The Sunday News
Sibongile Ndiweni, Sunday Life Reporter
PUSHED by her passion of empowering girls and seeing girls succeed in everything they do and aiming to better their lives rather than abusing drugs or going through teenage pregnancies, Runyararo Kagwidzu worked hard to be elected the junior mayoress of the City of Kings.
The now-aspiring and self-assured 17-year-old student from Mzilikazi High School, who was sworn in as Bulawayo’s junior mayoress, used to struggle with low self-esteem and the feeling that she was never good enough. She is not only a member of the junior council, but also holds other various positions within her institution.
Mzilikazi High School
Talking to Sunday Life, Kagwidzu said her wish was to stop drug and substance abuse in the city and empower girls to believe in themselves, making it known to them that they are always good enough and the rightful candidates to tackle whatever situation or problem that comes their way. She said she wanted to be the voice of the voiceless to those going through gender-based violence and other forms of abuse.
Being the fourth born in a family of five children, Her Worship aspires to be an auditor and very successful business lady. She aims to achieve this by managing her time wisely, planning her schedules on time to know what to do and when do it.
“I am a person who is disciplined and has order, yes, every duty and role comes with pressure but as a responsible leader one is supposed to be flexible, that’s how I am managing to withhold the pressure,” she said.
Kagwidzu said she feels excited to be granted such an opportunity that many of her age mates wish for, but do not get the chance to embrace. She said even though the bigger post comes with the fear of letting people down or disappointing them, she will work hard to ensure that she doesn’t disappoint all the people who put their trust in her with the never-ending support that she gets from her parents, friends and family at large.
“Above all I just seek for wisdom from God and be one of the greatest leaders the junior council has ever had. I want to create a name for myself and be remembered for the good work I will do in the city of Bulawayo”, she added.
The Mayoress says she draws her inspiration from Shanarde Banda who is the President of Junior Senate Bulawayo.
