Sarudza

'I must have stood in front of the closed door for half an eternity. My sense of time disappeared when the door closed. It was dark. Black. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I spotted a faint beam of light - a hole in the wall, was that supposed to be a window?' Gloria lives in Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe. There she manages the 'Tatenda' house, where women in difficult situations find refuge, help and support. Things go on as usual until one day, through a chain of strange events, she is drawn deep into the Zimbabwean jungle of regulations and corruption. At the mercy of state power and inscrutable procedures, she faces the challenges, but how does one go on when obstacles are repeatedly placed in one's path whose meaning one does not see? Sarudza means 'choose'. And that is often not easy. But why do we so rarely follow our heart or common sense? A thrilling, lively story about realising that the wealth of Zimbabwe lies not in its mineral resources or wonderful nature, but in the people who inhabit it, about knowing that there is always a light at the end of the tunnel, and about how everything then makes sense after all. If you choose to recognise it.

Claudia van Ruiten was born in Bremen on 11.4.1961 and grew up in northern Germany as the fourth of five children. Despite the many children, the family travelled a lot in her childhood, which laid the foundation for the author's love of adventure. After training as a printmaker, which she did for only 1 year, Claudia switched to graphic design and advertising and remained faithful to this medium for 23 years. Her book mainly describes the cultural and social differences in Africa, as well as the problems associated with them, but also the joie de vivre of the people she met on her travels. You can't choose the family you are born into, but soon after you can choose everything else. Claudia van Ruiten was born in Germany and reborn in Africa.