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Inside/Out with Farai Mpfunya, intellectual and arts administrator
Kubatana.net
March 11, 2010

Full interview with Farai Mpfunya - Read and listen

Describe yourself in five words?
I strongly believe in a Universal God and family, I strongly believe in lateral thinking based on creativity as a way of achieving better lives for people, I like to have a good life, I do not aspire to be very wealthy.

What's the best piece of advice you've ever received?
Be true to yourself.

What's the most ridiculous thing you've ever done?
My wife and I swam with dolphins off the coast of Zanzibar and later learned that there could have been sharks in the water.

What is your most treasured possession?
Our children. They are the most important assets for [my wife and I], and I think they are the most important assets for the country.

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?
I've never really thought of that: I think losing children.

Do you have any strange hobbies?
I do not think I have strange hobbies.

What do you dislike most about your appearance?
I could use extra proportions in certain places.

What is your greatest extravagance?
We own a country house in Christon Bank in the Mazoe Valley but we hardly use it.

What have you got in your fridge?
Cheese, beer, wine, frozen chocolate, leftovers and over ripe fruit - normal things.

What is your greatest fear?
The fear of not achieving what I would like for my family and myself.

What have you got in your pockets right now?
Two sets of car keys, business cards, my wallet and a couple of US dollars.

What is your favourite journey?
In Harare driving between Cork Road and Tongogara, just behind Parirenyatwa. When the Jacarandas are in bloom I think that's one of the most beautiful short journeys that I take. My kids call it the ‘Tunnel of Prayer'.

Who are your heroes in real life?
My maternal grandmother, she taught me a lot of the things that I know. She taught me that we have more power and responsibility in influencing our own lives than we think.

When and where were you happiest?
When we first came back from Europe, my wife and I bought a piece of land in the Mazoe Valley and spent four or five years building our house. I think that is one of the most beautiful periods in our life together yet.

What's your biggest vice?
Watching a bit more television than I should.

What were you like at school?
I've been different people at different times. In primary school I was quiet, analytical and studious. In high school I was analytical, academic and a little sporty. In college I drank a lot, failed a year because of that, recovered and found life.

What are you doing next?
I would like to change careers and retire. I'd like to make documentary films, travel across Africa, looking at knowledge systems and interesting things that people do on this continent, and then teach. I think it's important that we revive the University of Zimbabwe. I want a simple life; simple in the sense that we are doing things that we want to do.

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