Chronicle Editor
Amanda Mlevu, Sunday News Reporter
WHEN those who have been awarded Presidential Scholarships are announced, few people imagine the faces behind those names or the lives they led building up to that point.
In some people’s minds, those chosen are the select few that now have the privilege of furthering their studies with the help of the State.
However, some of the people that find themselves on that list are veterans of many struggles, who scratched and clawed their way to that point.
One such person is Kumikidzai Munakopa, a 26-year-old who was down and out until the Presidential Scholarship came to her rescue and transformed her life forever.
Born in the Lowveld, Chiredzi before she moved to Bulawayo in 2012, Munakopa did her primary school at Chiredzi Primary School before progressing to South Eastern Collage, where she spent the first two years of her secondary school education.
While doing Form Three she transferred to Townsend High School, where she went on to finish her A-levels.
However, from there her journey in education was not a friendly one, as her father fell ill when she started her first year in varsity.
“My life had a drastic change after I was enrolled with Cavendish University, Zambia because that is when my father suffered from a chronic kidney disease. I would see him in pictures doing dialysis while I was in school and he passed on that same year,” said Munakopa.
She said that was a really challenging period for her since it was also the first time she spent time away from home.
After her first year in varsity, trying desperately to balance family issues and academics, Munakopa lost her brother, who at the time was the only one who could pay for her tuition.
At that Munakopa had completely lost all hope. She was unconvinced that she could complete her studies after all the bread winners she relied upon on succumbed to death.
“At that time I lost all hope to complete my education and it was a very difficult time, one of my friend’s mother in Malawi paid part of my school fees for me and I will forever be grateful because at that time I was able to register for that year. I could not write my final year examinations at the time I was supposed to and I ended up finishing with my juniors after I received a Presidential Scholarship,” she narrated.
In November 2019, President Mnangagwa, who studied at the University of Zambia (UNZA) founded the ED-UNZA Scholarship, whose objectives are to identify the youth who are highly gifted academically, but have not been able to proceed to university due to their underprivileged status.
Munakopa applied for the Presidential Scholarship because she was stranded and was going through a tough time.
The application was sent with hope instead of optimism, as she did not think she would get a response.
“I also got an Internship at a law firm for a year and that was enough to pay for groceries and my rent. After receiving the scholarship my life really changed for the best and I’m really grateful to the President for coming up with a programme such as this one. I know that it will benefit and save a lot of lives,” she said.
Munakopa was one of the first graduates under the ED-UNZA Scholarship programme and she is now doing her Master of Laws in International Business at Cavendish University again and will graduate next year.
“I am the COO of My Motherland Foundation and I’m into charity work because my life has had a lot of ups and downs, so I know what it means to lack, I know the disadvantages it has especially on a girl child,” she said.
She is also the legal advisor for a construction company and her charity has been recognised by the Minister of State for Bulawayo Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Cde Judith Ncube.
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