Guest bloggers

Seeing that l have made a lot of posts about my opinions on a lot of things that matter to me. I have actually decided to have a few guest bloggers who will share with us the things that matter the most to them.

These guest bloggers are not famous bloggers, some have blogs and some have never blogged their entire lives. l asked them to share their thoughts so that we could also get a feel of how some people feel about some issues. It is likely that these people could also highlight some pertinent issues that I could have overlooked.

So this week is guest bloggers week!!

Guest bloggers week!!!

Child prostitution

At some point in my life I used to be a club animal, there was absolutely no weekend l would never go out with my friends. Though I went clubbing, l was not oblivious of the things that were happening around me, the things that actually touched my heart even though I had no control over them. I have seen females getting drunk to the extent that knockout and are taken out of the bar and l must say that I personally do not find that attractive at all. I think it is degrading and carries a lot of connotations and labels that society always comes up with.

I will relay an incident that really touched my heart.

There was a point in time when my friends and I were club hoping, we actually decided to a then hot bar. It was first time going to that place and I was a little excited. As we were looking for parking just next to the place, a girl who is about 15 years of age (estimation) appeared right in front of the car, she opened the hoodie she was wearing to reveal her breasts. At first l could not believe what l saw, l had heard of things like this happening but l had never seen it myself. What astonished me the most was that, the pair of breasts I was looking at was so small I could tell they belonged to a small child. I asked my friend if this was the trend and I was told that these were the youngest and cheapest prostitutes in town (US$1 for 2 they said). My heart literally broke; I could not believe how a little child like her could actually think of engaging in prostitution. I wondered how many more of them did that. I actually got mad at the fact that old men, family men actually got to pay for their services. I just could not get past the idea that these children were being “raped” every single day of their lives, for what? For a US $5 note? I am actually referring to rape in this instance because l feel like these children are under age and are not consenting adults therefore anyone who engages in any sexual encounter with them has committed statutory rape.

Child prostitutes seen at a local bar

One day I was happy to actually get to see a story on the front page of Sunday news about child prostitution. I was happy that someone had finally decided to bring the story to light, to alert the authorities of what was happening at these night spots. The story was mainly about how and why these children took to the streets to make money. l honestly hoped l would see a follow up story on that, maybe a reaction from the government authorities, child services or something but unfortunately I did not see any. This as I take it did not strike a responsive chord on any government authority. This is an issue of concern, what will become of our country if the future generations have absolutely lost their morality.

Honestly, at the age of 15 how much money do you need and for what? Parents or guardians take care of you and all you need to do is focus on your school work and stay in school.             I remember that when l was 15 years of age, l had no worries, no problems because all my “problems” would disappear after I was given candy. Yes, candy is what l needed to get my smile back.

Feminism

Feminists according to me are people who think that they can save the entirety of female species in the world by emancipating them. They believe that women should have equal rights with the male species. According to the feminist studies l have learnt, l know that there are different waves of feminists fighting for different causes though the ultimate goal is to emancipate women. One that interests me the most is raunchy culture perspective of feminism. These believe that raunchy culture can make males subjects of the female, that is, there is reversal of roles in the sense that the men are turned into sex objects who fall for the naked female bodies.

Feminism in Zimbabwe is still on a relatively small scale. I would like to believe that it would take time before women can actually go radical and truly feminist because of socialisation. Women have been socialised in such a way that they believe that marriage is their chief end and man in such a way that they want to be the decision makers and dictators, which whatever they say goes. It has been this way since time immemorial.

In as far as l can remember l have only heard of a few women who have actually left their homes because they could not get equal rights. I think it will take a while before the feminism wave takes over in Zimbabwe.

I will not dwell much on feminism because I have asked a feminism blogger Sithabiso Ndlovu to shed more light on the issue of feminism on my next post.

Life after varsity

It’s towards end of semester and I am so excited that I will be finishing soon. I am doing everything for the last time (I suppose). Everyone is talking about submitting their final year projects or dissertations, exams, results, graduation and closing schools. So much seems to be happening in a short space of time. There is so much to do and everyone just can’t wait to finish and leave varsity.

I too am so happy but l would describe me as not so happy, instead I have mixed feelings. Happy, stressed, excited and worried. I thought l was the only one with those feelings until I spoke to a friend of mine. He instead did not have mixed feelings; he just told me that he wishes he could go back to first year. He was worried about whether or not he will get a job after graduation, how he will somehow have to take care of his family especially since he knew that there is a long period before graduation and before the semester’s results are out.

