#WhatsAppWisdom Part 2 - Planning for the 21st century's 3rd decade.

The third decade of the 21st century is around the corner. Between 2020 and 2030 great things can take place in your life if you plan properly for 10 years is a long enough time to transform one's life.

There is a lot one can do in a decade, sadly, many of us do very little. If you look back and review your past decade (2010 - 2020) you might discover that you probably wasted your life. You surely could have done far much better than what you have settled for.

LET THE NEXT DECADE BE DIFFERENT...

You must resolve and decide that the next decade of your life will be different, better, and more successful. This resolution should lead you to do things differently and to do different things.

You might start with a resolve to strategize and plan for the next decade of your life IN ADVANCE!!! Come up with a clear vision of the kind of future you desire to see unfold in the next 10 years of your life.

Come up with a list of 100 things you desire to do in the next decade. It could be big things as completing a degree course to small things like getting a passport. You might want to visit at least five countries or raise goats in your village.

Lets start there: What 100 things would you like to do / have or  accomplish in the next 10 years of your life?

You don't have to think too hard, just a little careful analysis. Here are 10 of some of the things you can do in the next decade:

1) Start a degree course, finish it and do a masters degree on top of the first degree.

2) You can start a relationship, get married and have 2 or 3 children.

3) You can buy a piece of land and build a house.

4) You can write a book and sell at least 10,000 copies!

5) You can start a business and see it established and become profitable.

6) You can plan for an early retirement and willingly quit the job you don't enjoy any more.

7) You can start saving and investing with as little as USD500 and have an investment portfolio in millions by 2030.

8) You can start buying cattles 1 by 1 and start a butchery at the end of the 10 years.

9) You can start a farming project like,
-Mushroom Farming
-Fish farming
- Poultry project
- Vegetable garden
- Detergents
-Goat project.
And have it established.

10. You can simply choose to dedicate 21st century's 3rd decade to learning and personal development and emerge on the other side of the decade completely transformed.

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Anonymous Author

#WhatsAppWisdom Part 1 - When visiting friends and family

Things are getting hard and everyday, here are a few tips which will help my fellow Zimbabweans when visiting relatives and friends;

1. Reduce your visits, people are already strained financially.
2. When you visit, make sure you eat before leaving your place. Haikona kungosvika mudzimba dzevanhu uine nzara.
3. Make an attempt to buy a few groceries especially when you intend to stay for some days.
4. Don't just eat things you come accross in the house. Some are buying bread enough for the kids to carry to school.
5. When you visit, siya zvebato rako riya riya pamba pako. People are already angry and suffering.
6. When you visit and you are a respected guest, make an effort to make life easier for your hosts. Don't let your hosts go above budget. Idya zviripo and usavarege vachituma mwana kunokwereta huku.
7. Be positive and cheerful. In these difficult times we all need someone who brings happiness.

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Anonymous Author

SEX FOR GRADES - Just one more reason why we should #OrangeTheWorld 365 days and not just 16.

By Prince Gora

"I was sexually harassed by one of my lecturers for 4 years, the only thing I could ask myself was, why?why me? I was not specially pretty, I was not even formed at the time and I liked to dress as a rapper. It took me time to realize that it was not my fault, I was the victim and he was a sexual predator. Only God knows how I finally graduated."

Above is a comment from one YouTube viewer who had just watched the BBC documentary, "Sex for grades" - Undercover in Nigerian and Ghananian Universities , released in October this year. The documentary ignited a dying voice and got some professors fired.

While I haven't experienced sexual abuse on a personal level, the documentary touched me and challenged me to raise a voice beyong the #16DaysOfActivismAgainstGenderBasedViolence. And I think we should all be challenged to act. We should do so not because we are brave nor courageous but simply because when we see injustice, we choose not to be helpless about it and do something, small or big to try and make things right.

You may not be directly affected by these sexual predators but just think of your sisters, your cousins, your friends or your daughters who may potentially find themselves in a position where no matter how hard they work, no matter how how dedicated they are to their work,they will still not get what they rightfully deserve until or unless they give up their priceless bodies to these predators.

Our society, being a patriarchal one is usually quick to put the blame on the girlchild... The recent bizzare proposal by the Zimbabwe Gender commission (ZGC) for female university students to wear uniforms is testament to that. It's time to put this to an end!

