Nimoy Gerry is the chairman of the Chisekesi Cluster in Zambia. In this Q+A, he tells us more about himself, the Cluster and his heart to serve his community.
Tell us about yourself! I am a mechanic and farmer based in Chisekesi Village in the Southern Province of Zambia. I have a garage and workshop in my compound where I spend most of my time. I also do maize farming from time to time. Outside of work, I am a husband and father of two beautiful girls and a three year old boy.
Great! How did you get to be a mechanic? It runs in the family! My father was gifted at fixing cars and decided to leave his job to start a mechanic business. I saw my father and my brother working in the garage and this sparked my interest.
You also use this skill to help your community. Tell us more about that. I am currently mentoring six boys in my garage. I want them to gain practical skills so that they can use them to help others and also sustain themselves and their families. The time that we spend together also ensures that they are not idle during the day to get into bad company. I am happy because so far the boys have been able to help their families.
That’s wonderful, Nimoy! And how did you get involved with the Chisekesi Cluster? Some years ago, some members of Arukah’s Support Team came to Zambia to visit the Chabbs Cluster. I drove them around and in that time I got to know about Arukah Network. I loved their different approach of supporting visionary local leaders as they work to improve the health of their communities. I was interested and knew that this was what we needed in my village. With the help of my friends, we started the Chisekesi Cluster.
Great! And what good things have happened since the Cluster started? Some wonderful things have happened in Chisekesi since we started. To name a few, we have been able to provide meals for the school in the community. We also had a cattle business which provided sufficient food for the people in the community. Lastly, we came up with a system to sell rice on credit to community members and have them pay monthly. This relieved their burden and ensured that they had enough food on the table.
That’s wonderful, Nimoy. As you move forward, what do you hope to see? I believe that a Cluster is a blessing. Now that the pandemic is behind us, my goal is to have our members be involved as much as possible through attending meetings and accessing the resources available to us so that we can continue serving and growing the community.
What do you enjoy doing outside of your work? When I am not working, I enjoy fishing. Aftera long day of work, i like catching up with my friends or watching TV.
Thank you, Nimoy. We are glad that you are part of the network!
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