Rediscovering the new Zimbabwe
It has been many years since I visited Zimbabwe and the most
compelling images I have in my mind are those I have seen on TV or
internet of youth militia, women battling across rivers with babies
on their heads desperately trying to make it to the border, empty
supermarket shelves and cars left abandoned outside inoperational
petrol stations. I have heard the stories from my Zimbabwe
colleagues, friends and family members. I have also now heard the
stories of the slow and steady revitalisation and seen hope in the
eyes of those who have told me of the progress, no matter how small.
Two weeks ago, I was able to fill my mind with new and positive
images when I visited the Zimbabwe YMCA for the first Annual General
Meeting since 2007, and the launch of the Subject to Citizen (S2C)
and Transformative Masculinity programmes.
There definitely seems to be a revival going on, both in the Zimbabwe
YMCA and in Harare, the capital city, which I visited. I was there
during the Agricultural Show and there was much festivity around this
event, now in its 100th year and again attracting many exhibitors.
This year more than 700 foreign and local visitors were present, up
from 540 last year. Amidst the excitement, “properly planned
agricultural financing” for “appropriate strategies and
solutions” was called for by government. I didn't hear too much
detail about this though. That said, I spoke to many people who are
finding success in setting up their own businesses, and this is
really exciting and positive news. Gaps are being identified by
entrepreneurs, markets found and sales concluded. The Zimbabwe YMCA
Chair, Langton Mabhanga established his own business at this point in
Zimbabwe history to use his profit to contribute to community
development.
As many NGOs struggled over the last decade in Zimbabwe, so too did
the Zimbabwe YMCA. As well as bearing the brunt of the economic
crisis, human capacity challenges and loss of funding, the
organisation lost some standing due to leadership crises (with some
leaders leaving the organisation and/or country in search of a better
future) but also a general governance crisis. Since 2008 an interim
national executive committee has been leading the way to re-vitalise
the organisation and staff turnover has been minimal in the last
year, even though the staff are working in trying circumstances and
for low wages. The current Acting National General Secretary, Jacob
Maforo, donated his first three months of service to the Zimbabwe
YMCA salary-free when he took over in October 2009.
I was privileged to join in and officiate at the launch of the
Subject to Citizen and Transformative Masculinity programmes. The
event was attended by about 60 youth from all five branches of
Zimbabwe YMCA, and the youth demonstrated in most creative ways their
understandings of and commitment to both these programmes. I spent
some time with a new youth member, Raymond Ncube, to understand what
masculinity means in terms of the local context and the programme,
and was most impressed by this 26-year-old's maturity and vision.
In fact, I was particularly struck by how articulate the youth I met
were. According to recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)
statistics, Zimbabwe's literacy rate is once again the highest in
Africa, at 92%. This is despite the brain drain, lack of resources
and disruption in schooling in the last decade.
I also spent some time with famous musician Josh Meck who performed
an S2C song he wrote for the event, and it was interesting to hear
his perspective on how freedom of expression is opening up,
especially in the musical arena.
Early one morning on the way to the television station for an
interview, I kept remarking to Langton how normal everything seemed
– lovely houses, satellite dishes, well kept gardens, and clean
streets. After a very confusing search we found the studio and were
just about to go live when we were told that only one camera was
working, so Langton stepped up for the interview, which was great,
but unfortunately only those with generators in Harare could view it
as the electricity was out in the capital city. Ah well, I reasoned,
it's not so bad. After all, it was only three years ago in South
Africa where we had a patch of continual electricity load shedding,
and in the area where I currently live, electricity regularly goes
down. So I guess it is just the lens through which you look at things
that feeds your perceptions.
On that note, while wandering the tourist markets I kept announcing
that I was South African before engaging in animated discussions (and
bargaining of course) about the tourism industry which, according to
locals, is picking up again. At one stage, I wondered if it was wise
to broadcast my home country in light of the Zimbabwean xenophobic
attacks in South Africa, but again was impressed by the understanding
and maturity of commentary on this as being localised and within a
specific context.
The AGM was attended by about 80 participants with guest speakers,
the Hon Mayor of Harare, Muchadeyi Masunda, the Permanent Secretary
of the Ministry of Youth, Prince Mupazvirih, who represented the
Minister, and well-known businessman, Philip Chiyangwa. They
encouraged the movement to take advantage of government policies and
programmes that have been established to create an enabling
environment for youth development, poverty alleviation and wealth
creation.
For now, from what I experienced it seems that the country is in
precarious stabilising, albeit isolated mode. Again, normalcy is a
relative concept. The Zimbabwe YMCA has stabilised, and judging by
the programmes already running, is poised to make relevant impact on
youth empowerment in the country. It is now for the movement to begin
a process of re-uniting and dialoguing with former international
partners and donors, and continue to forge relationships with local
government and corporate partners. Ultimately, it is the youth in the
communities who will benefit from this.
Rider: This article is part of the Africa Alliance of YMCA News. For
more information visit:
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