‘An icon for the struggle of life’

Nkosi Johnson

‘An icon for the struggle of life’

Nkosi is in many ways the very reason for this series of posts. Born Hiv positive Nkosi went on to become one of the most famous spokes people against discrimination he initially was not allowed to begin school because of his Hiv status a subsequent legal battle ensued and Nkosi won the right to school but the battle was won for all Hiv positive people. Nkosi highlights the power that one (voice a child nonetheless) can have.

Nkosi to me is the embodiment of the spirit I believe everyone should have and especially the youth of our generation. A child born with the odds stacked against him he managed to touch the hearts and souls of millions of people the world over. Its amazing that in a situation that to many would seem hopeless his hope seemed to spring eternal optimism seems a misnomer he was more than an optimist.

Nkosi has received many awards including being named one of south Africas most influential individuals this is a great feat to be named amongst great names such as Oliver Tambo and Walter Sisulu of course Nelson Mandela.I know I have chosen a South African as my first post and this isn’t very patriotic however I believe that Nkosi transcends such barriers as nationality race what he stands for is universal and it is a message of hope. I know that Nkosi is gone but his message and spirit lives on.

Next post I will look at my icon ‘in the stuggle for freedom’

A luta Continua

What sets you apart ?

“When you get to the top, take a seat. When the world sits down, stand. When the world stands, stand up. When it stands up, stand out. And when it stands out, be outstanding” – Tare Nyabadza

Throughout history there have been many men and women that have stood while others have sat that have shouted while others have held their peace. People that go against the status quo people that make history. I have learnt so much from many different people and I want to start a recurring post that includes people that have been inspirational to me. All great people where once children so we must ask ourselves what set them apart, and more importantly what sets us apart from the rest

Please join in the discussion and share people that have inspired you in any way.

Look out for my first post soon.

A Luta continua

'We Hope with nothing more than love'

''We Hope with nothing more than love' or 'We love with nothing more than hope', that is the nature of the love that one can feel for a country like Zimbabwe love with nothing more to hold onto than hope: it is the hope that keeps the nation going that keeps people in queues and the children in schools. In the newspapers and articles the Zimbabwe we are shown is a country torn apart by internal strife, we see a country in the vile grip of a dictator and his cohort of bandits. The countries resources are being plundered in what seems to be a last minute scramble to fill the already overflowing pockets of the kleptocratic regime.

But this is not the Zimbabwe I believe we should focus on the images of pain and suffering show a situation that is hopeless, I am here to tell you that Zimbabwe has never had more hope that it does today the prospect of what the country can produce in the future will shock and surpass even the most optimistic analysts. The language of numbers is often the most apt to describe the potential I am talking about. I can tell you that we expect to see an increase in GDP of almost 7% in the next year or that inflation figures have come down to 4.5%. Or that in terms of untapped mineral wealth Zimbabwe has some of the biggest reserves in Platinum and of course the ever-controversial diamonds in Marange. This wealth represents if managed properly billions of dollars of potential productivity.

How about the wealth that is not quantifiable, the wealth that analysts or prospectors cannot begin to discover. This is a renewable source of wealth everyday it is being added to, and to tap into it one does not need instruments for geophysics to tap into this we need nothing more than to offer our friendship and time. The youth of a nation are important their potential in the labour market is integral in increasing future economic growth. A lot of the youth I have been speaking with are being educated in the Diaspora I see this as a great advantage it is time to reverse the brain drain that other generations have been part of. We are going to have skills to take back home.

I know it has been a somewhat cliché build up to the main point of this post however I hope it serves to illustrate the point. I have a large response in terms of support from many young and able Zimbabweans the network of friends is beginning to grow, we are taking tentative steps towards a more social conscience youth. The skills we all have as individuals has been evident youth helping youth is a concept many people are willing to embrace I would like to thank everyone that has offered to help by offering their time and talents.

Remember one person can make a difference and every person should try.

A Luta Continua

Giving is cool

Today I asked myself why is it that I worry about how I look before I
worry about how people see me. I don't mean how My clothes fit or what
I am wearing but what kind of person I am. I have just finished
reading an article in Munya Hoto's blog and it was about the tragedy
in Haiti. It is intresting to see how this has galvanized the leaders
in America and the world to one cause, I then wonder what kind of
catostrophe would it take for us to begin to pay attention to the
problems in Zimbabwe.

In Haiti over 70 000 people have died and more than 2 million are
left homeless in what is a natural disaster the aid effort there is
exceeding more than any country has ever recieved in the history of
the united nations aid which is being slowed down because of lack of
infrastructure and lack if local organization. I hope that it does not
take a magnitude 7.5 earthquake for the world to notice Zimbabwe.

It is wrong to exploit the suffering of others to bring attention to
your own plight I know, However I do believe that while us as
Zimbabweans in diaspora are giving to the haiti cause we must have a
moment of introspection and decide where we would be if this happened
to us. I hope this spurns a desire to want to help our own country
have a future! By helping Zimbabwe now we are averting a worse
scenario in the future. And because we only have OneYouth we only have
OneFuture .

