Vera was born in Clapham, south London. Her parents were both originally from Zimbabwe. but came to. England to work. After school, Vera studied nursing at South Bank University. At university, she met her future husband, Farai, who was born in Zimbabwe and who was also a nurse. The couple got married and two years later, they had a baby boy, Moyo. They then decided to go and live in Zimbabwe. 'Both Farai and I wanted to go back to our roots,' said Vera. They found jobs with a medical charity and left London to begin their new life in a small village in the north of the country. Vera and Farai run a health centre, but it is the only building in the village with electricity. Vera's son travels to a neighbouring village to go to school.