Seventeen-year-old Stella Ncube* from Ngwana village in Bulilima district once dreamt of becoming a nurse — a dream she clung to with determination throughout her school years.
But that dream was shattered when she fell pregnant during the last school holiday.
The father of the child, an injiva (colloquial for Zimbabweans based in South Africa), who had promised to support her education, vanished shortly after returning to the neighbouring country.
Left alone, emotionally overwhelmed, and without family support, Ncube spiralled into depression.
The weight of abandonment and fear became too much to bear, and she eventually suffered a stillbirth.
“I wanted to be a nurse and help people,” she said.
“Now I don’t even know how to help myself.”
Ncube’s story reflects the silent tragedies unfolding in many households across Matabeleland South province — where girls’ futures are derailed by relationships built on false promises, leaving behind scars far deeper than the festive-season festivities ever reveal.
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Data shows that in the second quarter of 2025, 115 female learners and 27 male learners in Matabeleland South province dropped out of school; among the 115 females, 66 dropped because of teenage pregnancies.
Other causes included illness (24), child marriages (20), and financial hardship (five).
Every December, as the festive season ushers in a spirit of reunion and celebration, communities across Matabeleland South province brace for a very different reality — the return of injiva,
Zimbabwean men working in South Africa whose homecoming brings both excitement and profound social disruption.
Behind the music, the flashy cars and the gifts they shower on their families lies a painful truth: injiva have become a major driver of rising HIV infections, sexually transmitted infections (STIs), teenage pregnancies and school dropouts in the province.
For many girls and young women, Christmas has become a season of risk rather than joy.
Matabeleland South continues to record some of the highest HIV prevalence rates in Zimbabwe, with girls and young women aged 15 to 24 carrying the heaviest burden.
Health officials point to a troubling trend: infection spikes tend to follow seasonal migration cycles — particularly the festive influx of men returning from South Africa.
In areas such as Bulilima, Mangwe, Gwanda and Matobo, the pattern is painfully familiar.
Injiva, often perceived as wealthy because of their South African earnings, return home with money, groceries, alcohol and a lifestyle that dazzles young rural girls.
“Every festive season we see the same thing — our girls fall pregnant, some get infected with HIV, and by January households are already battling the consequences,” said Mutsuli village head Cosmas Moyo.
“Injiva do not stay; they vanish back to South Africa, leaving families to pick up the pieces.”
Moyo from Matobo district’s St Joseph area said many girls think relationships with injiva represent an escape from poverty.
With unemployment and hunger gripping most households, the allure of gifts, cash, or even the promise of life across the border becomes irresistible.
“Our children lack knowledge,” Moyo said.
“We need community engagement and help each other.”
Seventeen-year-old Lindiwe* from Chief Njelele in Matobo narrated her story with a mixture of shame and fear.
“He said he loved me and he would come back to marry me,” she said.
“He gave me money to buy groceries for home.
“I didn’t think anything bad would happen.
“Now I’m pregnant and he blocked me. I don’t even know if I’m HIV positive or not.”
Lindiwe’s mother, who initially welcomed the relationship because of economic pressure, now regrets that decision.
“We are suffering, and these girls end up making desperate choices. Injiva take advantage of their vulnerability,” she said.
Stories like Lindiwe’s echo throughout the province — tales of broken promises, abandoned children, shattered education dreams, and lifelong health complications.
According to the National Aids Council (NAC), the HIV burden among young women in Matabeleland South is significantly higher than the national average.
New infections are disproportionately concentrated among adolescents and young adult females.
“We see a spike in STIs and HIV testing cases between December and February,” NAC’s Bulilima district Aids coordinator Ronald Hanyane said.
He said clinic data shows a worrying rise in infections among young girls.
“When we compare figures per clinic, we realise that new STI infections are still showing up,” Hanyane added.
“Mainly, they are affecting our young girls aged 14 to 24. That is where the highest point of the graph is, compared to boys of the same age.”
Bulilima, which has a female HIV incidence of 0.29 percent, health workers are already seeing an uptick in STI cases as some Injiva arrive early for the holidays.
Compounding the problem is cross-border mobility, which increases exposure to high-risk sexual networks in South Africa — a country with one of the world’s highest HIV prevalence rates.
The return of injiva bring a wave of teenage pregnancies that disrupts girls’ education.
School authorities in Bulilima and Mangwe report that every year, several learners fail to return after the holidays.
A deputy head at a secondary school in Mangwe confirmed.
“We lose bright girls every festive season,” he said.
“By January, some are pregnant, others have eloped and some disappear altogether when their injiva partners take them across the border.”
These girls rarely complete their education, contributing to the intergenerational cycle of poverty and vulnerability.
While the festive season is a time of joy for many families, for women and girls in Matabeleland South it often becomes a period of fear and emotional distress.
“The problem is not just HIV,” said Gwanda-based girls’ rights activist Lorraine Ndlovu.
“It is gender inequality, poverty, and the power imbalance in relationships between injiva and local girls.
“Some girls suffer emotional abuse, coercion, or are abandoned with babies without any financial support.”
Ndlovu said the economic desperation in Matabeleland South fuels exploitative relationships, making girls easy targets for older men with disposable income.
Traditional leaders, teachers, churches, and health officials have repeatedly warned about the dangers posed by the cyclical return of injiva.
In the wake of such, NAC has launched several programmes targeting adolescent girls and young women, but the cultural, economic, and social dynamics remain deeply complex.
“We are fighting a multi-layered challenge,” Hanyane said.
“Injiva contribute significantly to new infections, but we also have poverty, lack of opportunities, and limited access to youth-friendly health services. Girls need empowerment.”
Hundreds of girls in Matabeleland South province are now receiving support from NAC through gender-sensitive programmes like Sista2Sista.
The initiative provides counselling, mentorship, sexual and reproductive health information, psychosocial support, and safe spaces for adolescent girls and young women.
“This programme is helping me rebuild my confidence, resume her education and regain a sense of direction after her traumatic experience,” Ncube said.
“Sista2Sista is helping me heal.
“For the first time, I feel like my life can still move forward.”
Her story represents the quiet resilience of many girls whose lives have been disrupted by injiva, poverty, and gendered vulnerabilities — yet who continue to find hope through community support and targeted interventions.
Matobo district Aids coordinator Lawrence Ncube said apart from injiva, artisanal miners were also another menace.
“Just close to here we have a mine where people from all over the country come and do gold mining,” he said.
“They engage in sexual activities, and in the process, they transmit STIs.”
He said Maphisa growth point and St Joseph shopping centre were among HIV hotspots in Matobo district.
“With the injiva coming, they do not want to use condoms,” Ncube said.
“They speak of lobola and marriage, and in marriage people do not use condoms.
“But we do not know what they are doing out there.
“When they come here, they don’t want to use condoms.
“After every holiday, our trends go up. We have already started recording new cases.”
NAC provincial manager for Matabeleland South province Mcgini Sibanda said they have launched the Not in my village campaign, spearheaded by traditional leaders in order to address the pressing issues of child marriages and teenage pregnancies as well as drug abuse in the province.
Until the root causes are addressed — poverty, gender inequality, lack of opportunities, and social vulnerabilities — the festive season will continue to cast a dark shadow across Matabeleland South province. For young girls, the impact lasts far beyond Christmas. It shapes their entire future.
And as communities prepare for yet another holiday season, the dread grows: the injiva are coming home — and so is the devastation they leave behind.
*Not real name
