A human rights activist who fled Zimbabwe to seek asylum in Canberra will use his passion for music to fund a reunion with his three young children who remain isolated in Zimbabwe and have not seen their father in four years.
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Felix Machiridza, now a social worker with the Australian Red Cross, arrived in Canberra in 2010 with the former ambassador to Australia, Jacqueline Zwambila, and with the assistance of the Movement for Democratic Change.
"I arrived on the 19th of February 2010; it was the day of my freedom and I will never forget it," he said.
But while Mr Machiridza was granted the chance of a new life in Canberra, his two daughters - aged 14 and 8 - and his 12-year-old boy remain in Zimbabwe awaiting visa approval from the Department of Immigration.
While Mr Machiridza has submitted visa applications for his children, he is unable to afford their relocation expenses given his work as a social worker and time spent studying.
"It just breaks my heart that I cannot have them here with me," he said.
"I miss having them around me, watching them grow up, and being able guide them. They love music just as much as I do so I miss playing with them."
To raise funds for his children’s travel expenses Mr Machiridza has organised a concert with three other acts at the Yarralumla Uniting Church on August 9.
"I only started working full-time this year after studying social work and raising the kind of money needed to get them here is very difficult for me," he said.
After arriving in Australia, Mr Machiridza studied social work at the Australian Catholic University in Canberra and graduated in December 2013 finding full-time work a few months later.
His decision to build a career helping the Canberra community was cathartic and motivated by a desire to give back to the people who had supported him.
"I felt that pursuing social work would be a process of self-healing," he said.
"If I expressed good will to others, then in that process I would be able to deal with my own bitter past. It was also a way I could give back to all those people who have assisted me in Australia and elsewhere that I may never meet.
Mr Machiridza said refugees could play a strong role in Australian society and could make a significant contribution to public life if supported.
"I believe that if someone that is down and they can be supported and be assisted to rebuild hope and resilience, then they can manage to not only be stronger but make a tremendous contribution to the society that has nurtured and taken care of them," he said.
While Mr Machiridza did not wish to comment on Australia’s current stance on asylum seekers, he said "for someone to run away from their country, there must be something that is really after their life".
Mr Machiridza, who plays the mbira in the African instrumental band Zambezi Sounds, said it would be a privilege to share his music with the Canberra community as he seeks to reunite his family.
"That would really be very overwhelming in assisting me to realise my goal and dream of getting reunited with my kids," he said.
"By coming to the concert they will also be assisting my capacity to help others."
The fund-raising concert will be held at the Yarralumla Uniting Church on Denman Street at 2pm on August 9.
