For six years, Edmund Smith stood on Middle Road in Warwick and held up a sign asking for prayers for Zimbabwe.

People probably thought he was crazy; the 50-year-old simply wanted to get a message out.

“The scriptures say, ‘To whom much is given much is required’, and I feel Bermuda, as blessed as we are in this country, that we have an obligation to try to improve and help the less fortunate,” he said. Last October he decided it was time to act.

Mr Smith went on a six-month missions trip to Africa. Most of his time was spent in Zimbabwe, but he also visited Zambia, Tanzania and Zanzibar.

“Zimbabwe was on my heart because I had campaigned it on the streets for quite a few years, so it was the obvious place to visit, kind of like putting the talk into action,” he said. “Six years ago I was on the internet and one of the charities [in Zimbabwe] had put out a video. It showed one of the older women in the village who was lamenting the fact that a lot of the young adults were being affected by AIDS and the burden fell on her generation to raise their children.”

He found the reality wasn’t too far from what he’d seen on the video. Everywhere he looked he saw poverty and unemployment.

“During my time there I was pretty much just putting out fires,” Mr Smith said. “If I saw a need I would help.

“For example, in the capital Harare, there was a number of street children going around begging for money and food. I told them that laying on the ground [and begging] was just not acceptable.”

The Bermudian, who earns a living selling copies of The Royal Gazette and once worked in the Prison Service and the Attorney General’s Chambers, took some of the children shopping for basic food and supplies.

He eventually realised the people weren’t unwilling to work — opportunities were just scarce.

“Businesses over there were closing almost daily and I believe that’s because of the US and British sanctions. These sanctions against trade are affecting the people,” he said. “The industrialised countries are taking their raw products out and selling them back to the Africans for more. I feel a duty, really having seen it, to try to first highlight what’s really going on there.

“On my last week there was a man on the street who told me ‘we’re suffering’ and although I saw some of it I hadn’t heard it from their mouths until then.”

Although more than 86 per cent of Zimbabwe nationals are literate, many don’t know how to put their skills to use, Mr Smith added.

“There was one incident when I went to Victoria Falls. There were guys on the street, hawkers, coming up and selling figurines.

“So I said to these young boys, ‘Listen I’m not going to just give you money and I don’t need any more of your figurines.

“Meet me tomorrow morning at 8 o’clock and we will work on something for you and promptly at 8am they were there.

“I noticed in the parks they had these huge baboons and the parks were littered with rubbish from the animals looking for food. I gave one of the boys some trash bags and we just walked around and picked up trash in the park and I paid him.

“I told him that all hard work leads to profit. That comes from the scriptures in Proverbs. The next day we went on and did something different. I bought him some polish and a brush and said he could clean my shoes.

“I was trying to make them less dependant on selling those trinkets because it wasn’t profitable. It was low season and there were no tourists there.”

The rastafarian said the trip deepened his faith.

“I remember leaving Harare and going to Victoria Falls on the coach. I had money, but no hotel reservation and was travelling for hours. I said to the Father, ‘Please let there be a hotel that’s waiting on the other end’. We were driving through just virgin land with mountains and rocks and I had no idea what would be on the other side. But He provided the hotel and so many beautiful experiences during my time there. I thought, ‘Jah lives really and truly’.”