Online Reporter
Samuel Kadungure
News Editor
TONGANYIKA Trust has equipped hundreds of out-of-school rural youths with practical skills, offering an alternative to drug and substance abuse, criminal activities and other social ills that threaten their futures.
Founded by Tourism and Hospitality Industry Deputy Minister and Hunyani Constituency legislator, Honourable Tongai Mnangagwa, the Trust is working to prevent youth substance misuse by creating supportive learning environments and encouraging healthy lifestyle choices.
The Trust runs intensive, market-driven vocational programmes designed to meet real community needs, and over the past few years, trained thousands of young people in various critical disciplines.
In Makoni South alone, the Trust has trained 476 young people drawn from the constituency’s wards.
Last Friday, 276 of them graduated after completing courses in 13 critical skills in hotel and catering, mortician services, detergents formulation, driving, Early Childhood Development (ECD) teacher training, caregiving, beauty therapy, dispensary, building, Information Communication Technology, cutting and designing, interior décor and welding.
For many beneficiaries, the training has been life changing, with the programmes not mere earning them certificates, but practical expertise that can be immediately applied.
Tonganyika Trust national coordinator, Mr Saul Murangwa, said the initiative is aligned with Vision 2030, which seeks to transform Zimbabwe into an upper middle-income economy by 2030.
“The aim is to uplift those who were unable to enrol at colleges or universities. We cover every part of the country in fulfilment of President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s mantra of ‘leaving no one and no place behind’. We want to reach every youth at grassroots level and empower them. For us to achieve Vision 2030 of an upper middle-income society, every citizen must be economically active, and Tonganyika Trust is playing a crucial part by equipping youths with practical skills,” he said.
Makoni South legislator, Honourable Albert Nyakuedzwa, said the impact is already visible in the constituency, where young men and women once trapped in unemployment are now running small businesses, repairing tools, baking for local markets and offering transport services.
He said some have gone further, employing their peers and injecting fresh energy into the local economy.
He said to support this, Deputy Minister Mnangagwa has provided four driving school cars, two of which will service Makoni South, to train potential drivers.
Honourable Nyakuedzwa encouraged graduands to think beyond simply acquiring a skill and to turn what they have learnt into sustainable livelihoods.
“Today we witness the power of skills, the reward of hard work and the promise of a better future. We are here to congratulate these graduates, who have completed training in 13 different courses that are critical to the development of our constituency. Today is a day of joy, celebrating young men and women who have achieved their dreams of becoming useful citizens in our country,” he said.
Addressing the graduands directly, he said their skills carry broader community value.
“This is not just a graduation, but Makoni South investing in its own future. To those in hotel and catering, I say serve with excellence and put Makoni South on the tourism map. To morticians, you provide a service of dignity, care and respect to our families. To detergents formulation graduates, you are future business owners who will supply our homes and industries. To the drivers, you keep the economy moving safely and professionally. To the ECD teachers, you are building the foundation of our nation, creating future leaders,” said Honourable Nyakuedzwa.
He continued: “To beauty therapists, you have created jobs for yourselves and build confidence in our communities. To the builders, brick upon brick, you will build schools, hospitals and homes, fulfilling our President’s mantra Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo. To ICT graduates, you are a new light, leading us into the digital future.”
