Farai Shawn Matiashe

Farai Shawn Matiashe is a journalist based in Mutare, Zimbabwe, who writes for The Guardian, CNN International, The Economist, The Africa Report, African Business and the Thomson Reuters Foundation. Farai, who has reported across Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, is passionate about reporting from rural areas.

Stories from Farai Shawn Matiashe

An overhead view of Esther Mwedzi walking across her yard between her separate kitchen building and her home.

Alternative Economies

Zimbabwean Communities Shut Out by Banks Are Building Their Own Loan Programs

In thousands of communities across Zimbabwe, people pool their savings together and loan it out to help their neighbors build homes and start businesses.

Farai Shawn Matiashe

As Human-Wildlife Conflict Rises, Zimbabwean Communities Find New Ways to Coexist

Rebounding populations of lions and elephants are venturing out of protected parklands and closer to nearby communities. With human-wildlife conflict on the rise, a grassroots organization is empowering communities with non-lethal solutions.

Farai Shawn Matiashe

Annamore Mupfungidza and Elizabeth Mudzenge sit facing each other and chatting on a large wooden bench. A sign on the bench reads, "Friendship Bench."

Community Development

The Grandmothers on the Front Line of Zimbabwe’s Mental Health Crisis

Grandmothers are the custodians of culture in Zimbabwe. For generations, people sought advice from grandmothers across the country. Now, they're training in talk therapy to offer free mental healthcare on public benches.

Farai Shawn Matiashe

Christine Mutsveta looks behind her via the mirror on the handlebars of her cargo e-tricycle.

Community Development

E-Bikes Revolutionize Rural Transportation and Empower Women in Zimbabwe

Difficult-to-traverse roads in rural Zimbabwe make delivering farm-fresh produce to markets a struggle. Electric cargo tricycles are giving women the opportunity to start their own delivery businesses.

Farai Shawn Matiashe

Memory Difara sits behind a computer at a telehealth center with medical supplies lining the shelves behind her.

Community Development

Telemedicine Turns The Tide For Women with Diabetes in Rural Zimbabwe

Rural telehealth facilities provide life-changing treatment for women battling diseases like diabetes in small towns across Zimbabwe where healthcare is otherwise inaccessible.

Farai Shawn Matiashe

December 11, 2025

A young woman sits next to a bucket-shaped cookstove filled with briquettes, holding a few briquettes in her hands.

Community Development

Youth Champion Cleaner Air and Reforestation at Kenya’s Refugee Camps

Most of the refugees in Kakuma, Kenya, do not have access to clean cooking fuels, leaving them inhaling dirty fumes when trying to put food on the table. Youth in the community are championing change by building cleaner stoves.

Farai Shawn Matiashe

December 9, 2025