So what is the way forward?
I can not possibly lay out a roadmap of rooting out this virus from our universities and colleges but I can borrow from what has worked in the past and what is being done elsewhere while leaving room for better ways and techniques to be invented and implemented.
Here are 4 ways which I  think can be used to enhance the efforts already underway in ending #SexForGrades:

1. Build public support
I believe that an educated and supportive public will go a long way in addressing this issue. Victims will also feel more comfortable to speak out if they know that the public will side and stand with them.

Right now, many victims are afraid to speak out because of fear of being misunderstood or fear of being accused of inviting the perpetrators to prey on them.
2. Encourage victims to speak out
I do not need to over empasise this one, if victims do not feel comfortable to speak out, then we will never get anywhere. There is need to create more platforms which allows victims to speak and to protect the identities of victims where need be.

3. Investigate and punish the perpetrators severely.
All our efforts will be useless if at the end of the day, the perpetrators walk away scot free. It is also necessary to investigate and gather enough evidence so that justice prevail. Some of the methods employed by Kiki Modi and the BBC team when filming the documentary can be used here.

4. Invest in self defense
In SHEQ, if engineering and administrative controls fail to yield the required results, PPE (personal protective equipment) is employed.

Likewise, as our last line of defense, there is need to train our ladies in self defense so that they can protect themselves when caught off-guard (The documentary showed snippets of this art being used in Ghana).

As they say, prevention is better than cure and as much as possible, sexual predators should not be allowed to get their way.

#COPIED: THE PROFOUND LETTER OF ABRAHAM LINCOLN TO HIS SON'S TEACHER - "Teach him to know that it is more honourable to fail than to cheat"

Unverified... But either way, the letter has pearls of wisdom.

Abraham Lincoln supposedly wrote this letter to his son's teacher when his son joined school:

"My son starts school today. It is all going to be strange and new to him for a while and I wish you would treat him gently. It is an adventure that might take him across continents. The adventure may probably include wars, tragedy and sorrow. To live his life will require faith, love and courage.

So dear Teacher, will you please take him by his hand and teach him things he will have to know. Teach him – gently, if you can, that for every enemy, there is a friend. He will have to know that all men are not just, that all men are not true.

Teach him also that for every scoundrel there is a hero , that for every crooked politician, there is a dedicated leader.

Teach him if you can, that 10 cents earned is of far more value than a dollar stolen. In school, teacher, teach him that it is far more honorable to fail than to cheat. Teach him to learn how to gracefully lose, and enjoy winning when he does win.

Teach him to be gentle with gentle people and to be tough with tough people. Steer him away from envy if you can and teach him the secret of quiet laughter. Teach him if you can – how to laugh when he is sad. Teach him that there is no shame in tears. Teach him that there can be glory in failure and despair in success. Teach him to scoff at cynics.

Teach him if you can the wonders of books, but also give time to ponder the extreme mystery of birds in the sky, bees in the sun and flowers on a green hill.

Teach him to have faith in his own ideas, even if every one tell him they are wrong.

Try to give my son the strength not to follow the crowd when everyone else is doing it. Teach him to listen to every one, but teach him also to filter all that he hears on a screen of truth and take only the good that comes through.

Teach him to sell his talents and brains to the highest bidder but never to put a price tag on his heart and soul.

Let him have the courage to be impatient and the patience to be brave. Teach him to have sublime faith in himself, because then he will always have sublime faith in mankind, and in God.

This is a tall order, teacher, but see what best you can do. He is such a nice little boy; he is my son.

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#FreedomToFail
NB: UNVERIFIED

Is the Harare Institute of Technology (HIT) Vice Chancellor Incompetent?

Before I put my sense to answering this question, I believe we should have a working definition of the subject matter –“incompetence.” The dictionary definition of incompetence is “inability to perform; lack of competence; or ineptitude.”

As defined, incompetence is itself a derivation from “competence,” hence it behoves me to establish the meaning of the later. By the same dictionary, competence is "the quality or state of being competent", i.e. able or suitable for a general role.

