Sadza and beans

By Ronald Moyo

A plate full of nothing. Why do we have to ingest such a obscure pulp of white liquidated corn powder with the stomach rumbling gas producing tiny kidney shaped source of protein yet again? i ask.

The plate might as well have nothing. but what is nothing?, someone took their time to prepare this, someones body used its glycogen in a factory motion, burning up its resources upon lifting the empty pot and putting the sun enriched white powder in it, in hope of feeding not just its own mouth but the empty mouth, with only saliva as its resident lazing on the comfort of a tongue eager to excite its tastebuds.

 In flows the God given resource necessary for life, heat applied, glycogen further burns stirring the arms already tired from a hard days work in an effort to empty the pockets of its various currencies to purchase the unliked but necessary white starched carbohydrate.

The kidney shaped tiny vegetables boil on the side. the sounds make a symphony that pleases the ear of the body that worked and the scent of the food excites the nostrils of the mouths to be fed. truly there has to be something that is going to empty these pots onto the plate, the mind about to eat it would prefer a fast mass produced meal and view this as nothing. but truly all this being emptied is going to fill something with the result of giving it life, life... the most precious gift one can have.

The solidified white end product is emptied from its otherwise cold plate, warming the heart of the body that worked to make it. so much meaning ingested, the plate is worthless now, it truly is full nothing without this, the stomach is full on meaning. you dont need to eat a 5 star meal, it means nothing when compared to the most basic meal made at home.

The maturity game…

 A choice is made, maturity, closely linked to purity It is ongoing, call it perpetuity. Hard as it is, I have learn to do it with ease Enduring the squeeze, it’s costly, just like my fees. A decision l made when I was nineteen, the day I stopped being a teen A lot have l seen, place, mountains, I have been. My life has never been the same, with strict rules; you swear it’s become a tactical game An insurer’s game they say, one which has no pay, at the end of a particular day Going against the wind is hard, especially if the road you are on is tarred and barred and will only leave you scarred. At 20, my little sister called me baba, and I could do nothing but help my mama And sustain the strain I felt as l watched my mother cry in pain and in vain Writing has become my sole expression as l try to ease the tension The little light in me continues to burn as l take on life, l am not prepared to turn. Where I am going, only God knows Because He’s blessings and mercies are all that shows. Indeed it’s a maturity game Where a choice is made closely linked to purity, It is ongoing, call it perpetuity.

-Collin Banda

bulawayo at 120

Bulawayo @ 120

As the sun rises in the morning, I can feel the morning breeze blowing on my face. I have had barely three hours of sleep and I am up again, headed for work. Since realizing that  the salary I got from my main job was not enough to take care of me and my dependents, I was left with no option but to take up a second job to try and increase my earnings. As I step out of the house, I see the city is already busy at 4am. Everyone looks to be on the hunt, optimism written all over their faces, hope the fuel that carries them through. This is the life in my city, the city of Bulawayo.

As Bulawayo has taken time to celebrate its 120 years of firm existence, this is not just a celebration of numbers but there is more to it. A good starting point would be to understand who or what is Bulawayo? From my history books I remember there was a Bulawayo is Zulu land if I am not mistaken. And when Mzilikazi ran away from Tshaka and he came into the top parts of the country, and the first major that they decided to settle down was named kwaBulawayo and it was the stronghold of the Ndebele nation. So this was a symbol of freedom, a celebration that they had managed to escape from Tshaka and his warriors. They had to fight for their independence. So to me Bulawayo means freedom. Its mean we can do all that we can to make sure that we are free as a people.  

Bulawayo is referred to as the city of kings and queens, meaning that it is a separate people that have different cultural and social back grounds who actually come together to ensure that there is a purpose of unity in developing the city. To check if my definition of Bulawayo was true, I had the privilege to catch up with the Bulawayo Junior Mayor, His Worship Mbonisi Ngubeni and asked him about Bulawayo. He responded, and i quote, "Bulawayo is an exception as it is. Basically as the Junior City Council we believe that we will strive to take the ideas of the people out there in building Bulawayo. So at the end of the day we are saying that, Bulawayo is that one city, which a Bulawayo citizen would look at and say that those are my thoughts and views of a Bulawayo i want. And that is what we and the senior council want for this beautiful city."

So is Bulawayo for you. The city of kings and queens, which is driven by its own ideas and views. In as much is this city and its citizens have gone through a lot, the citizens wake up every morning and they have this belief that we are the chosen city, regardless of what they are going through and to me that is also what defines Bulawayo. It is people.

So many people have said that Bulawayo is the city of knives and the hub of crime. As a Bulawayo citizen it has been hard to deny this as it is also backed by statistical evidence. One might then start to wonder and say from the definitions given above where does this side of Bulawayo come in? At one of the Bulawayo @ 120 young leaders discussions held recently in the city, the Director of Dot youth, which is a child led organisation in Bulawayo, said , "I think Bulawayo was born out of violence. Think about it, Mzilikazi and his sons came from down there in Zulu land and the only way they got here was by violence. They had to take everything by force. So we have always had that culture. The issue then becomes how we have used that violence. We are no longer using that violence to fight for economic issues or to take care of our families and to make sure that people don’t take away opportunities from us. We have now started to use that violence to steal, murder, rape and do all sorts of criminal acts." Asked on whether he was endorsing violence is the city, he quickly replied that, "My bible says the kingdom of God suffers violence and the violent shall take it by force. So if we want to make Bulawayo move we have to be violent in our mindset in terms of not settling for anything less that we deserve."

