Duration Gold has received the Community Impact & Humanitarian Support Award, as its continuing support for two widows of former Vubachikwe Mine workers highlights a commitment to families beyond their husbands’ years of service.
Sophie Dube and Senzeni Moyo live in Thornwood, at the end of a long, dusty road between Gwanda and Colleen Bawn in Matabeleland South.
Their husbands worked at the Duration Gold-run mine in Gwanda. Although the men have died, the company continues to provide their widows with food, medical attention and nursing care.
For Dube, painful legs and deteriorating eyesight have made everyday life difficult.
“My legs are painful and the eyes are also painful. I can no longer see; it’s all blurry,” she said.
Moyo can still move around the compound, while Dube needs greater assistance. Their care nurse, Mwanabora Mwale, who is on the company’s payroll, helps attend to their daily needs.
The programme initially supported seven widows. Only Dube and Moyo remain, with one of the women having died in 2025.
During a Christmas visit described in the supplied account, officials from Duration Gold Limited (Jersey) delivered festive goodies to the two women.
“Thank you very much for what you have done,” was the message of gratitude shared in the account of the visit.
The company’s support extends beyond seasonal gifts, providing practical assistance throughout the widows’ daily lives.
“The beloved widows are the jewel of the Duration social responsibility programme,” the account accompanying details of the initiative states.
“Looking after them is a tribute to the service their late husbands provided.”
The award recognises the company’s humanitarian contribution, while the widows’ story illustrates what that support means at household level: access to food, medical attention and a caregiver who helps them navigate the challenges of ageing.
For Dube and Moyo, the continuing assistance also preserves a connection to the workplace their husbands once served.