He told me that he was afraid he will not get a job for a very long time and he can’t afford not to get a job. He told me that should he fail to get a job in the next two years he might end up having to become a thief. It was actually amusing that of things he would actually think of stealing for a living.

However I think l can relate to him somehow, there are over a thousand graduates who graduate from tertiary institutions every year. The majority of these graduates are unemployed and are having a tough time making ends meet. Some are over 25years of age and still unemployed, some have been recruited as temporary teachers but that does not do much to reduce the number of unemployed graduates.

I too am afraid of being unemployed for a very long time and doing nothing except sitting at home and become part of the furniture at home. I am really happy about finishing my undergraduate degree but I am afraid I won’t be employed.

Educational system

I have learnt in Zimbabwe all my life, from kindergarten to tertiary. I have attended schools in Zimbabwe, which l so loved and enjoyed going to. I remember how excited l was when l went for my first grade, my first year at secondary school, high school and tertiary level. These are the most memorable moments in my life and they made me feel like I was advancing not only academically but socially and economically. I felt like with every level l advanced to I was being empowered somehow. It’s a beautiful feeling I must admit.

Now, l am doing my final year at Varsity and I actually took a look right back at everything l did, how we were taught and what we were taught. I can’t help but wonder if the curriculum is still the same or if anything has changed.

In my opinion the Zimbabwe curriculum has been designed in such a way that it grooms children to become academics and does not place much emphasis on menial skills among other things. Children are taught how to become academics and taught how to be useful employees rather than employers. Our curriculum does not groom us to be employers instead we are groomed to be employees and how to become better employees.

Noting how the Zimbabwean economy is unstable, one can safely say that it is better if students can be taught how to start their own businesses, the nitty grities that are essential in starting businesses. This could help those who have no desire whatsoever to become employed but want to make their own money.

At varsity we have a course that is only a semester long about Entrepreneurship. I am sure this course was designed to carter for people who want to start their own businesses. However this course is largely theoretical and not much can be bone or can be gained by people who want to be entrepreneurs. There is more theory than practise and it becomes just one of the courses that are done and people forget about.

To add to the already existing food and nutrition, fashion and fabrics, metal work and wood work, students should be encouraged to focus on sports, poetry, dance, acting and other lessons. Not just in passing or as a theoretical subject but taken seriously. This will help those students who are naturally slow to belong somewhere. It will help them realise their potential in another field other than the academic field, that way there could be a reduction in the number of school dropouts. These children would be motivated to go to school not because they want to learn math but because after a boring math lesson they can finally get to do what they are good at. At some point students are discouraged from attending school because they know that they are not academically sharp and they have failed ever since they started attending school, but the introduction of these lessons all year round would give them reason to attend classes and participate in lessons that they know they are good at.

These practical courses in my opinion should be done all year round. For example, football should not only be done in term 2, athletics in term 1 and other things in term 3. Football should be played throughout the entire school calendar such that the aspiring soccer stars getting enough exposure. And the trainers should be professional sports people not just any random teacher.

The government should invest in these practical courses starting from kindergarten straight up to tertiary level. There should be sports colleges, music schools, cooking schools, designing schools, photography schools and film schools among others such that those who did not make it in academia could also find a place elsewhere.  

Nust:: Work in progress?

NUST: Work in progress?

My last post was focused on nust being resource-less. As i was writting that post i realised that l had missed the most newsworthy aspect during that time and that was the fact that parallel students where not having lectures because the lecturers where on strike. Lecturers had stopped teaching paralle students because they are not getting paid for those lectures. As we speak, parallel students have gone for almost a month without lectures. Earlier this week, students demonstrated in protest to the prevailing condition.I must admit that i am glad to say l was part of the demonstration too. Ever since l got to NUST l have never experienced a demonstration let alone be part and parcel of one. So l was very happy to fight for a cause. The demonstratiomn, if l could point this out was not marred with violence, instead students where demanding answers from the Vice Chancellor as to why they were not learning yet they had paid their fees in full. I also want to know why.

                              

                                                        Students demonstrating

 Part of the issues raised as students continued demonstrating was the issue of the Students Representative Council (SRC). This body was acussed of being incompetent and it was alleged that they were not representing the students.The SRC they said , had to be dissolved and as it stands now, the SRC has been dissolved which l think is a good thing too.From the basic knowledge l have about the SRC, this is a vibrant body which helps fight against students' injustices and takes the problems of the students to those in authority such that they are addressed and solutions are brought for these students.

rioting students

 

As l was dancing, singing and toyi toying with the restless mob a number of things ran through my mind.I thought that this was what every single student on campus should be doing because there are a lot of wrongs than rights occurring at Nust.These are the issues:


Nust as an institution has not been built to completion, it is an undisputable fact that when you get to the varsity grounds you see a bunch of suspended cranes over unfinished blocks. From the time l came to Nust l have often been told that the varsity will have a "State of the art library" and today m sure there are tree that have grown inside the incomplete building , trees which are as old as the building itself.As l speak, the library on campus is still incomplete and in my four yeras at nust, l have never seen any construction company woprking on it. I usaully joke around with my friends telling them that one day those suspended cranes will drop off and hit some one or objects.

