adminA MOTHER, a researcher, a wife, a student, a rotary president and many more; that is what describes Mrs Buhle Francis, an award-winning phenomenal woman from Bulawayo who says women should not sit on their laurels.
Born in Gwanda, Matabeleland South province, Mrs Francis says she always had a passion for success as she was growing up and has never looked back since then.
“I attended school in Gwanda and always felt it in me that I had to do the best I could for myself and this has kept me going over the years and here I am today still pressing forward,” she said.
Mrs Francis is a researcher at the National University of Science and Technology Institute for Development Studies in the department of Environmental Sciences. She is well known for an award that she won in South Africa for her ground-breaking research on a plant known as opuntia fulgida or umloyi in Ndebele that has killed livestock in Matabeleland South, particularly in Gwanda.
She was named the best environmental scientist in Africa last year and has also won international awards for her research on the invasive weed that is said to have spread over 3 000 hectares in Matabeleland South.
A headman was reportedly hospitalised for over two months and several other villagers fell sick after coming into contact with the plant. Last year parliamentarians heaped praise on Mrs Francis for her findings on the effects of the poisonous plant. Parliamentarians praised Mrs Francis while debating a motion by Zanu-PF legislator Cde Annastancia Ndhlovu on the need for the Government to release $2,5 million for the eradication of the plant.
Mrs Francis also conducted an environmental workshop for members of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Environment, Water, Tourism and Hospitality to educate them further on the deadly plant.
Mrs Francis said the challenge that is stopping young women from realising their dreams is unavailability of resources.
“It is not that today’s young girls are visionless and lazy but they are failing to reach their full potential because we are living in a depressed economy where resources are scarce; so some may fail to go to school or even further their development,” he said.
She said it was a misconception that today’s women are after being pampered and spoiled but some were genuinely failing to make ends meet. On marriage and careers, she said it was a part of the way of life in Zimbabwean culture that at one point women have to go through.
“We live in a society which expects us to get married and have children so women should be in a position to go through it and still be great achievers in their various fields of expertise. They can be working mothers; nothing can stop them,” she said.
Mrs Francis is the president of the Rotary Club of Bulawayo South. She said leading the Rotarians is an honour considering that the club has over the decades been run exclusively by men but through her remarkable contributions and hard work she was nominated to be president.
“With Rotary you do not just join the club but you are invited to join and I am glad that they managed to see my potential and today I am now president of the club. I will do the best in my capacity to work for the club and take it to greater heights,” said Mrs Francis.
Mrs Francis is a PhD student with Rhodes University in South Africa and is still pursuing her dream of being a successful environmentalist, a field that many women are not into. Asked on why she pursued environment and climate studies at a time when many women are going for careers in events management and commerce, she said she has always had a passion for the environment and has not looked back.
“I have never seen myself as anything else but an environmentalist and I will always be one. Yes, some women are into different fields that society expects women to be in but I chose a career where I am comfortable and that is what all women should do. Do not choose careers that parents want but go where your heart pushes you to go and you will definitely succeed because you are doing what you really want and you will give it your best shot,” she added.
Asked on how she has managed to juggle her life with the many hats that she wears of being a mother, a student, a researcher, a wife and a Rotary president, she said she owes it to her husband, Obert.
“Every woman needs a good support system and I owe a lot to my husband, Obert. He is there with me in all my activities. He is supportive, be it in my school work, my job and other extra activities that I do. Men should always encourage their wives in all they do,” she said.
Mrs Francis sits on various boards including the United Nations taskforce to combat desertification, Biodiversity Zimbabwe and Climate Change in the Ministry of Environment, Water and Climate to mention just a few.
Online Reporter