Other Projects

In January 2008, Zimbabwean native Themba Phiri, 48, left his home and his teaching job of 13 years to move to South Africa. Moving was not something he wanted to do, but something he said he felt he had to do.

“When I came here, I thought I would work for five years and then go back home,” Phiri said.

The Zimbabwean economy had failed. Decades of mismanagement by President Robert Mugabe and the government led the country into a spiral of food shortages, hyperinflation and soaring unemployment.

By 2009, Zimbabwe abandoned its currency in favor of the U.S. dollar, the South African Rand and seven other currencies.

Now, one decade later, Phiri has lost hope that he will ever return to his home.

The 2018 Chicago Flower & Garden Show, with a theme of “FLOWERTALES: Every Garden Has a Story to Tell.” The show ran Wednesday, March 14 through Sunday, March 18, 2018 at Navy Pier in Chicago.

Community members of Evanston, IL gather for a collaborative quilting session to honor women and girls of color who lost their lives to gun violence in Chicago.