The violence in Bulawayo has mainly been a result of the frustration that has continuously mounted up. Issues like unemployment, opportunities that we are not getting, break up of family units because of the economic situation have all contributed to this frustration. Alot of young people are angry. You find that the rises of teenage drinking, parties, hooliganism are all results of this frustration in the city, not only to the youths but also the fathers and mothers of the city. The problem is that this frustration is been taken out on the wrong people, most of the time its women and children. But what I think is let’s not take it out on the wrong people. We are fighting the wrong war. The war that we are meant to be fighting is an economic battle. We must use that frustration to create vibrant ideas and use that same frustration to be stubborn enough to follow those ideas and see them through and make sure we develop our city at all costs.

As Bulawayo turns 120, many people including Bulawayo citizens might then ask themselves and say, what are we then celebrating at 120 as a city? Basically we are saying that these 120 years have been a period of exceptional prosperity. Bulawayo has developed from back in the day. We are celebrating the unity that has kept us together and going as a city. We look at the father Zimbabwe statue and the effect it has on people. We look at the other commemorations that we have had in the city and how we have manage to keep our values as a city. On this day we do not turn a blind eye to the problems faced in the city but we are saying this day marks a beginning of great things to happen in the city. This is also a day were we celebrate the survival of Bulawayo. Having been burnt to the ground at one point in time, Bulawayo remains one of the few cities that has managed to rebuild itself and stand strong even today.

I also took time to interview a few youths in the city to get their views on the five places that they think defined Bulawayo. Why I done this was because most people have failed to appreciate the beauty in Bulawayo because they do not know Bulawayo and have never visited places. After a long day of walking in the city, I got to compile the five must visit places in Bulawayo that the youth recommended to a visitor.

1.       Babourfields stadium- home stadium of Bulawayo giants Highlanders football club

2.       Egodini terminus

3.       City hall

4.       Centenary park

5.       Joshua Nkomo statue     

As young people it is also important that on this day we also put forward viable solutions for Bulawayo, solutions that we as young people can implement. The biggest of our problems in Bulawayo has been our mindset. Our elders have given up on Bulawayo and view it as a sinking ship, which is not the problem because they have experienced it and come to that conclusion. The problem is when we as young people now also adopt this view. Our job is to change our language and speak to Bulawayo as the hub of progress, the next thing. Our second problem is unemployment. The things that have money are the so called messy things that we as young people do not like. This includes farming and cattle raring. Look at the people at the market place; those are the people actually making money in the city and keeping the city alive. So as young people we must invest in such sectors of the economy on a small scale for starters. This will see us create our own jobs and not depend on seeking jobs.   

Education is also another aspect that we must work on in the city. Education is key and it should be approached with right perspective. Our approach to the education as a city has been wrong whereby young people have depended much on the teacher and on the formal route to follow. This has seen Bulawayo youths fall short when it comes to issues to-do with entrepreneurship and the creation of jobs.

Bulawayo is a city filled with potential and I think it is high time we as young people take the lead in unleashing this potential.

Compiled by Collin Banda

Celebrating Fathers...

By Collin Banda

He wakes up every day at 4am to the sound of his wife shouting at him. His children greet him every morning with a list of demands. At work, pressure is mounting as he faces the chop of a retrenchment exercise currently at his workplace. He is beginning to feel as if he has failed his family and has lost purpose of life. This is the life of Mr Ncube, a married man, father of three and an employee of a mining company just a few kilometers out of the city.

Today as we take time to honour our fathers, it is situations like these that come to my mind. At the mention of the word father, the following description appears in our minds; provider, protector, strong, emotionless and pillar. Fathers have and continue to be seen as strong people who will never fall down or be defeated by anything in life. Such a standpoint is ok but it has also lead to the ill treatment of fathers in families. Such a perception has made us not appreciate these people we call father and dad.

Because someone is strong, it does not mean that when they fall ill they are not entitled to medication and treatment. Taking this in context, because fathers are known as providers does not mean that even when they are down we have to continue pressuring them which eventually kills their ego, which is literally the engine that keeps all men going. Today as we celebrate Father’s Day let us take time to appreciate all the things, whether big or small that our fathers do for us.  I lost my father when I was in grade 3 and ever since then I have taken it upon myself to make sure that all young people appreciate their parents when they are still alive because that is the greatest earthly gift the Lord can ever giver you.

To all mothers out there, today is your day too. The amount of love shown by children towards their father is directly though not proportionally related to the love you show to your husbands. Treat them with honour so that they can be honoured out there where ever they go. Give them abundant love so that they will always be lovable by all. To all those who have lost a father or have never had the opportunity to see their father in life, do not despair. I love our African community and its culture for it says ‘umntwana kamakhelwane ngowakho’ (a neighbours child is as good as yours) meaning that as children who have also lost our parents, our elders in the community are still there to play the parenting roles in our life. Lets honour them to today.  

Lastly and most importantly to all fathers out there, we love you, we appreciate you and we honour you. Always know that your love for us is not defined by the things you provide for us or the amount of money you give us but it is defined by the time you spend with us and are always there for us when we need you. That is why we honour you and are taking time to celebrate you this day. Happy Fathers Day 2014!