Zimbabweans based in the United State’s capital, Washington, and its surrounding areas, will soon have an official platform to network and share ideas, that will develop their country.
The Zimbabwe Diaspora Network North America, or ZDNNA, will launch its Washington, Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia Chapter, On Saturday, in Silver Spring, Maryland.
Regional coordinator and ZDNNA, Isaac Mwase, said the idea of the chapter is to give Zimbabweans in the region the opportunity to work together.
“We’ve come to believe strongly that a well-organized diaspora community, has tremendous power to transform life for itself here, and also for their families back in Zimbabwe.”
A Baptist Minister and educator, Mwase said his organization wants to capitalize on the vast resources – both financial and skill-based – that Zimbabweans in the diaspora have, to help influence positive change in Zimbabwe.
“We are already exercising a lot of power through our remittances,” said Mwase, but added that “now we are seeking to get ourselves better organized as we provide the platform where people can think together, come up with practical, sensible solutions.”
Mwase said ZDNNA, which charges an annual membership fee of $100, is a non-partisan group.
“We’ll be doing this on a non-partisan basis,” assured Mwase, and said he wanted to make it clear that “people do not have to worry about their politics. We are going to be political without being partisan.”