Lastly, the dictionary presents “competent” (which out of necessity I will define to complete the definition of the subject matter) as having sufficient skill, knowledge, ability or qualifications; adequate for the purpose. It therefore follows that incompetence is the quality or state of being unable or unsuitable for a general role, or a particular task having insufficient skill, knowledge, ability or qualifications; inadequate for the purpose.

The question I seek to answer would therefore be asked as, “Is the Harare Institute of Technology Vice Chancellor unsuitable for the role of Vice Chancellor? Does he have insufficient skill, knowledge, ability or qualifications, and is he inadequate for the purpose, viz. Vice Chancellorship of HIT?”

I will begin answering by describing the state of affairs at HIT, which have given rise to this question, and over which students have been repeatedly protesting, actions for which 6 of them were suspended by the VC. A response which the High Court of Zimbabwe reserved, deeming it unconstitutional and illegal.

HIT did not have electricity for most of the semester, the generator that powers campus having broke down at the beginning of the semester and never got fixed. The library generator that also powers parts of the administration block and Automotive Hall (Chief Tafara Mutembedza Hall) has frequently been misfiring, apparently overheating, and has either shut down or been shut down on these accounts. Due to this, students had to adjust their schedules to do all tasks that require electricity during the night, when ZESA power has been available.

Departments had to hold project presentations from cell phones, and there was serious theft on campus at night – for it was very dark at HIT. Students working on projects struggled to balance project and general academic courses at night, and bled finances to print documents at places around the HIT campus which always had electricity. Due to the lack of electricity, HIT sometimes went for days without water. Toilets and bathrooms became a serious unflushed and uncleaned health hazard.

I will not get into the lack of library space (the library can only take about a hundred people), the lack of a CONSISTENT WIFI [NONE AT ALL IN MOST PARTS OF CAMPUS], burst sewerage going for days unattended at hostels, rough sporting fields in which students have broken legs running, unmaintained gardens around campus, intimidation of students by the chief of security and security in general, laboratories which do not have consumables - yes, even salt, an absent Dean of Student Affairs, and many other issues which time may not permit me to lay out in this presentation.

I left out the fact that the university Administration set the semester to start on the Heroes and Defence Forces Holiday, only seeming to realize it on the very week – due diligence was nowhere to be found. By the way, students also leant the mid-semester break has been moved by a whole month on a Thursday, with the break due to begin the following Monday.

What has given so much credence to the question I seek to answer, however, is the fact that 3 classes failed to sit for computer based practical examinations, and this on 3 different days, because there was no electricity. The VC failed to plan for this possibility, and failed to adjust after the first incident?! What was scary is that there was no assurance similar examination coming after these would be written. So now students had to remain on campus after examinations officially ended, until a date the university announced they would have to sit to make up for the missed exams. I hope the university covered all student costs for the extended examination period. Well, If you fail to ensure exams are written, as a Vice Chancellor, what are you doing really? What is the point of the semester then? All the money parents are struggling to put together to put their children through college!... All of SWOT week did not have electricity by the way, and some days power did not even come on at night. It is also very sad to include that during the same exam period, students went for 2 days without water, which has led to the canteen rationing food and failing to provide food for supper on one of the days.

Now I am beginning to wonder if the fact that he is the only Vice Chancellor who is not a professor is contributing to this. Is he really unqualified (inadequate) to run an institute like HIT? Is it coincidence that the only Vice Chancellor with a Master’s degree, where all others are PhD’s – Professors, is also the worst performing? I make this assertion knowing HIT is the only university to ever face what it is facing. What baffles me is also the fact that this Vice Chancellor’s response to students demanding all these be addressed is a summary suspension of students. On top of suspending students who have not been on campus for over a year, the university now claims the students disrupted lectures on the 12th and 13th of November. There were no lectures on the 12th and 13th of November at HIT!

It is my conviction that the Vice Chancellor of the Harare Institute of Technology, Eng. Quinton C. Kanhukamwe is not only incompetent, but grossly so! He is personally responsible for disrupting learning and teaching at the university, and is a threat to the pride of current and former HIT students! How nauseating that after students excel despite all the obstacles thrown at them by this Vice Chancellor’s incompetence, he climbs the pulpit to announce to everyone how with minimum resources he keeps producing the finest products. What rank hypocrisy!

Saviour Machuwaire
Former HIT SRC President and a final year HIT Student.

Anti-sanctions march, the ZANU PF's strategy for survival.

