A chance meeting in an airport helped bring Farai Taziwa from Zimbabwe to Durango.
When Durangoans Judy Duke and her husband Tom missed their flight out of the Los Angeles International Airport, they met a woman in beautiful African dress and her daughter. Tecla Mugomba had brought her daughter to the states for eye surgery and also got stuck in the airport.
“She was a little bit stranded and very frazzled because her visa had expired,” Judy Duke said.
The Dukes helped her get back home, and she invited them out to Zimbabwe, where she owns a safari lodge. The meeting sparked a friendship and Judy Duke started helping Mugomba by selling African crafts in the states.
While visiting Mugomba, Judy Duke met her nephew, Taziwa, when he was 14. The two corresponded after Duke returned to the states. She saw huge potential in Taziwa because he had gone to one of the best boarding schools in the country, and so she asked him if he would like to come to Fort Lewis College.
The process to get a visa and come to the states took two years, and he spent that time studying for an electrical engineering degree.
In 2011, he moved in with the Dukes, and started his college career over, first at Southwest Colorado Community College and then at Fort Lewis College.
While he was well-prepared for his classes, getting used to the United States and Durango, which he describes as the friendliest town, was a process.
“Durango is extremely different from any other town I’ve been to in the States. The first days when people would just say “hi” to me, it freaked me out. Like why are you greeting me, I don’t know you,” he said.
He was also struck by the multicultural food.
“There is such a diverse range of food here. In Zimbabwe, we do have a bit of options, but trust me, it’s nowhere near how many options you guys have, it’s just incredible,” he said.
For the first year, he lived with the Dukes and it became his second home.
“I’m like one of their kids, which feels good. It doesn’t feel like I’m too far from family,” he said.
Judy encouraged him to become a resident assistant at the dorms so he could meet friends, and so he moved onto the campus for two years.
It was stark contrast to his boarding school that was somewhat akin to a military school, with a regimented daily schedule and required crisp uniforms.
At Fort Lewis, people were curious about his past.
“Sometimes it got a bit overwhelming because people wanted to know a lot about me,” he said.
And many asked the same question: “How did you even know there was a place called Durango?”
But it was a good fit, in lots of ways. Taziwa, who had never seen snow, learned to ski and will regale you with the qualities of Durango’s bike paths.
It is also reminiscent of Nyanga, his mountainous hometown in eastern Zimbabwe.
“I wouldn’t feel comfortable staying in a huge city,” he said.
He has also found success professionally. Before he graduated in spring 2015 he was hired as an engineer at CrossFire.
In February, he’ll start working on solar energy projects for a Four Corners Company.
mshinn@durangoherald.com
