Divine Mahara Chitubura (28), a full-time Afro-folk musician from Greyton, Western Cape, is on a mission to transform his family farm, in honour of his father, Edmond (58), who recently passed away after a two year battle with Melanoma cancer.

Originally from Zimbabwe, Divine has returned home to fulfil his father’s dying wish of transforming their homestead into a self-sustaining, safe and thriving environment to benefit his siblings’ Prayer (25), Tendai (22), Rutendo (15) and Shalom as well as his wider local community.

“My dad first acquired our farm in 2010, and in the last 12 years, it has been home to many people— passers-by in need of shelter and many children my parents took in when we were all children.” 

“Both my late mom and dad worked harder than I’ve known anyone to work, right here on this farm. In its prime, it had hectares of crops and many animals including cattle, goats, chicken and pigs.” – says Divine

Divine says that with the passing of his mom 9 years ago, and his dad’s poor health, the family and consequently the farm went into a depression— bringing the farm to where it is now. 

“Our farm has no water supply, no functioning plumbing system, and is missing many more necessities. There is also virtually no internet connectivity in the area, making things even more challenging.” – says Divine

Funding a father’s legacy

To help realise his father’s dream, Divine launched a crowdfunding campaign on BackaBuddy with a fundraising target of R375 000, appealing for community support in the form of donations.

To Divine’s delight, his ‘Water and Wifi’ campaign has raised over R66 000, with generous contributions from 26 donors, including one of his heroes, Grammy-award winning singer/songwriter, Jason Mraz, who wrote a warm message of support: 

“Your mission is noble and inspiring. I wish you luck and wellness on this journey. I hope I might come to visit you on this farm someday.” – Jason Mraz

“Jason Mraz’s song inspires me through this journey.. he sings ‘Look for the good in everything and that is what I am doing. As one of my greater role models, having him donate to this cause is incredibly encouraging. It motivates me to do more just as he is (he too has a farm!)” – says Divine

With funds raised, Divine says, the farm will not only be able to create work opportunities for locals, but it will also become a supplier of healthy, organic produce to the local towns and villages, and ultimately provide reliable internet connectivity for the entire community.

“My hope is that all that my parents worked for, will not be in vain and that we will continue to grow the seeds and multiply. We will collectively take it forward in the way I know they wanted to themselves. I am in awe of the impact BackaBuddy and all the wonderful donations are making in our lives.” – says Divine

Support Divine on BackaBuddy: 

https://www.backabuddy.co.za/divine-mahara-chitubura

Alternatively, donate via Snapscan: 

https://pos.snapscan.io/qr/DivineMaharaChitubura