How a Backyard Became My First Teacher of Renewal

Your headline has a neutral sentiment.

Headlines that are strongly positive or negative tend to get more engagement then neutral ones.

The Lasting Scars of Zimbabwe’s Land Seizures

Government‑backed veterans and loyalists swept through the countryside, seizing white‑owned farms and leaving devastation behind. Families were torn apart, and workers who had spent generations on that land were displaced, beaten, or killed. But even through that violence, what mattered most endured — our will to survive and the hope that carried us forward.

Where Chaos Lived, Children Still Found Wonder

I was three and a half — too young to understand politics or betrayal, but old enough to feel the African sun on my cheeks and the earth beneath my feet. Our backyard was my kingdom: flower beds in full bloom, tree branches shading us, and a herb garden alive with scent and color.

Sheltered by the house’s shadow, our jungle gym and in‑ground trampoline became our retreat. This was where my sister and I played for hours, bouncing and laughing until the world disappeared.

A Quiet Lesson in Nature: What a Gecko Taught Us

One morning, my sister and I lay on the trampoline, spotting shapes in the soft blue sky. As the sun warmed the dark surface beneath us, we flipped over and peeked over the edge, noticing a cool patch of shade below. With a shared grin, we climbed down to explore.

Our feet sank into the red, soft soil as we looked around, feeling as though we’d found a secret hiding place. That’s when we saw it — a tiny gecko resting in the dust, its tail missing.

We crouched beside it, wide‑eyed with concern. “Is he broken?” I whispered. Fear and compassion rushed through us, and we scrambled out from under the trampoline, racing to find a parent who could help us save our little injured friend.

How We Stay Rooted in Resilience

When my parents finally met us, showing alarming concern, my sister and I were shouting over one another in panicked excitement, trying to explain our tragic find. But then my father laughed kindly, calming us down and assuring us that everything was fine.

He explained that the gecko must have gotten its tail caught on something, or that something had tried to catch it. Then, he told us that a gecko’s ability to release its tail is part of nature’s incredible design to help it escape predators. Finally, he mentioned that geckos can even regrow their tails again.

At this early age in life learning the quiet wisdom of nature, how it heals. We watched that gecko for days, checking on him like a nurse tending a patient. And slowly, the tail began to return. It was a miracle to us.

That little gecko became more than just a creature beneath a trampoline, it became a symbol. A quiet messenger from nature reminding us of its incredible ability to restore. Tail gone but not broken. And slowly, tail reborn.

From Zimbabwe to Canada: A Journey Toward Renewal

That little gecko became more than a creature beneath a trampoline; it became a symbol — a quiet messenger from nature showing us its instinct to restore. Its tail was gone, yet it was not broken. In time, a new one would grow.

When we moved to Canada, the rhythms of Zimbabwe stayed with me. The sun. The soil. The hurt. And still, the hope.

The brand is founded as an expression of that renewed purpose.

VictoryBlok was born from those echoes — from the instinct to protect, to nurture, to renew. Our skincare isn’t about surface beauty; it’s about deeper care, rooted in ancestral wisdom and nature’s quiet resilience. Every soap bar, balm, and moisturizer carries whispers of that trampoline, that gecko, and the African landscapes that taught me to listen.

We believe healing is cyclical — reflected in the gecko’s tail, mirrored in the seasons, rooted in the land.

So when you hold a VictoryBlok product, you’re not just holding a healthier skincare choice; you’re holding stories, restoration, and a small piece of Zimbabwe.

Luanna 🫶🏻 💕