The Mayor of Abergavenny, Councillor Tudor Thomas supported by other councillors and people of Abergavenny was delighted to unveil a sculpture by internationally renowned artist Harry Iles.

This event marks the beginning of community partnership link between Abergavenny and Domboshawa in Zimbabwe.

The sculpture, entitled ‘Zimbabwe’ now resides in a prominent position in the new library in town.

Harry Iles explained, “This sculpture is about hope, shown through family, and the importance of community in hard times. I carved it in 1980 from an elm tree to mark the struggle to create Zimbabwe and the building of a new country. It is great to see the interest and appreciation by people visiting Abergavenny library, where it celebrates the twinning between Abergavenny Town Council and Domboshawa, Zimbabwe.”

The link, which has been initiated by Gilwern based couple, David and Martha Holman was unanimously agreed by the town council in January 2020.

Unfortunately, the Covid pandemic has prevented further progress in developing the connection.

David Holman commented,

‘The twinning was originally suggested by ex M.S. Nick Ramsay and was taken to the then Mayor of Abergavenny, Tony Konieczny to further the process. The Mayor was very helpful and this led to the meeting with the town council in January 2020.

After a unanimous agreement by the councillors, it was suggested that the next step would be to hold a public meeting to raise an awareness of this great initiative.’

With the partial lifting of restrictions on public gatherings it is now possible to proceed with holding the meeting and to form a twinning committee to administer the link.

At the unveiling, Martha Holman spoke about her experiences coming to live in Abergavenny in 2007. She maintained that without the help of those present and the people of the town she would have found it very difficult to integrate.

Having come from a background of poverty in Zimbabwe, she said that the link was vital for both communities to learn how to deal with prejudice and discrimination.

The current Mayor of Abergavenny, Councillor Tudor Thomas then spoke about the fact that the twinning was a two- way system and that both communities could learn so much about each other.

He stressed that education was a vital part of this programme and would lead to a greater understanding of people in different parts of the world.

He also thanked Monmouth County Council’s community hubs manager, Cheryl Haskell and town clerk, Sandra Rosser for their help in placing the sculpture in the library.

Former Monmouth MS Nick Ramsay said: “I have long believed there was enormous potential for a twinning arrangement between Abergavenny and Domboshawa and was pleased to work with Love Zimbabwe and Welsh government ministers over a number of years to progress this. I’m delighted that the dream has finally become a reality. This is great news for Abergavenny and can only help build stronger links between the people of Wales and Zimbabwe.”

If anybody is interested in joining the twinning team, please contact- David Holman on 07774608215 or on email – [email protected]