Chronicle Editor
Tendai Rupapa, Senior Reporter
THOUSANDS of people are stampeding to register for new academic intakes to benefit from life-changing courses being offered under a partnership between First Lady Dr Auxillia Mnangagwa’s Angel of Hope Foundation and Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU).
The partnership has so far benefitted 29 000 people countrywide and is part of a drive to empower vulnerable groups through open learning.
People of all age groups including the elderly are being registered hence, a high turnout at various centres thanks to Amai Mnangagwa who is working tirelessly to ensure vulnerable groups particularly women and girls are academically empowered.
Beneficiaries are taking up more than one course from a variety of courses that include; nurse aid and palliative care, ICT, entrepreneurship and business management, basic counselling, agriculture, disability management and sign language.
Already, thousands have graduated countrywide while others await their turn to graduate under the initiative which is leaving no place and no one behind.
People are coming out in droves to registered under the third intake for Harare and Bulawayo which is underway.
Other provinces which had graduation ceremonies for their first intakes are readying for the second intake as the First Lady continues to touch lives through education.
Dr Eurita Nyamanhare, the director in ZOU Vice-Chancellor’s office described the journey her varsity has walked with Angel of Hope Foundation as incredible.
She thanked Amai Mnangagwa for spearheading the noble initiative.
“Speaking from what we have been seeing, observing and participating in, this partnership of Angel of Hope Foundation and ZOU has brought a lot of excitement, a lot of self-fulfilment and a lot of self-confidence in people especially women and the girl child. We reflect very much how it all started, for instance, this was triggered by a heart-to-heart conversation by our First Lady with ladies of the night who cited that they were willing to quit the oldest proffession and work using their hands.
They told Amai that they were good at other things and in a way they were fighting this perception that they were the socially excluded ones. Our mother heard their plight and promised to help them thus coming up with this initiative,” she said.
The partnership, Dr Nyamanhare said, had restored the dignity of the socially excluded, the vulnerable, the disadvantaged, the underprivileged including those with disabilities.
The response to the programme, she said, has been overwhelming that it brought tears of joy to the beneficiaries.
“On its own, this partnership has helped ZOU to even define the openness of a university of which when you read now to understand the openness you read that there is no limit or there are no qualifications in accessing open university because with such universities as ZOU we are actually challenged to come up with programmes that align themselves with different people who are in different categories because learning or knowledge is a common good for anyone.
We would like to thank our First Lady for opening eyes for ZOU and I know even beyond ZOU some people have also been seeing what it means when you talk of open education and the self-fulfilment that we have been talking about,” she said.
Because of the demand of the programme, Dr Nyamanhare said Bulawayo was in its third intake of which registration was underway.
She said an intermediate course was also being planned for those who benefitted from the first and second intakes of the partnership.
A beneficiary of the programme from Mabvuku who registered for the third intake, spoke glowingly of the First Lady.
“I praise the First Lady, our mother for her collaboration with ZOU because were it not for her, we would not be here. She is a mother with a motherly heart which is a source of pride.
To be honest, as the women of Mabvuku we were lagging behind. We had no hope and we would just hear about this but we are now moving forward with education. We were looking down upon ourselves and for that we are thankful to our mother vakatisimudza kubva muhuruva (who has empowered us),” she said to wild applause.
Similar sentiments were echoed by Ms Margret Zviro who said the training she received had helped her to professionalise her bussiness operations.
“I am an upcoming entrepreneur doing multi-level marketing business. I started this business in 2017, but I was not working in a professional manner. In June 2022, I came across information that Zimbabwe Open University (ZOU) in partnership with Angel of Hope Foundation, were offering free courses in different areas of study.
Being an entrepreneur, I opted to do the Business Management course. This was one of the wisest decisions I have ever made.
“At ZOU, I learnt how to record my transactions. Before this course, it was haphazard. I could not tell if I was making profits or losses. I am now able to make short and long-term plans for my business, improving marketing skills and making business projections.
Some of the qualities that I learnt about are business ethics, accountability, communication skills and professionalism,” she said.
Ms Zviro encouraged more people especially women to participate in the courses.
“My encouragement to everyone is that people must do these short courses which we are being offered for free thanks to the mother of the nation.
“The few days I attended the course have resulted in a lifetime change for me. My desire is to enrol for a diploma course and eventually a degree,” she said.
Provincial launches of Angel of Hope Foundation-ZOU partnership for Community Empowerment through Open Learning started on September 13, 2021 and the 10th one was held on 25 April 2022 in Mashonaland West Province.
More than 29 000 Angel of Hope Foundation beneficiaries registered their names during the launches, and training started in earnest in different districts throughout the 10 provinces of Zimbabwe.
Outstanding certification ceremonies for first intake include Mashonaland Central-trained Angel of Hope Foundation beneficiaries and Mashonaland East.
Already Harare Metropolitan Province has 6 000 awaiting graduation having completed courses in the third intake.
Training is underway in Kuwadzana, this week.
Other Harare high-density suburbs that include Budiriro, Mufakose, Glen View, Hatcliffe and Mbare are scheduled for training this February 2023.
Chitungwiza, Mabvuku, Tafara and the Central Business District have already benefited.
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