After Gore Redzidzo….. whats next?
By Admonish Deda
The year 2015, affectionately known as “gore redzidzo” came and went, with it a litany of lessons that touched the majority of Zimbabweans and perhaps the most important of all being, the government of Zimbabwe is in a financial crisis that threatens to spiral out of control unless urgent measures are taken to foster a healthy investment environment, exercise massive fiscal discipline and support formal and informal job creation.
While it is not a secret that the Zimbabwean economy has over the years been largely carried by the informal sector and diaspora, lack of capital investment and enabling environment has limited the growth of an otherwise profitable informal sector that has sustained the lives of many Zimbabweans in the absence of formal sector jobs. I say “gore redzidzo” taught us one thing. It is time to play by a different set of rules, as Strive Masiyiwa would say.
Social Networking
Gore Redzidzo (2015)
2015 will be known as the year Zimbabweans actively engaged each other across the world on platforms like Zvirikufaya naKedha on Facebook and @263chat on Twitter, ideas created by Curtis Smith and Nigel Mugamu respectively.
These are just a few examples of a plethora of forums and groups on Whats App, Facebook and Twitter where Zimbabweans shared their joy, happiness, sorrow, hopes and aspirations through entertainment and vibrant debates.
According to SocialBaker.com statistics, the most 5 liked FaceBook pages in Zimbabwe have an average of 790 000 likes. And these include pages like NewsDay, Dr. Strive Masiyiwa and Mufti Ismail Menk. On Twitter the top 5 personalities and/or corporations in Zimbabwe have an average of 252 000 followers.
These include famous preachers like Bishop Tudor Bismark, tech guru Davison Chiginya and Muslim cleric Mufti Ismail Menk. These statistics are by no means exhaustive, but point to the level at which Zimbabweans globally are engaged on social networking platforms.
Gore Remubvunzo (2016)
First question would be so what? What or how do these boring statistics impact me or change my life? Simple, it is time to play by a different set of rules. The Zimbabwean problem, as experienced in other under developed third world countries, has been that of programmed thinking.
Most people fail to recognize the opportunities that lie even in the harshest of adversities. Others are bandwagon followers, who simply follow the trend and ideas that others would have started and identified.
The challenge for Zimbabwean social media users in 2016 is to harness the true power of social media and incorporate meaningful developmental ideas and projects into their platforms.
Entertainment is important, and helps reduce the financial stress and pressure for the majority of Zimbabweans at this present moment, but even more important is the need to use social media to create income, and expand skills and knowledge that are critical for success in the 21st century.
As a shona proverb says, “Mwana asingacheme anofira mumbereko” loosely translated, a baby that does not cry to be fed will die in the baby carrier wrap. No well-meaning and serious organization, philanthropist or donor will donate time, money and resources where the passion and need is not communicated.
There are a lot of websites like CodeAcademy.com and Coursera.com with mobile browser support, which offer free resources on skills development, subject tutoring, crowd funding and talent scouting. Zimbabweans cannot afford to sit back anymore and wait for the government of the day to offer solutions to common problems that we can ourselves solve through innovation and creative thinking.
The Mandela Washington Fellowship (YALI) recognizes, supports and empowers young African leaders who see and aggressively exploit opportunities despite their limited resources and background. Software engineering is perhaps one of the most lucrative professions in this technological era.
The area I am currently a student of, that I love so much, Cybersecurity, which deals with the prevention, identification, analysis and mitigation of cyber threats and attacks, has 0% unemployment world over, with at least 209 000 job openings in the USA alone at the moment.
Some of the courses on Cybersecurity are available online for free and some offered at a discount for colleges or organizations, while some organizations would welcome the opportunity to sponsor students who need the exposure in exchange for their services upon course completion. Reality is, they will not come and knock on your door; you have to take the initiative and express interest!
In this digital age, professionals can ignore the power of a platform like LinkedIn, at their own peril. Networking is really the name of the game. I have heard of countless stories of people in positions of influence who have an opportunity to influence a recruiting decision giving it away to other candidates because they couldn’t find anyone within their network to give it to. Companies are recruiting the best talent, regardless of where you are.
If your resume (curriculum vitae) is impressive, they will find a way to bring you anywhere in the world and yet most employees deliberately do not see value in keeping the same updated and sharp, but altogether stay away from a free global networking and talent scouting platform like LinkedIn.
It is important to start looking at ourselves as brands and global employees. Why restrict your exposure to a market that has a shrinking job supply when the jobs market is blooming globally?
I am also aware of many successful Zimbabwean professionals across the globe who would gladly coach interested Zimbabweans on how to build and maintain attractive resumes (curriculum vitaes) and LinkedIn profiles but they do not because nobody has ever asked.
Crowdfunding
Gore Redzidzo (2015)
Most Zimbabweans on social media are aware of websites like GoFundMe that have allowed people to fundraise across the world, and in Zimbabwe’s case, either for a medical or funeral expense.
A local website offering the same platform www.tswanda.co.zw even allows people to donate using Ecocash and Zimswitch apart from their VISA or Mastercard debit and credit cards. While this greatly reduces the financial burden on the one in need and allows a wide pool of givers to contribute, the focus was and largely remains for emergency medical and funeral expenses. It is time to look at this platform differently.
Gore Remubvunzo (2016)
How do we use crowd funding differently? Zimbabweans are known to be passionate about their roots, and proudly represent their totem and community of origin wherever they are domiciled. Each community in Zimbabwe in 2016 has a need.
Clean water, accommodation, power, transport, infrastructure, education and even sport, are all areas that need investment. With the government struggling to pay salaries, it goes without saying the least of their worries is road rehabilitation, borehole drilling and medical supplies provision for our communities.
This is where all Zimbabweans are supposed to come in, and identify local areas of need that our collective effort can make a difference. Imagine the impact of 49 000 Zvirikufaya naKedha members who give $1 a week toward an identified project?
Whether you are in Zimbabwe or in the USA, a $1 cannot buy you a meal and yet it is all that is needed by some communities. Jesus fed 5000 with 5 loaves and 2 fish. Little is much when GOD is in it goes a certain hymnal.
We need to have an attitude of giving and have an eye that sees opportunity. The same zeal by which we give to our churches, ought to be the same if not more, for our communities that directly benefit us and our families.
For those who are outside the country, we all have that school around the corner that can donate used sports equipment, or better yet build and donate a sports facility for a local community or school in Zimbabwe. Habitat For Humanity is present in Africa and can partner organizations or company employees who simply can dedicate a day during the weekend to travel and build accommodation for homeless families.
All you do is donate your time. A colleague mentioned a wonderful idea of Alternative Spring Break in Zimbabwe, where for a week those in universities and colleges abroad can organize and fly to Zimbabwe with their classmates and help teach in primary and secondary schools or offer free medical or dental consultations for those practicing medicine.
These projects are already happening in South Africa sponsored by universities and crowd funding as I write this. No matter who you are, you are not too small or insignificant to initiate change.
It is time to stop living for ourselves, and realize the amount of change we can bring to the wider, underprivileged Zimbabwean population through simple means that are affordable and require little to no effort. I am throwing the gauntlet; the time is now, in this year of questions. The only questions we need to be asking ourselves are what we are doing for our country.
Admonish Deda is a Zimbabwean youth, Direct Impact Agent and Computer Information Systems student at Howard University in Washington DC , USA and can be reached on [email protected] or @_lovechild__ on Twitter.