By Prince Gora

It's only a matter of time before ZANU's reign comes to an unceremonious end, we know it, they know it. We may argue however we want but the truth is that they have taken the country down the drain leaving millions of Zimbabweans impoverished and bitter.

This they know, not only that, they also know that the masses will eventually organise themselves and liberate themselves from their jaws by whatever means necessary. The masses have shown that they have the  ability to do so in the past, voting for the opposition overwhelmingly at one point and attempting on numerous occasions to start an uprising, the masses of Zimbabwe are a time bomb waiting to explode, when it does, change will become inevitable!    

...but ZANU has been in power for so long that it simply can't imagine a life without power and likewise, its aging leadership has lived a luxurious life, looting and abusing taxpayers' money at will, they are certainly not  ready to give up that now, they would rather let the masses suffer instead.

So what's their strategy?
Well, all that Zanu cares about right now is to be in power for at least one more day.
  How? They rig elections, then find strategies to drag us towards the next election that they will most likely rig again (as they have done before).

Zimbabwe's young population is not only angry, but also idle making it extremely hard to control - except of course by ZANU PF.

What does ZANU do?  They just give the populace something to occupy their minds and today it's the anti-sanctions march.

Believe you me, this march has more to do with us than the Americans and their Western allies. The message (propaganda ) is not being sold to the Americans (they can't fool them, can they?) but they can fool the electorate, particularly the rural voters.
Why else would they record songs in vernacular languages to be played on national radio and television?

For the past week or so, Zimbabwe's young, idle and angry populace has been occupied, puzzled by the anti-sanctions march. We have been speaking and debating about it. It's useless and just another waste of taxpayers' hard earned money - we've been arguing - and won't yield anything, the Trump administration won't be fooled that easily.

Of course, we are right, at the end of this march, chances are nothing would have been achieved in as far as the removal of targeted sanctions on certain individuals and companies in Zimbabwe is concerned for the west clearly stated what it wants to be done before sanctions can be lifted. Over the past week, both the EU and US have released statements telling ZANU that they are "barking up the wrong tree" and reminding them of the conditions to be met for sanctions to be lifted. ZANU don`t want to do that because for them, it is the equivalence of reforming themselves out of power, even though it means putting people and the nation first, for them, that doesn`t matter.

But to look at this march in terms of its impact on the Americans and Europeans is to miss the point. At the end of this whole thing, they will still be firmly in power, with the threat of the masses having been significantly thwarted for close to a month by diverting their attention to something so useless, the best way to defend is to attack, isn`t it?

Meanwhile, we will still be poor and most likely hopeless and regrouping and of course being slowly dragged towards the 2023 elections, for ZANU, this is more like winning the league one match at a time.

The not so knowledgeable electorate (mostly rural voters ) will be left believing that their problems do not  emanate from ZANU's failures but rather from the so called "illegal sanctions".

Does ZANU PF major on the minors by mistake or purposefully, I believe the later. They lead us astray so that we take our eyes off the ball. They did it with the 1 million man march, they did with ZUPCO, with BACOS, they even do it in small ways like opening a bin or an internet café and countless other examples.

They have two main intentions, to make us lose focus and to stay in power just one more day and alas, they have largely succeeded thus far.

Right now, because of the march, we have momentarily forgotten about the price hikes, the state brutalities (particularly the vendors' issue and the shenanigans that transpired at the burial of Hilton), the poor state of the roads, the stolen vote (excelgate), the lack of electricity, etc. All because of the useless anti-sanctions march!

It`s about time, we bring to an end this strategy. For how long shall we allow it to work on an enlightened, educated populace like ours?
Let them major on the minors alone, it's high time that we stop majoring on 'memes', memes will not liberate Zimbabwe!

About the Author
Prince Gora is a student leader and a Zimbabwean citizen.

Life changing poem

By Prince Gora

You want to change your life?
If the answer is yes, then stop and think...
Evaluate what you are focusing on!
Are you forgiving or revenging?
Building or destroying?
Loving or hating?
Is it the future or the past that you're dwelling much on?
…you learn lessons and enjoy the memories from the past, yes;
But, you aren't going that way, are you? 
Fall forward!

