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Walter Muchinguri
Senior Researcher & Writer, Zimpapers Knowledge Centre
THIS year’s Heroes Day celebrations had a unique flavour after the Second Republic decided to break with tradition by introducing a new set of awards and honours that were conferred by President Mnangagwa on August 9.
What was unique about the event was that the awards and honours, announced in the Government Gazette of August 6, 2021, by Chief Secretary to the President and Cabinet Dr Misheck Sibanda, were not only conferred on members of the uniformed forces, but were extended to civilians, which shows the inclusive nature of the Second Republic.
This added another feather in the cap of the Second Republic, which has ushered in a New Dispensation since coming into power in 2017.
One of the new awards presented was the Jairos Jiri Humanitarian Award.
According to the citation, it may be awarded to persons who have worked and dedicated their lives to the betterment of humanity through rendering humanitarian service.
The award also recognises the spirit of humanism exhibited by the recipient, while honouring the virtues of concern for the disadvantaged and vulnerable members of society.
The award is symbolic for two reasons: it is a fitting tribute to a man or woman whose love for the disadvantaged and the disabled, and his/her philanthropic work earned him/her and the country recognition locally and abroad.
Today Jairos Jiri’s great work lives on through the Jairos Jiri Association that he founded in Bulawayo in 1950.
Jairos Jiri was born in Bikita District, Masvingo Province, on June 26, 1921.
At the age of 16, Jairos Jiri in 1937, managed to attend Gokomere Mission School from proceeds of selling chickens and vegetables.
He enrolled in Sub A (Grade 1) and was always proud of the fact that only after a week or two he was promoted to Sub B (Grade 2), but suddenly became ill and returned home, bringing to an end the formal education he ever received.
In 1939 Jairos Jiri and his half-brother Mazviyo left home on foot, to seek fortune in Bulawayo.
After the outbreak of World War II in 1939, Jiri joined the Rhodesia Africa Rifles in Bulawayo as a dishwasher and he got his first real knowledge of rehabilitation from a group of American Airforce Officers that visited his camp.
Thereafter, he started to take blind beggars to his house and putting into practice all he knew about rehabilitation.
At that stage and in time, he managed to establish facilities for the disadvantaged and disabled in fulfilment of his childhood dream to help the needy.
In 1950, he founded the Jairos Jiri Association.
Jairos Jiri died in 1982 and was declared a National Hero.
He was interred in Mutenyami Village, Bikita, instead of the National Heroes Acre due to the insistence of his brother Ziumbwa.
His burial was attended by the then Prime Minister Robert Gabriel Mugabe and his deputy Cde Simon Muzenda.
At the time of his death, the association’s arts centre had become a prime source of curios for tourists in the 1960s and by 1974, the centres had expanded and diversified to include homes for the disabled and legal representation locally and in the United Kingdom.
The Jairos Jiri Humanitarian Award was conferred to institutions of higher learning: the University of Zimbabwe, Midlands State University, National University of Science and Technology, Bindura University of Science Education, Great Zimbabwe University, Africa University and the Harare Institute of Technology. Arundel Group of Hospitals was also among the institutions.
This was a major recognition of the work they are doing in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic.
The award should hopefully give impetus to these institutions of higher learning to do more while also encouraging those that have not yet started contributing to do so.
More importantly the award shows that if Education 5.0 is appropriately applied, it can result in huge rewards for the country.
Education 5.0 is a policy centred on the heritage-based philosophy in shaping future technology through innovation and industrialisation.
The policy is supposed to ensure that the country sustains the competitive position among higher and tertiary education systems by radically improving the relevance to the development of the education community.
Under the policy, the knowledge sector, dominated by State universities, are supposed to be seized with the practicalities of this exciting development.
In this regard, State universities’ traditional tripartite mission of teaching, research and community service has been revised to align itself to the urgent national ambition of attaining middle income status by year 2030.
The policy demands that the higher and tertiary education sector to not only teach, research and serve the community, but to also innovate and industrialise the country.
Under Education 5.0, Zimbabwe’s State universities must launch into outcome-focused national development activities towards a competitive, modern and industrialised Zimbabwe.
For Higher and Tertiary Education, Science and Technology Development Minister Professor Amon Murwira, seeing institutions under his purview being honoured was very humbling.
In an interview with the Zimpapers Knowledge Centre, he said that for the first time, universities in the country had been forced by Covid-19 to react to the challenges faced by the country, just as National Hero Jairos Jiri did.
Prof Murwira said that the honoured universities had managed to rise to the challenge through various interventions.
“For me, it was a humbling experience. The issue of philanthropy has taken centre stage in the education sector. For the first time in the history of this country, we are faced with the Covid-19 pandemic and our universities have stood as a wall in defence of the country.
“Some have been producing sanitisers and masks, while some like the National University of Science and Technology were the first to establish a testing centre in Bulawayo. As you know, all the testing was being done in Harare,” Prof Murwira said.
“What the universities did was honouring the legacy of Jairos Jiri because they are following in his footsteps.
“We are very proud of our universities because they have demonstrated that their knowledge is not for show. They have demonstrated their knowledge through action.”
Prof Murwira said that the universities’ responses were also an indication that Government was being proactive and that universities are shifting towards Education 5.0.
Harare Institute of Technology’s communications and international relations director Mr Tinashe Mutema said, as an institution, they were greatly privileged and highly honoured to be accorded such a recognition by the HIT Chancellor President Mnangagwa.
“Indeed, this has spurred us to vigorously continue pursuing and executing our mandate of technology development, incubation, transfer and commercialisation for rapid nation industrialisation as Zimbabwe moves towards an upper middle Income economy status by 2030,” he said.
National hero and one of Zimbabwe’s greatest artistes Dr Oliver Mtukudzi can now rest in peace knowing that contrary to popular perception, Jairos Jiri is one of Zimbabwe’s national heroes.
Possibilities are now endless for the disabled community and other stakeholders, thanks to the Second Republic for ensuring that Jiri’s national hero status is recognised.
In as much as the Great Zimbabwe University has specialised schools named after national heroes, it is our hope that some of the institutions will soon have the Jairos Jiri School of Special Education, or the Jairos Jiri School of Volunteerism, and Humanitarian Education, etc.
Online Reporter