10 kilometre walk worth it: Villagers learn trades to uplift communities

SANELISIWE Moyo didn’t hesitate to walk over 10km from her homestead to Ward 4, Emaminyileni Village, in Maphisa District.

Her destination — a Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church meeting that, according to Moyo, has transformed her perspective on money and entrepreneurship.

The opportunity to learn valuable life skills for free was too good to miss. These skills, normally taught at a fee by entrepreneurship coaches, were offered free courtesy of the SDA Church in Maphisa last weekend.

Despite a one-and-a-half-hour trek each way, the day-long workshop was well worth it for Moyo and over 200 other church members from various villages.

The workshop offered free courses in baking, dressmaking, soap and detergent making, poultry and fruit tree planting, and more.

“It’s not every day that the church comes up with such initiatives to teach villagers life changing skills that will help us earn money and take care of our families. My aim today was to learn at least two courses, so I attended a baking class as well as a dress making class.

“Sometimes we take some of these life skills for granted, but today I leave here a better person who now knows that my hands can achieve a lot and feed my family. I walked over 10km with my neighbours to attend the courses and the long walk was worth it at the end of the day,” said Moyo.

A facilitator (left) takes students through a dress making lesson during the SDA members skills and entrepreneurship programme held at Iminyela SDA church in Maphisa Ward 4, Matabeleland South on Sunday

Pastor Thobani Sibanda, who oversees the 11 SDA churches in Matobo District, said the successful pilot project would be rolled out to other parts of Matabeleland North and South provinces.

“We tried to reach out to experienced tutors in various life skills that were on offer so that our church members gain valuable insights from the best. We had a team from a renowned company in the field of agriculture and farming, Pro Feeds, who took our members through the dos and don’ts of poultry and goat rearing.

“The SDA endeavours to capacitate its members with valuable life skills so that they don’t turn into beggars in their communities, but are leaders in various projects that uplift them as villagers wherever they live.

“Through our partners and donors, the church will supply the villagers with the inputs, materials or equipment that they need to kick-start various projects. We will then expect them to turn the projects into profitable entities and continue taking care of their families,” said Pastor Sibanda.

The poultry and goat rearing courses were a big hit with young people. Eager to learn, they flocked to Pro Feeds specialists to discover how to turn their small village plots into profitable ventures.

Ncedani Ncube, a baking specialist who trained at Maphisa Vocational Centre 20 years ago, has travelled extensively throughout Matabeleland South Province, sharing her expertise in baking with both SDA members and the wider community.

“I always tell those who attend my lessons that learning how to bake doesn’t necessarily mean that one will own a bakery, but that it’s a life skill that ladies must strive to learn as it will assist them feed their families without having to rely on buying bread or buns every time.

“I was teaching the church members how to bake bread or rolls using simple tools and techniques readily available in their villages. It doesn’t take sophisticated equipment for them to bake at home, just like how I taught them,” said Ncube.

Jacqueline Ntaka, the CEO of Mviyo Technologies and one of the key funders of the training workshop, said Maphisa and other rural areas in Zimbabwe have hidden entrepreneurs that need to be discovered and nurtured.

“We are here because we believe that rural communities are brimming with potential. By nurturing talent and fostering local industries, we can unlock a wave of innovation and economic prosperity that benefits everyone.

“Investing in rural talent isn’t charity, it’s smart economics. We can’t afford to neglect the skills and resources waiting to be tapped in these communities. The future of our nation is not just in the cities. By empowering rural talent and industries, we create a more balanced and resilient society.

“Every village has a hidden entrepreneur, a future artist, and a potential leader. By fostering opportunities in rural areas, we allow these talents to blossom. Bridging the urban-rural divide starts with recognising the value of rural talent and industries. Let’s invest in the people and places that can fuel our collective growth,” she said.

For continuous learning programmes, the SDA members are expected to go digital by forming WhatsApp groups where their mentors in the various life skills will continue assisting them in solving problems they might encounter and checking the progress of their group or individual projects.