Instead of bashing what you hate;
Wouldn`t it be better if you promoted what you love?
In place of discouraging, how about  you try motivating?
Before you start judging, have you understood?
It’s nice to receive, but have you ever felt the joy of giving?
Tempting to discuss people, yes but aren't ideas more worthy sharing?

If you really want to change your life, you need to ask yourself some serious questions;
Do you really need to recruit others to hate the person you hate?
Does belittling and mocking others make you great?
…do you need to do that to feel better anyway?
Do you listen more than you talk?
I mean, why else did God give you two ears and one mouth?

You need to be helper…in any way possible however small;
You need to be a unifier,
You need to bring joy to the world because there’s already too much sorrow;
Be good, there is already too much evil out there!

The people who change their life and that of others…
Create opportunities rather than blame circumstances;
Plan their lives instead of envying that of others;
They learn and improve;
But most importantly, they are
grateful!

Virginity for marriage?

By Kimberly Fungai Chikanga.

As I was getting my hair done this afternoon, a lady came up for saloon "nyayas". Subject of the day? Girls and virginity . Hanzi kuti munhu aroorwe (She argued that for one to get married) should be a virgin vasisiri (those who are no longer virgins) say goodbye to marriage.

I just thought that I should put an answer to you all mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, virgins and non-virgins out there.
Don't make us feel like we were born already guilty of something!

To begin with, male "virginity" is just as important as female virginity. The loss of virginity involves two people and name calling to females should STOP. We cannot make pretence a form of art and definitely NO to double standards.

We also need to look at how girls are loosing their virginity. We have ladies who get raped by their boyfriends and fail to get courage to say it out because they think they might be neglected. Date rape is real but of course so is pure intercourse too.

Educating peers is not about the virgins. Yes, thank you for taking care of yourself, go on, preach abstinence, preach protection when abstinence fails. That way, no esteem is killed. No name is called and equality is served. Stop calling us names.

Love doesn't come from virginity. There are 40 year old virgins who are not married and 24 yr old non virgins in blooming marriages. After all, virginity is but a one time thing, you can't lose twice, can you?

Please just stop, especially when you don't know our issues. Vamwe lose virginity through blackmail chaiyo kunzi ukaramba ndoenda kune anoda because it means you don't love me.

Most females are crossing rivers and dams for people who at the end wouldn't even cross a dust road for them. We hide a lot in us. Give us space to tell our stories before you call us names.
# iamforfemales

About the author.
Kimberly Fungai Chikanga is a CUT Student and the current gender secretary for ZINASU.

The Calamitous Chapter 1

By Prince Gora

Chapter 1

The Raid…

"Come out! Come out and surrender now!"
"You are surrounded!"
"Try to run and you are a dead man!”
The police spokesperson warned from the loudspeaker while l sat quietly on the backseat of the police car,  flanked by a pair of cops, one on either side of mine.

The car suddenly came to a halt and I stared into the darkness,saw blank at first, then, as my eyes aclimatised to the darkness, l began to distinguish figures of individuals which turned out to be a crowd actually.

"I wasn't expecting a gathering of this magnitude", l murmured to myself astonished by the number of people who had left the warmth of their beds just after midnight and braved the cold weather to cluster around - the police sirens must have woke up a multitude.

"Too bad...", l whimpered "...once again l will be the talk of the town for the whole week if not month." I felt so embarrassed! I knew right away that I would be on the front page of the daily metro the following morning and became nervous. I was a bad girl, but even I, couldn`t enjoy bad publicity. Many of the scandals in my life have been in the press but the press is that one thing that l will just never get used to!

‘What will the headline say…” l meditated “…maybe they will write, CHINGANO'S ROBBER CAUGHT - ALL THANKS TO BIANCA.”I knew that I was right, the headline would definitely be something along those lines, for these two names were quite popular at the time and would make any newspaper sale like hot cakes. Chingano, the flamboyant businessman and Bianca, the famous harlot. Everyone will be curious to know the connection between these two contrasting characters and will surely be tempted to get their own copy of the local daily metro.

The crowd was so huge...l inspected it for familiar faces and there...Oh yes! I busted into laughter upon noticing something that l hadn't noticed prior. Police troops were beating my neighbors - who so hate me - with sjamboks. The reason didn't matter to me...the scene did it for the day...a damn good turn that deserved another!

