Zimbabwean Voices

For Episode 8 I had the privilege of having a great conversation with Lungile Tshuma,  founder of the Tshuma Foundation. A great guy with a passion for Zimbabwe. Born in Bulawayo, Lungi has lived in 4 different countries and built a life initially through the sport of rugby.

Through the platform of playing for the Zimbabwe U20 & Senior rugby team, 8 years ago he got a scholarship to attend Lindenwood University in the USA where he studied International Relations. More recently, however,  he has pivoted into a career in business having recently finished his MBA and Washington University in St Louis.

In his own words “Sport was my first platform, then I pivoted to business”. “I wanted to elevate my skills so I could be someone of value in the business world so I decide to apply to an elite business school”.

At the core of his ambitions in both sport and business, his driving motivation has always been "to represent Zimbabweans, do well, and have an impact". His belief is that "a lot of the problems that are being solved in Zimbabwe and on the African continent are in small businesses and entrepreneur’s hands”

In going to business school his aim was to gain the skills that would equip him with the resources to help create new businesses that are innovative, solve problems that are going to make people wealthier, and expose talent to opportunities.

Like many Zimbabweans, he has had to build a life abroad. However, what stands out about Lungi is that he has intentionally chosen to use all the opportunities he has been given to pay it forward to other young Zimbabwean rugby players through the establishment of the Tshuma Foundation 

“The foundation is based on the simple idea that I am where I am because the world said I was talented. But there are others that are also talented that deserve the same opportunity. The foundation is a scholarship for a talented rugby player to go to Lindenwood University. But the important thing is that it’s based on character. The recipient of the scholarship must be a good person, an ambassador, a leader and to have an impact on people around them in a positive way. Which is more important than their sporting talent.

It’s not like I’m a millionaire or I’m killing it but I have a lot of opportunities. I have more opportunities than a lot of people. And it wasn’t easy for me to get here but it could be easier… and it’s me just trying to pave the way for other talented people so that they can do the same for others. We’re trying to create a domino effect of paying it forward for Zimbabweans”

For episode 7, I had the honour of having a conversation with Suraiya Essof, founder of Kites for Peace and the Zimbabwe Cares Network. Nonprofits are dedicated to community upliftment and helping others through philanthropy. The main things I learned from our conversation were: 

• Sharing shreds of light
• Rising by lifting others 
• Using painful experiences to transform yourself 

My favourite excerpt from our conversation
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Dumi: "To end off, I was listening to an interview that you did recently. And he spoke of suicide is up, depression is up. And everyone is jaded, which I find very jarring, but true at the same time, because you can't run away from the truth it is what it is. I guess the question I have is, what is shifting this narrative look like for you?"

Suraiya; "Okay, so there's a, there's a famous story about, about the little boy who, who was in the car with his mother, and he and they drove past an accident. And he was very distressed. And his mom said to him, don't look at that. Look at the helpers. It's a big accident. It's something terrible has happened. But look at all these people that are helping. And that is the perspective of the Zimbabwe case network, I mean, just personally speaking so many times, you know, when I'm feeling really down and just totally out of hope. And then I'll just look and somebody will be saying, oh, we're doing this today, or we've done this, or look at this donation we received or we did a medical outreach or whatever it is, 

These people are in the same battle, we're in the same boat but look at them. But these people are out there going out on our terrible roads, and they go in with full of boxes of medicine, and they're going in there helping people. Why? You know, they don't they don't have to. They don't have to be doing it. And you look at these people and you think, this situation is so terrible. 

And it's so easy to just give up. But when you look at people like this, and you say, wow, these are the helpers, this is the light, these people that are still shining light, and sometimes you shine your light, and for them, because they're not superheroes, I'm not a superhero. So sometimes, you know, I'll shine my light for them, and then they'll shine the light. But as long as they have some source of light some way we will be okay. 

So this is the narrative to focus on. I'm not telling you to focus on the past, I'm telling you to focus on the negative, acknowledge it and then look, look to the people who are helping the situation and get inspiration from them.  Let them give you ideas of how you can help."

Be Inspired! 

For episode 6, I had the honour of having a conversation with musician Declan Mackay of the Mackayz band. A proud Zimbabwean who has managed to carve out a niche for himself through music. To be completely honest, I was fascinated to hear about and share Declan’s journey as it offers a different story to the dominant narrative of white Zimbabwean men always being tied to farming... From our conversation I learned about: 

- Living authentically 

- Supporting yourself through art

- The power of a community supporting its artists  

Enjoy!

For episode 5, I had the privilege of having a conversation with Hilton Mudariki, the national captain of the Zimbabwe Sables rugby team. We touched on the highs and lows of his journey as an athlete and his current desire to leave a positive legacy for the future of Zimbabwe Rugby.

Our key takeaways from our conversation included:
- Speaking things into existence
- The power of exposure
- Being open to change
- The merits of hard work
- Zimbabwean resilience
- The benefits of surrounding yourself with people that encourage you

Enjoy!

For Episode 4, I had the privilege of having a conversation with entrepreneur and make-up artist, Jacque Mgido. From her story, we learn about the process of leveraging success abroad to invest in Zimbabwe whilst simultaneously build a global cosmetics brand 

In our conversation some of the key takeaways include:

• Pushing through failure
• The struggle in building a global brand  
• Investing in your country
• Empowering young women
• Changing lIves 

For Episode 3, I  had the privilege of speaking with Tine Jakarasi, founder of the As I am Foundation. She shared stories from her journey in creating her foundation (As I am), the Take a Child to School Initiative (TACTS), being recognized as an Obama Young Leader and most importantly, learning to use her challenges with endometriosis to help other Zimbabwean women.  

In our conversation some of the key takeaways include: 

• Using your life and platform to empower others 
• Turning pain into power
• Making a change and being part of the solution

For Episode 2, I had the privilege of speaking with Zimbabwean race car driver, Axcil Jefferies. I thought this conversation would be useful for both parents and young people to shed light on what some consider a less conventional career path. Through forging his path, I believe he has shifted the narrative of what Africans can be on a global stage.

I had the privilege of speaking with Zimbabwean race car driver, Axcil Jefferies. I thought this conversation would be useful for both parents and young people to shed light on what some consider a less conventional career path. Through forging his path, I believe he has shifted the narrative of what Africans can be on a global stage.

In our conversation some of the key takeaways include:

Enjoy x

For Episode 1,  I had the privilege of speaking with Kuda Mangwe, the host of 'Face the Nation', a tv show  on the Zimbabwean Broadcasting Network where  issues related to public policy implementation and viewers are given an opportunity to question public office holders. The reason why I thought this conversation would be useful, was to get his reflections on what we need to do as young people to shift the Zimbabwean narrative for the better

In our conversation some of the key takeaways include:

Challenging bias & echo-chambers Growing the entertainment industry in Zimbabwe Being inspired to make plans

I had the privilege of speaking with Kuda Mangwe, the host of 'Face the Nation', a tv show  on the Zimbabwean Broadcasting Network where  issues related to public policy implementation and viewers are given an opportunity to question public office holders. The reason why I thought this conversation would be useful, was to get his reflections on what we need to do as young people to shift the Zimbabwean narrative for the better

In our conversation some of the key takeaways include: