a shoe business with the aim to make lives better

By Mejury Chipato

15 March 2022

Eliminating poverty is a challenge for all countries. China has made remarkable achievements in poverty alleviation. It has carried forward the great tradition of working together and offering mutual support. It has accumulated valuable experience, which belongs both to China and to the rest of the world, and offers enlightenment to the international community in its battle to reduce poverty. As the world’s largest developing country, China has concentrated its efforts on the development of the economy.

As a foreigner living in China since 2016, I have observed firsthand the country’s rapid economic growth, and have learnt a lot about poverty alleviation. Such a program should be adopted by the world, especially Africa, where many countries are still underdeveloped. The governments need to work together with the local people. The development of a country is not the government’s duty alone; it’s also the duty of its citizens.

As a concerned citizen of my country, Zimbabwe, I want to contribute to poverty alleviation in my country, using the knowledge that I have gained in China. I have decided to play my part in growing my country’s economy by starting my own business.

Taking advantage of the fact that I live in China where the prices of materials are low, in 2020, l decided to start a brand for women’s shoes, which are produced in China, and which I sell both in my country and here in China. I have been to the shoe factory, where I learnt a lot. It is my desire to open a shoe factory in Zimbabwe in the future, where my Chinese partners would come and teach us and help build a local industry for shoes. That will not only create employment for the local people, but also equip the people with practical knowledge and help in improving the economy of my country.

The company makes modern, stylish and classy women’s shoes that are affordable and durable under the brand called Merjory. It comes in different styles and sizes to cater to the needs of women of different backgrounds - from sophisticated high heel lovers to the ones who like their shoes flat. It also offers solution to a typical shoe problem: women who have bigger feet often struggle to find right sizes as most nice shoes only come in sizes of up to 39 or 40. This brand has brought much happiness to many women who now have a choice, since we also customize the shoes according to our clients’ preferred specifications.

Using the profits accumulated over time, I have been able to give back to the community, both in China and back in my country. I founded a charity organization, Patience of Hope Foundation, which aims to pay school fees for underprivileged children in the remote parts of Zimbabwe. Through the foundation, we have paid school fees for many children, and provided food to the poor families during the peak period of the COVID-19 pandemic. We have also visited an old people’s home here in China, in the city of Ganzhou where l live, and brought them some groceries and clothes.

I have received amazing support from my Chinese partners, who are willing to step up a level, and go to Zimbabwe and help in establishing the shoe factory there. I am so grateful to China for giving me the opportunity to learn and contribute positively, not just to my country’s economy but also here in China, which I consider as my second home.

(The author is a medical student from Zimbabwe, studying at Gannan Medical University)

This article was first published in ChinAfrica Magazine