Enough with the small talk now!
"Bo...oo...om!", undoubtably the sound of a gunshot.

...wait, where is it coming from? My house! How on earth is that possible? Edward must have been very smart to hide a gun in there. I had checked all his things and hadn't seen a trace of it!

The gunshot caused a stampede. People panicked and confusion rocked the place. A lot of people just went back and forth like headless chickens, others shouted whatever came to mind and the worst were crying aloud like one year old babies. There was one thing in common though, they all didn't know what to do nor where to go. The police acrued their beatings...but that didn't help matters , if anything, it made the chaos even worse than before.

Another police division responded to Ed by firing from all angles and leaving apertures all over my house.
They only stopped firing after a minute had elapsed. Ed seemed not to be inside the house anymore-one gunshot was all that he could manage to hoax us with.

  "This is your last chance! Come out now or we will come in for you!"
A long pause followed, then reluctantly...he emerged out of the house.
   "Drop your gun,...
    Hands up,...
    Don't move.
   Lie down on your tummy."
The constable gave a series of demands which Edward followed promptly.

Two policemen rushed towards the criminal with their guns stylused at him. One of them searched him, took the gun then handcuffed and legironed him - the police had no doubt that the person l had safely lived with for over ninety days was a very dangerous criminal!

  They impelled him roughly toward the police van which had been 'patiantly' waiting for him outside the house all this while.
   "Go criminal!", l shouted at the very top of my voice getting out of the police car and trying to 'buy' attention.
  Elsewhere, the policeforce, having succeeded in their mission of capturing their 'most wanted hardcore criminal', drove off the dusty streets of Epworth and calmness reverted to the neighborhood's beautiful homes once more.

  "Can you believe that l was keeping a felonious in my backyard for three months!", once again, l said the words at the very top of my voice trying to steal attention but like the first time around, it was all to no avail.

Everybody pretended as if l had said absolutely nothing. They ignored me and proceeded to inquire information elsewhere. Though at the heart of this anarchy, noone bothered to listen to me, they never did anyway...and l don't really blame them, this wasn't the first that l had brought drama to my household and it was always the norm, my norm to give a biased delineation of the account.

People went to heed the words of Mai Chipo, our landlady, she always had a better story to tell.
Mai Chipo was a single mother of two who lived with her two sons (both in their teens) in two rooms and leased the other two to my family. She was a cross - border trader by profession but once or twice a month, she could ask me to bring her a client home when her balance sheet was not balancing. That was one reason why she liked to stay with us!

Mai Chipo's place was my home for close to two decades. I arrived there when I was but a minor, aged five.
  My mother died there, my sisters and I grew up there. We did whatever we deemed necessary, just as long as we paid our rentals in time.
Once, when I was twelve, l left this place , but as John H. Payne rightly put it across, "Be it ever so humble, there is no place like home!"
***

   "Bianca has been staying with this man for the past three months...", called the familiar voice of Mai Chipo, loud and clear, from her doorstep.
  "...during the first two months, they stayed together well, l actually thought that my daughter ( for she referred to me as her daughter) has finally decided to settle down. They lived happily, enjoying a luxurious life", she paused, it was only for a few seconds but it seemed like ages. There was an awkward silence that  one could be forgiven for believing that this was a grave yard with corpses standing upright!

    "Things have been very different of late, they have been fighting almost everyday this past month."

Mai Chipo tried to be very brief, but the crowd couldn't let her, they wanted to hear more and asked a lot.
  "So what happened today? What brought the police here?",a short ,stout middle aged woman inquired.
" Edward and Bianca had a fight, and Bianca reported the case to the police."

   "You're lying! The gunshots? If it was a domestic affair, as you say, then why did the police come fully equipped?" People protested, they suspected that there was more to this, and they were right!

All the same, their protests were in vain because Mai Chipo was long gone, shutting the door behind her as she disappeared into her house.

She had narrated exactly what she knew, her description of the events was the best she could have ever gave...but it was clearly evident from what had transpired earlier on that there was more to this.