Adversity A Poem By Dadisai Roberta

a slow painful tear drop leads down through his ashen skin,
so harrowing it leaves a scar, a trace of his suffering;
no one is there to love him, hold him, console him.
Dismissed and forgotten he is holding on with the last bit of fortitude inside

despondency is all that is left of him;
he is a slave to poverty and so are many offspring..

shackles, chains, cuffs
shackles, chains and cuffs....

only a glimpse and you can see him drowning in dysphoria.
his pain is so resonant that it pierces through me;
through every single part of me.
he has hauled me into his relm of discomfort and distress..

he pines for me to endure his suffering,
envisage his surroundings.
he needs me to understand him, be a part of him;
his intent is indefinite, indistinct, nebulous.

how can such an unversed child be so dominating, so controlling.
i pity him;
and it is this pity that has left me bare and open;
i am defenseless.
i am weak.

he plays with my head, i want him out of it
out, out, out

OUT!!

shackles, chains, cuffs
shackles, chains and cuffs...

im unsuccessful, and its amazing they way he is able to stay as calm as a millpond, holding it together while i am falling apart.

his bold brown eyes have history behind them that castles and cathedrals of 1000years have yet to see
and as i look through them my hands quiver eminently.
his pain runs through me.

i have to give him what he wants, what he needs



i have to give him me.


by
Dadisai roberta

AIDS

As we all know this is the great African pandemic in the early 1980s extensive education and prevention plans were launched in both the urban and rural centers through out the country. An informed population is needed to combat the spread of HIV and AIDS and yet we still have over 10% of the population living with HIV/AIDS. I could quote endless statistics to prove the point that new infections are happening everyday with the most at risk population being 15-24 year olds there is a problem which none of the current programs have been able to pin-point. The benefit of a youth on youth dialogue on these issues will be the more relaxed atmosphere and mutual understanding of the situation in our generation and not to try and impose 1980s solutions.

There are a number of orphanages that cater to HIV positive children who often have a very low life expectancy to these children hope is a bitter thing as they often know they will not live long enough to fulfill their potential. AIDS and HIV medication has advanced to a stage that with the right drugs life expectancy can return to almost normal and a child born with AIDS is not condemned to a short and painful life. It is the attitude of many however that AIDS is something to be ashamed of and hence children orphaned because of the disease face shocking abuse and are not provided with access to the medication that would save their lives.

“Children are the world's most valuable resource and its best hope for the future” John Fitzgerald Kennedy.

How to get youth helping youth in Zimbabwe?

I will be the first to admit that this is an idea in its infancy. It is very conceptual, however, at the moment, I believe is what important is that this is a call for dialogue on the challenges that youths in Zimbabwe are facing. I am trying to encourage an attitude of sensitivity towards youths, and sense of responsibility regarding injustice and problems in our society. Although not responsible for the plight that many children our age are facing back home, I believe that we should all have a social conscience and help to address these problems in some way. This is important because the future of the country is in our hands collectively, as the youth of Zimbabwe, whether we are in America, Australia or Zimbabwe. Your thoughts and Ideas are welcome, and I implore you to help this idea come into fruition.

A large part of charity and humanitarian work consists of giving a small donation here and there. I truly believe that for us to make a significant impact, we need to be able and willing to give our time and our resources. I would like to start a youth run and youth focused humanitarian organization that would provide support to youths, in Zimbabwe, facing a number of different challenges. By working closely with the established non-governmental organizations (NGO’s), I believe we, as youth, can make a difference to our peers’ lives. A combination of monetary aid, educational opportunities and recreational activities will benefit all those involved. I have identified three broad focus points for aid these are Education, challenges relating to HIV/AIDS and those relating to victims of Abuse. By focusing on these three areas, I believe we can encompass the majority of the disadvantaged youth and provide help.

The increase in unemployment and the virtual implosion of the Zimbabwean economy has left many youths in an exceedingly precarious situation with their collective rights as children not fulfilled. The Convention on The Rights of the Child (November 1989) sets out these rights and they include protections in political, economic and social spheres. Children and youth are universally recognized as one of the most vulnerable demographics in all of today’s societies. In countries as impoverished as Zimbabwe, youth rights and needs get moved down the political agenda and are often left of it all together. With the government failing to provide necessary protection for youths, it falls to the NGO’s to fill this gap, and although these groups are valiant in their efforts, the tide of youths in need continues to rise. The aim is to improve on the standard of living of all Zimbabwean youth using other youth as the main resource for this. As a humanitarian organization, we aim to be unique in providing growth opportunities for all those involved, from the deprived youth whom are receiving help, to those more fortunate youth who are willing to give some of their time and resources.

Non-governmental organizations in Zimbabwe currently operate under dismal circumstances, with limited aid from international donors and an almost epidemic problem of children related rights abuses and increasing numbers of runaway youths. Understandable, many such institutions are finding it difficult, if not impossible, to function. However, it is not only that the Non-governmental organizations cannot cope with the increasing numbers. These groups are also commonly unable to identify problems and suitable solutions needed for the youths. We aim to work by following a model that provides the opportunity for youths to realize their full potential. As a young Zimbabwean, I would like to explore the problems faced by youths in my country and provided innovative and youth focused and, notably, youth run solutions to these issues.

Education

Education:

As a nation Zimbabwe is faced with many social and economic constraints with a large number of the population living below the poverty line Zimbabwe’s human development index (HDI) rated amongst the lowest in the world. It is then no shock that the literacy rates in children are falling with an ever increasing number of children not being able to complete primary education, those that do manage to continue into high school often cannot complete their O and A levels due to the lack of money to pay exam fee’s this a problem that the government attempted to address in 2009 however many students still have not received their results from 2008 and 2007. These qualifications being their best hope of securing employment or tertiary education.

Zimbabwe’s education system has long been one of the finest in Africa if not the world it is over the last decade that lack of funding has crippled many schools. By aiming to provide necessary funding to the institutions themselves many children will benefit from this. However the lack of transparency in many schools has left much to be desired. By making teachers accountable to their students in ways such as performance reviews and other such monitoring students may be able to get a better education. I understand the complex situation that schools often find themselves in teachers trade unions are amongst the most powerful in the country and their grievances are genuine, but I do not believe that they should be holding children’s education to ransom as the main stakeholders in their future youths in Zimbabwe have very little say.