Please help Masimba reunite with his wife and son.

Hi my name is Rumbi Musodza and I am raising funds for Masimba Musodza to be able to bring his wife and son to the UK on a family reunion visa.

Some of you may know my nephew, Masimba Musodza. Masimba came to the UK as an asylum seeker many years ago and finally managed to get refugee status. He cannot travel back to Zimbabwe at present where his Wife Khanyi and son Sam are currently based. Their story is shared below.

The beautiful love story, that some of you already know between Masimba and ( Khanyi) Sikhanyisile, started on social media and ended up in them getting married and being blessed with their beautiful son, Samuel.

Masimba and Khanyi met on Facebook in 2015, and, in 2017, he flew out to Johannesburg to spend time with her. They applied for an intended spouse visa which was rejected as the Home Office said that there was not enough evidence to show that they were in a subsisting relationship, which was a blow to them because after two years of dating, their relationship was solid. However, they had more exciting things happening at the time, which they focused on, as they were expecting their son and the following year he was born. Masimba returned to South Africa a few times after their son was born to be with his family, However Sam could not get papers so mother and son had to leave South Africa at the end of 2019 hoping to return to SA once the papers issue was sorted.

Unfortunately, it didn't happen because a few months after that, the covid pandemic happened, and so they had to stay put in Zimbabwe. Before leaving SA, Masimba and Khanyi tried to get married in SA, but the South African authorities refused, saying that they did not have jurisdiction to wed someone with the kind of UK papers he had. They tried Botswana and Zambia but it was the same story, luckily they discovered by mere chance on a Facebook series that the Republic of Seychelles is a popular wedding destination for foreign couples and officiates bi-national marriages without a lot of red tape, so they flew off with their son to get married in Seychelles. Such was the commitment they had for each other. The journey itself leading to their wedding was frought with all kinds of spanners, unbelievable occurrences and challenges beyond their control (story for a whole book)which they are proud to have conquered only because of love for each other.

When COVID happened and the world went into lockdown, the family of 3 was separated.

Now, a couple of years later, Masimba, Khanyi, and Sam have not given up on their dream to be together as a family. However, the Home Office requires £6380 in fees to issue Khanyi and Sam with the Family Reunion Visa, which will allow them to come to England. The costs for applying to reunite with families are very expensive and are more often than not a huge barrier for people living overseas to reunite with spouses or family members who reside in the UK.

Masimba has been trying to raise that money, but he is also supporting his family in Zimbabwe. "I have tried to stay optimistic, but Sam is now at that stage where he realises that it is not normal situation to have a Dad you only speak to on the phone. He keeps asking me when I will send for him. He can barely recall the times I have played with him, bathed him, and clothed him. I really miss them both."

Masimba is well known and respected in his local area of Middlesbrough as well as on his social media platforms. Khanyi is a hard working and enterprising woman who is doing the best she can with the limited resources in Kariba Zimbabwe. Together under the same roof these two amazing people and their very clever son Sam can achieve amazing things. They just need a chance. Friends and family and friends of friends , can we please help , spread the word, donate, every little helps.

We hope that one day Masimba and Khanyi will write a book about their journey and we hope when they do they will be together . Everyone who contributes will be greatly appreciated. Please help this beautiful family reunite in the UK.

Thank you