To add on her lack of knowledge on what had betided , she also hated explaining about my shenanigans. She was tired of doing so over and over again, altercations were the order of my days back then! It's not that I liked controversy, as many people might think, but it was simply inevitable to stay away from it when I was in the world's oldest profession.
A profession that I hated so much, a profession that caused me loads of trouble, pain and misery. A profession that I had been forced to join - a misdeed of poverty. This was a profession that I would virtually do anything to get away from it.
...but for close to two decades, l was stuck in there, with no hope of ever escaping. The gods seemed to have forsaken me and I asked them every single day of my life, WHY ME?

My heart used to bleed from inside. I knew what l was doing to myself, my health, my social status, my dignity, my future - but then, what can a young lady like me, - unmarried, uneducated, unemployed and not even dignified, - do to sustain a living? I had no option but to resort to prostitution in my struggle for survival.

***

I sighed in relief when the mob began  vacating the yard, l liked peace too!

Now l could focus on getting my mind together and readying for the court hearing the coming Monday. I needed to give a flawless story that would nail Ed to the wall. I didn't have much of a choice anyway, it was a do or die scenario, either Ed would go to jail or l will be damned.

I changed into my nightgown, climbed onto the bed, closed my eyes, tried to sleep...and failed...then without realising it, l was absorbed deep into Edward's thoughts!

I remembered the first time we met at Champions Night Club, almost three months back. What a charming gentleman he seemed to be.
I was on the dancefloor with friends trying to solicit clients. Ed had been looking at us for quite a while when he suddenly came to dance with me.
         "Can l dance with you?" He requested.
        "Oh sure you can", l answered in the sweetest way possible to my potential client - l am sure you all do the same at your work places.

To be honest with you, on this particular occasion, it wasn't really that simple for me. Behind that sweet voice, was a startled soul. I silently asked myself, Why me? I wasn't the best dancer on the floor, nor the prettiest and certainly not the youngest, for my two younger sisters, Alice and Miranda, were also there with me. It really didn't make any sense, this wasn't even my type of customer...but for the love of money, l had to do it!

It was during that dancing session that he had negotiated for a 'quickie', l overcharged simply because he looked like a gentleman and like one he didn't ask for a reduction.

"Ummm, aaah thanks Miss....?" ,he said clearing his throat.
 "Nevermind my name, okay, and forget that we even did this", l didn't mean to be rude at all but I was at work and had to be professional in every sense of it!

"Sorry if I offended you by that...but l think I like you and would love to book for the night. I am Edward by the way. You can call me Ed."

"Okay, you got me, l'm Bianca" , l had to smile because I knew that I had just secured breakfast for the next morning.
"Nice to meet you Miss Bianca", he said the words flashing a smile.
His remarks were so tempting but I still ignored him and acted as if I hadn't even heard them. I had always compared myself to a toilet paper  when dealing with men, you know, after using the toilet paper, you flash it - never wanting to see it ever again until, of cause, the next time you visit the 'smelly' house again. It was almost the same with me, they used me and erased me from their minds after satisfying their desires.
It was so heartbreaking, l, like any other woman, needed to be loved, to be cared for and to be respected but then I was a nobody, probably a toy because even teenagers would do their experiments on me...life can be so  cruel at times.

"So can we go to your house? " Ed made another inquiry.
For close to a minute l was silent, the issue of whose house to use for the 'ungodly' act was always tricky.
In the end, l chose to respond with another question, "What about your house? "
  "I don't live here", he answered  quickly.
I had been expecting him to say 'I can't take you there because my wife is around, etcetera, etcetera" - guess I was wrong!

I wanted to ask him where he lived, but then remembered that wasn't part of my job description, l had to stay professional remember.
  "Wait for me here, l will be right back."
I went back into the bar to notify my guys. I needed an extra eye for the night, it was never safe when having strangers at the house.

On the contrary, he behaved well, just exactly how a gentleman should. We actually had a wonderful night, so romantic. That particular night stands out as one of the best in all my hooker life.

He shook me early the next morning, "Can l ask you a favour?"
"Hmm , what favour?"
Under normal circumstances, l would have said NO there and then. I still don't know why I chose to consider his request up to this day.
"Can l stay here privately for a few days?"
He had been nice to me, l wanted him to stay...but then my job. I was quick to remember that love brings a smile on one's face but rarely, if ever,  does it bring food on the table.
     "I'm sorry you can't do that!"
      "Please, l will pay for everything", he pleaded.
I scratched my head, with money part of the deal, it became very tricky.
"Why do you want to stay private, what are you hiding from? "
"It's probably better if you don't know", Ed declined to answer
"Hey, listen, do you want to stay here or not?"
"I have nowhere else to go",he answered beggingly.
  "...then tell me exactly what you are hiding from?", l insisted
  "If you insist, l will have to tell you...but l warn you once more, it is better if you don't know."

