[et_pb_section bb_built=”1″][et_pb_row _builder_version=”3.17.6″ make_fullwidth=”on” make_equal=”on”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text _builder_version=”3.17.6″]

Heather Van Buuren

 

I have lived all my life in Zimbabwe. My parents emigrated from Suffolk, UK to Africa in 1927.

My father was a farmer on Harleigh Farm in the Makoni district of Zimbabwe and I was born here in 1932. Farming required clearing the land and stumping out trees; how that hurt my sister and I. We would sit in the branches and cry as we fondled the cool soft leaves as the sap leaked out. I think we also wondered what the birds would do without them to live in. The trees were mostly “msasa’ – a gentle tree that sheds its leaves at the end of winter when the August winds blow. But then in spring out pop new leaves so soft and feather-like in a kaleidoscope of colours; mostly differing shades of red, some orangey and some a khaki shade of yellow. Then they turn apple green, a shade so beautiful one could just drink it!

I went to boarding school, under protest, in the nearby village of Rusape and then further afield in the then Salisbury. Many a time, as a little girl I would hide in the stables with my beloved pony come the time to return to school. I went on to do my nursing and midwifery training in Cape Town and Durban, South Africa – a lovely time of my life but how I missed home! Then I married a farmer and again wept over the trees as we cleared the virgin land on a farm near the Mozambique border. We had three beautiful daughters.

It was only many years later, when in my mid-sixties and my girls had left the nest, that I picked up a brush and, self-taught, headed off into the bush to sketch. My daughters are my best encouragers and although they live far away now, they understand why I love the land of my birth. And so I still live in Rusape, at Resthaven, amongst fellow pensioners who all face the plight of trying to make the best out of life.

I am and always have been an ardent believer, seeing the magnificence of God in all that surrounds me. I give Him the glory for each work I create!

[/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_divider _builder_version=”3.17.6″ show_divider=”off” height=”100px” /][et_pb_image _builder_version=”3.17.6″ src=”https://www.heathervanbuuren.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/HDvB-Profile1.jpg” /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]