Graciano has a peasant background. He was born on a commercial farm 4 in the Chegutu district of Mashonaland West Province of Zimbabwe. His father was a boss boy foreman. Graciano started working on the farn when he was just 5 years old seedling tobacco, picking cotton, drying tobacco in the barn, weeding, grinding maize, to name just a few. This enabled him to earn money for school. He studied primary under a tree at the farm until grade 3. He moved around attending Nyabango School in Chenjiri small scale commercial farms. His family finally settle in Chigaro, Makonde.

Graciano comes from a large family of six brothers and three sisters. In 1996 Graciano developed kidney failure. He started dialysis in 1997 at Ward B6 Renal Unit at Parirenyatwa Hospital in Harare. Life on dialysis was the challenge of his life with constant shortage of dialysis sundries, breakdown of dialysis machines, fainting daily, collapsing, vomiting, seeing his friends die without help and in 1998, Graciano seemed like he had reached his final days on living when he was confined to the bed, unable to walk, talk, eat or move. He was regularly brought to the dialysis unit on a wheelchair by good Samaritans. Read Memoirs of Graciano