ON a regular basis my relatives send me the writing of
Cathy Buckle, a writer in Zimbabwe who has been writing about the state of things in Zim. Her writing consists of two themes: hope and despair.
I want to share an article my Granny sent to me only a few hours ago. I just took the ACT today and reading this article made me appreciate where I live.
I hope all current students (particularly those special high school seniors out there) read this and realize what your life could be like if you happened to be born somewhere else:
HI ANDREW
THIS WEEK'S ARTICLE FROM CATHY WILL BE A REAL EYE OPENER FOR YOU & ALL YOUR FRIENDS. IMAGINE WALKING MILES TO SCHOOL IN BAREFOOT WITH ONLY A PLASTIC BAG FOR YOUR BOOKS? NO COMPUTERS & MOST LIKELY IF THEY ARE LUCKY ENOUGH TO HAVE A CALCULATOR IT WILL BE ANCIENT. TRY READING BY CANDLE LIGHT.... I DID DURING A POWER-CUT & IT'S HORRID. AS THE CANDLE FLAME FLICKERS SO DO THE WORDS IN THE BOOK. APPRECIATE WHAT YOU HAVE & ENJOY!
LOVE
GRANNY P.
"Dear Family and Friends,
Not a lot of school leavers in Zimbabwe will want to remember the
last two years of their education. For most its been a time of such
hardship, disappointment and despair that it will be nothing short of
miraculous if they pass their O Level's which are now almost finished.
One youngster whose education I have been helping with since she was
five years old, has just written her O Level's and looking back on
her schooling is a horrible nightmare and something no child should
have to go through.
In 2000 when she was 7 years old and learning to read and write,
*Tsitsi found herself on the roadside with her parents when we were
all evicted from our homes on a commercial farm by a bunch of Zanu PF
thugs.
In 2003, when she was 10 and practising her spelling and learning
about grammar, Tsisti changed schools and went back to live in a
rural village. Her Aunt and Uncle had both just died of Aids and
there were two young cousins who had to be taken care of. Every cent
was needed and every pair of hands too.
Back in a rural school in 2005, a 12 year old learning about
geography and science, Tsisti suddenly found she had to share her
desk and then sit on the floor as scores of new children arrived.
Their homes in towns had been destroyed by government bulldozers in
what was called
Operation Murambatsvina and the school and village were suddenly full
of strangers who had lost everything. Tsitsi learnt that when someone
came to the doorstep and held out an empty bowl it meant they were
hungry and the family would have to share. That same year Tsitsi
missed many days of learning when teachers were forced to go to Zanu
PF rallies, or when the school was closed for elections and the
teachers went away to do polling duty. There were plenty of strange
young men around, threatening, frightening and watching and Tsitsi
learned to stay close to her Mum. At the end of that year Tsitsi
wrote her Grade 7 examinations marking the end of junior school. It
would be two years before she got the results and she hadn't done
very well.
For the whole of 2008, a 15 year old teenager, Tsitsi only spent 32
days at school. The rest of the time the school was not operating.
There were no teachers, the classrooms were locked and a lone
caretaker was sometimes there but he always told the children they
could not even come and read the textbooks and should go away - try
next week. This was the year when Tsitsi should have been studying
the first year of the O level syllabus.
When Tsitsi went to pay exam fees to write 7 subjects at O level in
November 2009, she was told she also had to pay for paper to write
the tests on and she sacrificed one subject because she didn't have
enough money. She dropped another subject in order to pay the 10 US
cents per student per day being demanded by teachers in order to
teach this last term. This 10 cents a day is on top of school fees,
school association levies and a raft of other charges that arise
almost every week for one miscellany or another.
Tsitsi has just finished writing her 5 O level exams and left school.
At the end of her school life she has only ever done her homework by
candlelight; she has never learnt how to even switch on a computer;
she missed the entire first year of her O level syllabus and has only
been allowed to take a text book home after school three or four times
in her entire school life.Tsitsi has done almost her entire schooling
wearing second hand uniforms, no shoes or second hand ones that were
not the right size and carrying her books in a plastic bag. In her O
level year Tsitsi dug weeds from a field for two weeks in exchange
for a second hand school dress.
Thirty years ago Mr Mugabe and Zanu PF promised education for all by
the year 2000 but Tsitsi is the reality of what they gave us. No one
really knows how Education Minister David Coltart managed to get
Zimbabwe's schools open again this year or how he persuaded teachers
to work for a pittance, but he did. All credit to him and to
thousands of teachers and hundreds of thousands of students for
enduring, suffering and sacrificing. Until next time, thanks for
reading, love cathy
Copyright cathy buckle 12 December 2009.
www.cathybuckle.com"
I think I am blessed to not only have the opportunity to pursue an advanced education but also to see what my life could be like if I happened to be born on the other side of the earth. I consider it a blessing to be able to see what life is like for my relatives, to empathize and attempt to feel even a portion of what my family in Zim is experiencing; yet I hate it. I can't imagine what horrors occur in a place my dad once called home. I hate how evil can predominate a whole country and hurt my relatives. I hate how I can't do anything for my granny, my aunt, and my cousins. All I can do is pray. And I can share this with you, so you too can appreciate how blessed your life is.