The Sunday News
Vusumuzi Dube, Senior Reporter
THE phrase “a new normal” has become synonymous with the Covid-19 pandemic, with a lot of changes being introduced to people’s everyday lives.
What used to be normal just a year ago has largely been replaced by new activities as the world tries to adopt to the pandemic and contain its spread. Countries, world over, have introduced lockdowns, which take varying shapes and are at different stages, as determined by health authorities in those respective countries.
In Zimbabwe, one sector that has been hugely affected is education with the Government ordering closure of learning institutions while Covid-19 trends are being monitored. This has seen some pupils having last been in a classroom as far back as in March. However, for Mr Nkosana Mazibisa (31), this has given him an opportunity to think outside the box. Mr Mazibisa, is the School Development Council (SDC) chair for Mawaba Primary School in Lobengula West, Bulawayo.
He has transformed himself into a self-made educationist because of his passion for education. As SDC chairperson he has spearheaded the development of the school to become one of the topmost schools in the high-density suburb where a couple of years ago he also embarked on the construction of a double-storey lecture theatre which also houses classrooms for the Early Childhood Development (ECD).
He also embarked on an ambitious project to construct a multi-purpose swimming pool at the school. In his latest achievement, Mr Mazibisa has taken it upon himself to turn his house in New Lobengula into a community-based innovation hub mainly targeted at young people, start-ups, students in an out of school and university students.
Youths can be seen dotted around — of course observing social distancing modalities — taking books from the makeshift library set up by Mr Mazibisa, while others take advantage of the start-up space created and others use the WiFi connection at the house to carry out their researches. Among the many facilities provided by Mr Mazibisa at his three-bedroomed house is co-working space for start-ups, book aid library, live streaming services, SDC training, schools entrepreneurship innovation programme and food distribution services.
He is also offering two queer services — star gazing and pitch night — which he says is meant to develop a sense of curiosity and innovation among the youth. In an interview with Sunday News, Mr Mazibisa said the hub is meant to encourage research, development, commercialisation, and entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe through providing early stage start-ups, university students from high density suburbs, youths — in and out of school — with a unique exposure to global trends.
“I realised there was a gap during this lockdown where youths no longer have the exposure to mentors in the form of teachers and lecturers hence the hub provides mentors, advisors, co-working space, training, academic resources and knowledge required to successfully operate and grow a business on the global competitive landscape. Through exposure to other professionals, young people are able to develop and implement start-ups that scale up township economies focusing on initiatives associated with environmentally sustainable practices and household equities. We cannot divorce sustainable development and transformative entrepreneurship from active citizen participation,” said Mr Mazibisa.
He revealed that his inspiration to establish the hub was after realising that the youths in the high-density suburbs were largely underserved as they have no fully functional library and youth facilities.
“At the hub we have come up with pragmatic programming such as our evening star gazing programme which promotes rational thinking, curiosity, imagination, the sense of exploration and shared discovery in problem solving which is a critical component in entrepreneurship.
“Furthermore, our library section of the incubation centre and Book Aid programme bridges the gap experienced by schools within the townships this promotes entrepreneurship, science communication and technology in education institutions, encouraging scientific vocations, making use of context in space; programming and resources for teacher education and professional development,” said Mr Mazibisa.
He revealed that he has also come up with a food relief programme named the Cognitive Empathy where household seriously affected by Covid-19 get help.
“What I have argued is that since we are in the locality, we thus tend to understand better the local people and their context, and can make a more accurate assessment of their needs, desires, problems, constraints and opportunities. In terms of service reach to date our library subscribers and the incubation centre has a membership of 83 young people, star gazing programme has 17 members, co-working space has six start-ups while our Book Aid direct beneficiaries are 10 schools within the Njube-Lobengula constituency with 18 395 students in total who are accessing the books in those schools,” said Mr Mazibisa.
He further noted that to date he has also conducted 22 live streaming services for local organisations during Covid-19 and also fed 203 households through the Cognitive Empathy facility.
A beneficiary, Miss Andile Khumalo who is preparing to write her Ordinary Level examinations said the hub had gone a long way in giving her a platform to prepare while schools are closed.
“Not only am I studying for my final exams but the hub has availed me with mentors who give me the guidance especially relating to career decisions I can make after I finish my studies. They have further opened my thinking such that I am already thinking as an entrepreneur rather than just an Ordinary Level student,” she said.
