In this episode Manchán speaks with Sandra from Zimbabwe. Her home town has a strong sense of communal identity. ‘If one family cooks they say come and eat to everyone. When you are sick you can call your neighbour and they will help you.’ All the female elders were like mothers, aunties or grandmothers to her.

It surprises her how in Ireland people keep to themselves and she regrets that she must call people by their first names, and not just ‘sister’ or ‘brother’. She’d love to go home, but it’s just not safe, as she was active in promoting women’s rights. ‘I am a poison in the country. We used to see our mothers being beaten. We formed a group to educate the girl child that she mustn’t be abused. We were being beaten up, taken to jail, so that we don’t teach the women these things.’

Home Stories was funded by Creative Ireland alongside the county councils of Laois and Westmeath.