22 THE STANDARD STYLE / FAMILY /INVESTMENTS <strong>May</strong> <strong>25</strong> to <strong>31</strong> <strong>2014</strong>
Reformed by the Word ...and we overcame by the blood of the Lamb and word of our testimony From landmine survivor to preacher of the Word SUPPLEMENT COMPILED BY ROPAFADZO MAPIMHIDZE Winnie Kanoyangwa The first time I met Winnie Daisy Kanoyangwa soon after independence at Linquenda House where we both worked, I froze in horror. I had dashed to the washroom with my best friend Dorcus Bakasa who now lives in Norway, when we suddenly came face to face with her reflection in the huge mirror in the ablution block. We literally remained rooted by the doorway in shock when Dorcus forcefully dragged my hand and skipped off to yet another washroom on one of the floors in the building. Kanoyangwa had a badly disfigured face and an artificial arm and prosthetic eye. That was perhaps the very first time I had come across a person with such a severe form of disability. Her right cheek had a deep indentation and the so many scars made her look like someone from another planet. It was such a scary encounter for both of us. This is the story of a woman who forgave the Rhodesian Forces that forced her and husband Thomas to drive through a landmine during the war of liberation in 1976 resulting in these injuries. “My husband died instantly but I was taken to Harare Hospital where I spent nearly eight months as doctors and nurses nursed my injuries. “I initially had been taken to Andrew Flemming Hospital [now called Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals] but was turned away because of my black skin,” she said. Kanoyangwa said in an interview that it is the Word of God that has made her reach 71 years of age and preach the gospel; touching so many lives that she meets in her day-to-day activities as a pastor. She has been through over nearly 15 plastic surgery operations to recreate her badly disfigured face which always created a stir whenever she walked the streets of Harare. She also says her own children could not recognise her when she first left the hospital over three decades ago. “It was such a traumatic experience for the then young children. I also lost my right eye which was replaced with an artificial one,” she chuckled. A trained nurse by profession, Kanoyangwa was one of the first three black Zimbabweans people with disabilities that were recruited by the Public Service Commission (PSC) in 1980. “I was placed at the Ministry of Information, Post and Telecommunications in the registry, where Nathan Shamuyarira was minister and Sarah Kachingwe as permanent secretary. I worked with the late director of information Justin Nyoka, the late Supiya, Abiatha Rusike who was the chief information officer and many others. “I and my husband had contributed so much to the war of liberation and hence I received a phone call one day from Shamuyarira asking me to start work at his ministry. I could no longer work as a nurse using only one arm,” Kanoyangwa said. Although she was initially bitter about the manner in which her husband died, Kanoyangwa, a mother of four children, says the word of God transformed her life. “I went to bible school and earned a diploma and degree in theology. Today I reach out to people by speaking to them about how good the gospel is. “I am a pastor with Celebration Ministries International, a church that taught me to forgive. Yes, I cannot forget what happened to me but life goes on and I now view the landmine accident as something that transformed me into a much braver person. “Sometimes horrible things happen to us for a reason and I thank my pastors Bonnie and Tom Deuschle who set me through the paces as I now do not view myself as a person with disabilities. “I drive with one hand and do all work cheerfully at church. My ministry has extended its wings to the prisons where I minister the word of God once a week. “I also minister to prison officers once a week and that is the greatest thing I can do to Zimbabwe and the rest of the world,” Kanoyangwa said. Her husband came from a very wealthy family that owned buses and a string of shops under the Lucky Shops and Kumuka Brothers brand. This family supported the guerilla warfare and hence the reason why Kanoyangwa and her late husband paid the price for assisting comrades during that time. After reading and understanding God’s word, Kanoyangwa said she started ministering to the sick at various hospitals with a team of other believers. It was during those visits that she received a vision from God where she was told to minister to prisoners who were living with HIV. “I was afraid to take up the task but I told Pastor Tom who prayed with me and encouraged me to do what God wanted me to do,” she said. Kanoyangwa was ordained as a pastor in 2002 and she has ministered to thousands of prisoners, a duty she said has helped her appreciate life. “I have been to the US several times for plastic surgery and it is amazing that all these were done for free. “I was also treated for free at a South African hospital many years ago and authorities there said anytime I needed medical attention I would receive medical attention for free. “These are some of the things that God has done for me because I could have died a long time ago but my life was preserved for a purpose. The purpose is what I am doing right now, that of spreading the word. If you are deep rooted in The Word, everything else falls into place. “I thank my Pastors Tom and Bonnie Deuschle for bringing me this far. I think, dream and eat the Word and that has been a life-changing experience,” Kanoyangwa said. One of her four children, Martin Tapiwa, is also a person with disabilities as he has a stunted growth. The other children, Chris Tapera, Rhoda Nyapasi and Jeffrey Dayirai live in both the US and England respectively. “My son Martin Tapiwa is a gift from God. I don’t view him as a person with disabilities. He can cook and do what all other people of his age can,” Kanoyangwa said. As Kanoyangwa left The <strong>Standard</strong> newsroom, I continuously held back my tears. This is an incredible story of someone who was raised from life-threatening circumstances to become a strong preacher of the Word. She said a prayer for me and Tinashe Sibanda, a colleague and bade us farewell. I kept watching her as she was leaving the newsroom and all I could say was, for sure, there is nothing impossible with God.
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