By Desire Tshuma
HARARE — Zimbabweans returning home from the United Kingdom (UK) after spending several years abroad go through a process of reintegration. During this period, they may require support in areas such as reconnecting with families and communities, accommodation, meeting immediate food and care needs, employment, documentation, and health services. The Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) responds to these needs through the Returnees and Reintegration Support Programme, which has been assisting vulnerable Zimbabweans returning from the UK since 2023.
Supporting returnees is not a new area of work for ZCC. The Church’s involvement in migration and displacement has evolved over decades, responding to the changing circumstances facing Zimbabweans at home and abroad. Its experience stretches back to the liberation struggle, when churches responded to communities affected by displacement and supported Zimbabweans returning from exile. Over the years, this role expanded to supporting people affected by internal displacement, refugees and communities affected by disasters and other forms of forced movement.
More recently, ZCC responded to climate-induced displacement following Cyclone Idai, including support to affected communities in Runyararo Settlement in Chimanimani. The Church has also been involved in refugee protection and support at Tongogara Refugee Settlement in Chipinge, while working with communities and young people to address some of the vulnerabilities and underlying factors that can contribute to irregular migration and forced movement. This experience has increasingly positioned the Church not only as a first responder to people in crisis, but also as an institution that accompanies vulnerable people through recovery, restoration and reintegration.
It is against this background that the ZCC’s Returnees and Reintegration Support Programme has become an important part of its current work.
“The Church has a responsibility to stand with people at points of vulnerability and transition, including those returning home after migration. Our mandate goes beyond responding to immediate needs; it is about restoring dignity, strengthening families and communities, and helping people rebuild sustainable lives. Through our churches and partners, we seek to ensure that returnees are not left to navigate the challenges of reintegration alone,” said ZCC General Secretary Rev W Dimingu.
The programme, which has been running assisting returnees from the UK, uses a case-management approach that assesses each individual and develops a tailored reintegration plan, rather than providing once-off emergency assistance. The approach has enabled ZCC to develop experience, systems and partnerships to support returnees beyond their immediate needs and help them establish more sustainable pathways to reintegration.
According to programme responses, some of the challenges confronting vulnerable citizens returning home from the UK include limited financial resources, lack of accommodation, unemployment, psychosocial distress, chronic illness, substance abuse and problems with identity documents. Some arrive with expired papers, lost documents or no paperwork at all. Documentation has become a critical barrier because identity papers are needed to access health care, education, employment and other essential services.
Support is provided in phases. In the immediate phase, returnees may receive care packages, food hampers, hot meals, overnight accommodation and cash assistance. For mid- to long-term needs, ZCC facilitates onward transport, health and psychosocial support, family tracing, referrals, documentation assistance and livelihood activities. At the centre of the longer-term approach is the recognition that sustainable reintegration requires more than meeting immediate needs. Livelihood reintegration is therefore a key component of the programme. ZCC works with government departments and the private sector to help returnees use existing skills or acquire new ones, while supporting them to identify opportunities for income generation.
“ZCC is receiving many returnees. When a returnee is referred to ZCC, the process begins with checking urgent needs such as protection, health and accommodation. This is followed by a full assessment of vulnerabilities, family situation, age, gender, health and financial status. A case and reintegration plan is then developed to address the socio, psychosocial and economic needs of each returnee,” said Maria Tendai Dendere, Head of Programs at ZCC.
The organisation recently showcased this Returnees and Reintegration Support work at the 2026 Zimbabwe Agricultural Show (ZAS), where it linked returnees with locally based private sector players and potential customers for products they produce under the programme. The participation of returnees at the ZAS created a platform to strengthen their economic reintegration through market access, enterprise development and networking.
The ZCC is also encouraging Zimbabweans in the diaspora who are considering returning home from the UK and are in need of assistance to seek information early and engage support services before travelling. The ZCC will provide airport reception, temporary accommodation, care and food packages, family tracing and reunification, onward transportation, mental health and psychosocial support, health, legal and economic empowerment support to all returnees considering returning home under the programme.
The experience gained through the UK Returnees and Reintegration Support Programme is informing the Church’s response to the needs of Zimbabweans returning from South Africa, where the reintegration response commenced in June this year following the emergence of the returnee situation. Rather than treating each return situation as an isolated emergency, ZCC is drawing on its existing case-management experience and partnerships to respond to immediate needs while also identifying longer-term reintegration pathways.
For the ZCC, the growing returnee situation is therefore not viewed simply as an emergency requiring short-term relief, but as part of a broader migration and protection continuum. The Church’s experience, from supporting people affected by displacement during the liberation struggle, to responding to internal displacement, refugee protection, climate-related disasters and, more recently, the reintegration of returnees, has reinforced the importance of sustained accompaniment.
By treating return as a process rather than a single event, ZCC says it aims to help vulnerable citizens returning home from the UK not only arrive safely, but regain stability, restore livelihoods, reconnect with their communities and rebuild their futures.