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Death
by a whisker
Robert McLaren, CHIPAWO
September 06, 2010
Two expressions for this
- one lowbrow, the other high.
1. "It never rains
but it pours"
2. "Troubles come not in single spies but in battalions"
or perhaps
3. Every cloud has a silver lining - one might add "if you
look for it".
This is a short newsflash
to inform you all that another misfortune has befallen our beleagured
organisation. Travelling by road up to Chikwira - you might remember
my account of the official opening of the arts education programme
there last year, entitled "Drums over the Zambezi" - a
hired kombi carrying CHIPAWO staff to an arts education training
workshop, left the road and mercifully avoid a tree by ending up
in a ditch.
Those involved
were Ms Chipo Basopo, Manager of CHIPAWO, Sekuru Enock Majeza, Principal
Trainer, Ms Deon Picardo, Programmes Officer, and Thabiso Dube,
youth trainer and arts educator. All were hurt in one way or the
other. Sekuru Majeza smashed his mouth and some teeth. Chipo seems
to have suffered head injuries, Deon fractured her foot and Thabiso
got off with a bit of a shock and some bruises. The driver was more
seriously hurt and was taken to hospital unconscious. He has now
made a recovery.
With the death of the
Mother of CHIPAWO, Tete Elizabeth Takawira, in a road accident involving
a Kombi still fresh in our memories, this new mishap was a shock.
The workshop that was
to take place was an arts education training workshop from two teachers
and a community artist from schools in the newly established Chikwira
cluster and another school, Chishumba Primary, where the 22nd CHIPAWO
Model arts education centre in rural areas is to be set up. The
workshop, needless to say, had to be postponed.
So far i have presented
the incident as a misfortune, a mishap and a shock. Seen from another
angle, it represents a tremendous stroke of good luck. It could
all have been a lot worse. Anything more serious could have resulted
in the loss of five very precious lives and the virtual wipe-out
of the existing CHIPAWO staff complement.
Does it mean our luck
has at last turned - or just a confirmation that we have not yet
shaken off the bad fortune of the last year and a half.
Visit the CHIPAWO
fact
sheet
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