Vegetable of Hope in Zimbabwe

. 1 min read

Margaret Tagwira describes the nutritional advantages of chaya amid a field of the fast-growing vegetable. Photo by Mike DuBose, UMNS.

Margaret Tagwira feels the heavy burden African women bear for the survival of their families.
As an agricultural researcher at United Methodist Africa University, she has made it her life’s work to ease the load placed squarely on the slender shoulders of women as they struggle daily to feed their families.
Tagwira, a senior laboratory technician, earned a master of public health and graduate diploma in Non-governmental Organization management from Africa University. She was responsible for planning and setting up the first laboratories at the school.
Her compassion for women has made her an evangelist for chaya, a drought-resistant shrub she calls a “woman’s plant” because it is loaded with protein, iron, calcium, potassium and Vitamin A — all essential nutrients, especially for women and babies.