Lindsay BlakeIn Zimbabwe, women are discovering that creativity can be the key to independence—and to hope.
Through Christ For the City International’s Cosmetics and Detergents Training Program, women learn how to make products such as perfumes, air fresheners, detergents, laundry soap, and skincare items. The program focuses on empowering less privileged women, single mothers, widows, and those living with disabilities—offering them practical skills to build sustainable businesses in a challenging economy.
As they create, their creativity and confidence are being unlocked. They’re beginning to dream up possibilities beyond their circumstances.
Take Lisa, for example. A single mother of two, she learned to make hair dye and perfumes. She’s now saving to start her own company and hopes to expand into jewelry making.
“This has been quiet the opportunity for me and I hope to go very far in life,” Lisa said.
Chido began with perfume making, and her growing confidence has inspired her to start a chicken farming project to further support her family.
Mandile, who is expecting a baby, registered her own company—Whisker Sleek—to sell her line of hair products.
And Anna, a single mother of two, now supports her children entirely through her small business.
Even Beauty, who lives with a disability, is using the skills she learned to care for herself and cover her medical bills.
“These women are being empowered to live in this hard economy,” said Mubaiwa, CFCI Zimbabwe’s base director. “They’re learning to take care of themselves and their families.”
Each product they make tells a story of resilience, creativity, and transformation—proof that when opportunity meets faith, hope begins to grow.
You can be part of this empowering, encouraging, and eternal work happening in Zimbabwe and at our 16 other bases around the world.