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Short
interviews at Chiedza's 10th anniversary celebrations
Varaidzo
Tagwireyi , Kubatana.net
November 25, 2011
View audio file details
Rebecca
Mano
Chairwoman
of the Board of Chiedza Childcare Center, and had been with the
board since 2005
How
much progress do you feel Chiedza has made?
When I first came and joined this board, we had one building on
this piece of land. We were working with about 75 kids, and we now
work with 1500 kids. We've got a very complex, holistic childcare
model. Since that time we've opened a clinic. We've
brought [our] girls netball team to the national championships.
All kinds of kids have gone to plays; they've gone on camps.
They've achieved well in school. And we are also paying fees
for 12,000 kids in the area. So it's expanded much beyond
our expectations, and we hope [in] another decade it will keep expanding.
We're starting to really work hard with kids who are out of
school. That's the new focus. And we have about 85 kids who
have not been in school, and just found in the area, that are school-going
age. So we're bringing them here for intensive catch-up and
getting them mainstreamed back into school. And we're trying
to expand that programme beyond this center to other[s].
Listen
What
is your dream for the next decade?
I think it's to solidify what we've done here, and then
to expand it, and to bring our work to new communities in other
parts of Zimbabwe.
Listen
David
Sheehan
Co-Founder
of Chiedza
How
do you feel today?
I feel great! It's wonderful to see the fruits and that's
it's based on love. There's a wonderful saying: All
suffering comes from self-cherishing. All happiness arises from
working for the happiness of others. If you can understand that
then your life changes and you become, hopefully, more beneficial
in society, and your life becomes more enjoyable because there's
less emphasis on me, me, me.
Listen
How
can people get involved and help at Chiedza?
You know, the thing is just to get involved. Come here, [and ask],
"What can I do?" That's how you start. And then
it becomes part of your way of being. Just helping other organizations
that help people, instead of thinking only of me.
Listen
How
can we as a nation make the shift from thinking only about ourselves,
to thinking about and helping others?
You can only change yourself, not others. So don't worry about
what other people do. You do what you have to do. And when you change,
other people will say, "Ah, there's a spark here! Why?
What have you done? Why have you changed? Then you start resonating
with a deeper part within yourself.
Listen
Tendai
Chipunza
Has
been with the organization since mid-2003 and is in charge of coordinating
programmes on health, education and sports at Chiedza
How
do you feel today, and what are your aims for the organization?
I'm happy for our children. I'm happy for the caregivers,
staff-members, [and] all the donors. I wish this could continue.
What my aim is, [is] to take this to the community, so that the
community members can sustain themselves. Chiedza will not always
be there. But if you do that in the communities, then the people
will own their responsibilities.
Listen
Marko Ndlovu
Director
of Chiedza
How
do you feel today upon reaching 10 years of service?
Looking back and saying where did we come from, and this is where
we are . . . that makes me feel very (silence) . . . well, I
don't know how to describe that.
Listen
What
are your dreams and plans for the next 2 years?
I think for the next ten years, we will grow big, because if people
can associate with us at this stage, then we need to replicate what
we are doing to other communities. So that [with] the services that
we are providing, at least we are benefiting more kids. Maybe within
the next 5 years, we should have established 2 more.
Listen
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