HOMELIFE

March 2024

Meet Ms Chimboza, the Forest Hill resident who put the community back into her communal garden.

Originally from Zimbabwe, Ms Chimboza has lived in South East London for nearly a decade. When she moved in, the communal gardens were littered with old appliances and bags of rubbish. Feeling like something needed to be done, Ms Chimboza contacted us and got a team of neighbours together to completely transform the garden.

After our teams removed the bulky rubbish and cut back the overgrown trees, they also replaced the broken fence, to prevent fly tipping from reoccurring. Ms Chimboza and her team of neighbours then set to work, rubbish was replaced with a new lawn, flowers and vegetables. Ms Chimboza used the native vegetables and herbs grown in her kitchen with her daughter to prepare traditional African meals.

The communal gardens became a place for everyone to enjoy. Neighbours came together to share stories, food, BBQ’s and ‘lots of banter.’ Sadly, things changed during the coronavirus pandemic. “When face-to-face contact was restricted, I felt disconnected from my neighbours and community," she said.

Always forward-thinking, she set up a Facebook page to maintain connections and create new ones with the Black Zimbabwean community in London. The page had huge success in making people feel part of the wider community digitally when real life connections weren’t possible.

With the pandemic behind them, Ms Chimboza and her neighbours have since returned to using their communal garden once again. All thanks to Ms Chimboza’s community-driven mindset, wanting a space not just herself but for the entire community.

We love featuring our residents in Homelife, so if you or a neighbour would like to be featured, please email our Communications team.