Keepsakes
Georgina’s Zambia wraparound
“My object name is called Zambia, and it is actually known in African countries as a wrapper. It is described as a piece of an African printed fabric that can be used for differential purposes. In Zimbabwe, the object is named Zambia because it was first introduced to the nationals by the traders coming from the country Zambia. I was given the object by my brother. My brother bought the souvenir for me as a valuable present when he was twenty years old. My Zambia is valuable to me in different ways. Firstly, it represents the love between a brother and a sister. Secondly, it is an essential material for women in my country. It represents that I am from Africa; the African prints give the African residents the confidence and pride that they belong to the African continent.”
My mother’s young sister, my aunt, has the original photo, and she is the one who gave me the picture through WhatsApp […] in the year 2016. I was lucky that a certain Galway-based photographer had a project to recreate old photos, and he edited and printed the photo for me; that’s when I managed to get a hardcopy of the picture nicely done.
The picture connects me with my mother; considering that she could work hard on her farm and buy a boys’ suit for me, I am humbled by that. I am still a smart person, and I like to dress up well. I have a gentle character, which was instilled in me by my mother’s parenting style. I still have the same manner; I always put my hands in the pockets like in the picture. I realised that I started loving to put my hands in the pockets since childhood. By just seeing the photo, I always remember what was happening those days. The picture brings back the funniest childhood memories; for example, the photographers’ camera used to have a strong flashlight when capturing photographs and I used to be scared a lot when I was a child.
I respect my mother for all her hard work. The background of a picture shows my mother’s garden. My mother is a hardworking entrepreneur and a smallholder farmer for years in Zimbabwe. My mother supplies horticultural produce in the capital city’s big market Mbare Musika Market and Lusaka Highfields Market, including tomatoes, cabbages, covo, rape and green peppers. The photo amazes me with my mother’s hardworking because she generates sufficient income for her family through farming.
That is the only childhood photo I have with me. I keep the photo in a frame, and when people enter my house, that’s the only photo they will see.”
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