Pictures of the incomplete library

 

 

 It is not the library alone that stands incomplete, the Chemistry building and the electronics building are also incomplete.In the chemistry building only one side is fully functional.And with the electronics building only the ground and first floor are used but they are not complete yet.

Left wing of the chemistry building

The institution has failed to provide catering services fro the students but we continue to see NATO a small caravan and Gees providing food for the students.The food from there is inedible and I personally cannot eat from those places. The food is terrible and bad. Because of these conditions, students are now forced to eat from foods being sold by people outside the school premises. The food is cooked and brought in in buckets which look really dirty . This leaves me thinking why the institution is not able to realise that this is a health harzard to the students.And again l bet they dont even notice that because they are sleeping on duty. If they had not been sleeping on duty they would identify these problems and deal with them right away.

NATO foods

 

The varsity also does not have proper parking spaces and no proper sanitation. The corridors are stinking and to even think that there are cleaners and plumbers. So where is the money going?What is happening to the funds?Is it a case of government not having funds to disburse to tertiary institutions or is it a case of corruption within the institution?
I honestly do not understand how an institution like Nust which is over two decades old can still be incomplete.

 

 

 

 

Murder issues

Since l was a little girl, l have often thought that Zimbabwe is safer than South Africa. I have often known that you can just get shot in South Africa over nothing. I have heard of car-jackers and people being thrown off building or being stabbed to death. And as l thought of all this l always felt safer in my beautiful country.

However of late l don’t feel safe anymore, there has been an outbreak (if l could be allowed to use that) of crime. People are killing each other every single day. It’s even worse because these are not just random crimes. Newspapers are awash with headlines like “Jilted lover stabs woman” or ex-lover stabs and kills woman or brothers killing each other.

The world has literally turned into a warzone area. People kill each other over minor issues. Someone can die over a 5 rand coin. What is worse is that people are not killed by strangers, they are killed by people they trust, people they love and people who are close to them.

About a week ago, in my neighbourhood, two brothers had a fight which resulted in the death of the older brother. The younger brother striked his older brother with a hoe on the head three times before fleeing. From my understanding, theses brothers where fighting over a house, their parent’s house. It took a week before the killer was found somewhere near Ntabazinduna.

 

During the time l he was missing, l felt unsafe during that time; l could help but wonder if he would harm more people where he was. I felt scared and I was even afraid of moving around in the dark and l wondered how his siblings felt.

I am happy that there are responsible citizens around who saw him and reported to the police that they had seen a fugitive. When he was caught, the police came with him to his home. I have never seen a crowd that big, people wanted to see the guy who had killed his brother in cold blood, they wanted to look into his eyes and see if there was a sign of regret. People kept murmuring and making obscene statements that I cannot put down into words.

I have known this guy ever since I was a little girl, l also wanted to see how he will react and if he really was sorry. I tried so hard to look at him and the human in me was hoping to find something, a trace of regret or something close to that. But l didn’t see anything of that sort, no sign of remorse or anything. I wondered how he would kill his own brother and still manage to keep a straight face. I wondered how he felt as people he used to know and hang out with looked at him in disgust. Funny enough, he actually had the nerve to look at the people, look at all of us and stick his tongue out at us. He made a mocking gesture at us!!  Is he proud of what he did? Does that mean, “don’t worry, I’ll be back”? I was honestly touched and hurt. What has happened to this guy?

As I was part of the crowd watching him as he gave out his statement to the police, l heard some people say things about this guy, things that made me even more scared. These people said that this guy had a book where he made a list of the people he wanted to kill \and apparently his brother had been part of the list. They said that in that book, he mentioned that he had killed another guy (name withheld). I was really shocked and I realised that probably these are the deeds of a serial killer. Who would keep a list of names of people he wanted to kill and would also indicate that he has eliminated someone from the list.

This got me thinking. I wondered what sentence he would get, how he would defend his actions, how he would defend the fact that he ran away. I wished l could attend his court case but unfortunately l couldn’t. For all its worth, l wish he would get a life sentence. And l hope l would not see him out on the streets before year ends.