By Natasha Machaya

Sitting at my desk at Huayou Cobalt’s Prospect Lithium site, the rhythmic hum of processing machinery a familiar soundtrack, I gaze at the photo on my screen: my graduation day at the University of Zimbabwe, clutching my "Top Chinese Studies Student" certificate with a mix of exhaustion and elation. That was just three years ago in 2022. Today, in 2025, the path ahead feels both grounded and intertwined with a vibrant future, a future deeply connected to the enduring friendship between my homeland, Zimbabwe, and the nation whose language captured my heart, China. I am Natasha Machaya, born in 1999, and this is my story woven with threads of aspiration, pragmatism, and unexpected warmth spanning just these first 25 years.

My fascination with China began not with grand geopolitics, but with the elegant dance of characters on a poster in Harare. While my friends dreamt of London or New York, I found myself drawn eastward. At the University of Zimbabwe, I immersed myself in Mandarin with a fervor that surprised even me. The tones were a mountain to climb, mistaking mā (mother) for mǎ (horse) earned me more than a few patient corrections from my tutors. The characters felt like intricate puzzles. Yet the history, the poetry, the sheer scale of the culture fueled my determination. Long nights with textbooks and flashcards became my norm. The culmination was graduating top of my class in Chinese Studies in 2024. The pride was immense, a validation of countless hours and unwavering passion. The ultimate dream seemed within reach: an acceptance letter for a Master’s in International Relations at Tianjin University. Holding that letter felt like holding a ticket to the heart of the civilization I had studied so intently. Tianjin! Visions of bustling streets, ancient temples alongside modern skyscrapers, and deep academic immersion filled my mind.

But the soaring joy soon met the hard ground of reality. The costs of tuition fees demanding thousands of U.S. dollars, flights across continents, accommodation, and living expenses in a major Chinese city were astronomical mountains my family simply couldn’t scale. Scholarships I applied for remained elusive. The dream of walking Tianjin’s campus, of studying within China’s embrace, began to fade, replaced by a profound ache of disappointment. It felt like a door slamming shut just as I reached it.

Yet the thread connecting me to China, though strained, didn’t break. It simply took an unforeseen turn. Huayou Cobalt Zimbabwe’s Prospect Lithium, a major new Sino-Zimbabwean joint venture developing our country’s vast lithium resources ("white gold" for the world’s batteries) was actively seeking local talent fluent in Mandarin. My professor forwarded my CV. It felt like a lifeline, a way to stay connected to the language and the country I loved, even if the academic path was closed. With a heart still heavy with the loss of Tianjin but determined to forge ahead, I joined Huayou in late 2024 as a Junior Liaison and Translator.

Huayou became my unexpected classroom and proving ground. My initial tasks were practical: translating technical documents and facilitating communication between the skilled Chinese engineers, geologists, and managers and our Zimbabwean workforce and local community leaders. It was a world away from literary analysis, but it was dynamic and vital. I quickly realized that my university studies had given me more than language, they had given me cultural understanding. I learned to navigate nuances: the importance of hierarchy and "face" (面子 - miànzi) in Chinese business culture, the directness sometimes needed with local partners, the different paces of decision-making. My role wasn’t just about words; it was about building bridges of understanding.

I threw myself into the work. Accuracy was paramount in technical translations. Empathy and clarity were essential in community meetings, explaining project impacts and benefits. My dedication and ability to smooth interactions were noticed. Within months, my responsibilities grew to include assisting with external relations reports and coordinating small-scale community engagement projects. Huayou, I discovered, wasn’t just extracting resources, it was investing in training programs for local technicians, building infrastructure like improved access roads, and prioritizing environmental safeguards. Being part of this tangible development partnership, facilitated by Chinese investment and expertise, became a source of genuine pride. I was no longer just translating; I was facilitating progress.

Amidst this professional whirlwind, my personal life blossomed in ways I hadn’t anticipated. I met Terrence, a passionate and driven Zimbabwean colleague also working at Huayou. Our shared commitment to national development and the unique environment of the Sino-Zimbabwean venture brought us together. We married in a beautiful, blended ceremony under the Zimbabwean sky in late 2022.Incredibly, our greatest joy arrived just a year ago, our son, Kyle. Holding him felt like holding pure hope.

What has truly defined my journey at Huayou, however, is the profound sense of camaraderie with my Chinese colleagues. They weren’t just coworkers; they became friends, mentors, and an extended family. When I struggled with a complex technical term, Mr Chen would patiently explain it over lunch. Manager Qiang Shijia surprised me with a beautiful Chinese jewellery set as a wedding gift. When Kyle was born, the team pooled resources to send a stunning traditional Chinese congratulations. On this day Mr Chen enthusiastically tried sadza and stew, laughing good-naturedly at his first attempts to eat with his hands, while I, in turn, have almost mastered the art of using the chopsticks ‘筷子’. Mr Chen has also learnt how to greet in Shona, ‘mamuka sei?’ and has also learnt a few more Shona words. We share stories of my tales of growing up in Harare and his experiences adjusting to life in Zimbabwe. We celebrate Chinese New Year with red lanterns adorning the office, and my Chinese colleagues also join us for vibrant Shona celebrations. We navigate cultural differences, their focus on collective goals complementing our strong community spirit (ubuntu), their formality sometimes giving way to shared laughter during a challenging workday. We’ve built trust, respect, and genuine affection across the divide.

Looking back from this vantage point in 2025, the initial disappointment over Tianjin hasn’t vanished, but it’s been transformed. While I didn’t reach China as a student, China, through its people and its partnership with Zimbabwe reached me. The friendship between our nations, often discussed in terms of trade deals and infrastructure projects, lives for me in the microcosm of Huayou. It’s in the shared triumph of solving a complex mining challenge. It’s in the patient Mandarin lesson from a colleague during a coffee break. It’s in the sight of Terrence discussing administration work animatedly with a Chinese supervisor, finding common ground in operations. It’s in the gentle touch of the Chinese silk quilt covering our sleeping son, Kyle, a symbol of care spanning continents.

At 26, my journey with China is just beginning. The academic dream evolved into a different, deeply rewarding reality. I am a bridge, using the language I mastered at university not for lectures in Tianjin, but for building understanding and partnership right here in Zimbabwe. I am a wife, a mother, and a professional contributing to my country’s future through a vital industry. And I am a living thread in the rich tapestry of Zimbabwe-China friendship. It’s a friendship built not only on grand visions but on daily acts of collaboration, mutual respect, shared meals, and the simple, powerful act of seeing each other as individuals, colleagues, and friends. This is my story so far, a story woven with resilience, unexpected turns, and the enduring, warm light of Sino-Zimbabwean camaraderie.

The next chapters, I know, will only deepen these bonds. The threads are strong, and the fabric is beautiful.