By Wallace Mawire
ActionAid Zimbabwe family and key partners on 25 March, 2025 held an event in Harare to celebrate the life and legacy of the late Everjoice Jeketa Win. The event attended by former workmates, family members and friends of the late feminist and development worker was marked by a writing in the memory book, Everjoice’s eulogy reading, an honoring of her legacy of service, remembering her dedication and impact, an update on her transformative years from 2002 to 2025,over a period of 23 years, voices of tribute by various stakeholders including a dinner hosted in her memory. In an online tribute read on behalf of Jemal Ahmed, Secretary General of ActionAid lnternational, it was said that her influence span across continents. Ahmed said that Win had strong beliefs in equality and was
a dedicated humanitarian worker. He said that Win was an exemplary worker who advised country leaders and directors across continents and the world. He said her legacy remains alive in all the places and she was a well educated Pan African it. Some of the speakers at the event who narrated Win’s work include Lillian Matsika, Sally Ncube and Edna Masiyiwa.
Arthur Larok, the Secretary General of ActionAid International paid tribute to Everjoice Win, who passed away on 9 March 2025. He said,
โThe ActionAid family is devastated to hear of the passing of our dear sister, Everjoice Win. EJ, as she was affectionately known, was a brave and daring feminist at the federation, who would speak truth to power, to whoever held that power. He said she believed in sisterhood and showed how to build that sisterhood with compassion, intelligence and humour.
He said EJ built the foundation of ActionAid’s work on Womenโs Rights and Feminist Alternatives over twenty years ago. He said it was also under her direct guidance that ActionAid’s International Strategy, ‘Action for Global Justice,’ was developed. He said she left a profound mark on the organisation, and they mourn her passing and join the wider feminist and social justice movement to celebrate her enduring legacy.
A eulogy read by a family daughter Peggy Mugova said Win co-founded and served on the boards of several civil society and womenโs rights organizations both in Zimbabwe and beyond such as Just Associates, a Feminist movement building and strengthening organization. Also in recognition of her work in advancing women’s rights, the University of London School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) appointed her as Professor of Practice from 2020 to 2022,among many other accolades.