In response, l simply gazed at him, l wanted to know, simple as that.
   "First, promise me that you won't tell anyone."
"I promise..."
  "The police are looking for me...", his voice suddenly changed, glancing up, I was stunned, with the changing voice was the man himself! Gone, was the gentleman and now sitting before my eyes was a real monster. I could hardly believe it!
   "...l should have left for South Africa already but I have to sell my car first", a long pause followed, he gazed at me all that while. I wanted to ask for tthe reasons, but restrained myself ,l was way too scared.

"So you see, l won't be here long. Be a good girl and I will leave you money when l go." His monster-like voice tried to cheer me up but my spirits had already drooped.

I didn't ask any further questions, not that I had none but simply because I wouldn't dare ask. The money part of the deal was surely very sweet but isn't it an open secret that everything else wasn't!

A few days later, a touching story was published in the leading newspaper. The paper reported that Chingano, a young businessman was robbed at gunpoint. He had lost his latest iPhone mobile cellphone and laptop, his wallet with a lot of cash and his latest Mercedes Benz. At the bottom of the article, there were pictures of the alleged robber and Chingano's handsome reward to anyone with information that could lead to the capture of this man.

After a careful cross examination, l was shocked to discover that the man in the picture was non other than - your guess is as good as mine! He was, however, hardly recognisable. He had already replaced his shoulder-high dreadlocks with a 'perfect zuda' and the huge moustache that hang below his chin was nowhere to be seen now. He had changed from a complete monster to a perfect gentleman overnight - no wonder why he was able to do the vice versa quite easily.

For the two months that followed, we stayed together very well, he paid for everything - my rentals, food, clothes, beers, just about anything l needed. In return, l kept his secret. Then one evening, he gave me a very strange reply
      "I gave you money to buy another dress last week, why do you want to buy another one so quickly?"
His reply summed it all, the first time that he had ever replied to me like that!

No doubt, two months on and the pool of cash must have drained... and my fears were about to become a reality.
Money was part of the deal, no money, no deal. l didn't want to mess up things with him. The best option for penniless Ed was simply to decamp!
  "Bianca, we made a deal."
   I glared at him and replied "Sure, and you promised to pay for everything, didn't you?"
"Just be a little more patient till l sell this and I will give you your money", for the umpteenth time , he pleaded. Apparently he hadn't been so lucky in selling the car. None of his buyers wanted to buy it, it was too risk, not many people had the latest Mercedes Benz and those who had one were subject to police interrogations.

First rule that my mom gave me when she introduced me to the trade was 'Cash upfront, the sucking of nectar afterwards'. Was Ed exceptional to the rule? Should l save him from the police and also let him live for free at my house? Ain't that too much to ask for? - Questions without answers troubled my little mind.
   " I don't care about your car! May you please stop wasting time and get out of my house, now!" I demanded.
   "Forget it, l'm not going to leave. Where will l go? You will have to give me my money back!"
This typical conversation went on for days. A week and half into it and I was almost starving, l had to get back to my old ways, there wasn't much of a choice here.

l got back to my old self, say goodbye to the walls of my house at around seven in the evening and return at midnight or even at dawn, at least l didn't bring any clients home.
Ed, although bothered a little at times, ignored most of it. Rarely did we engage into mini fights of words but even then, they never really materialised into anything worth talking about.

A fortnight passed, no progress from Ed and as fate would have it, l wasn't doing well at work. The fact that I wasn't bringing any clients home meant that I was losing out on many potential 'sex buyers'. I was being denied freedom in my own house and that was unbearable, to put it in simple terms.

One of the nights, high on drugs, l finally found the guts to bring a client home.
I do remember it very well even to this date. It was around ten, Friday night. Ed got furious and lost his temper.
My client for the night was on the receiving end of a strong blow in the face and I was kicked by the chest. Ed bragged about it and chased us away. I bet, he didn't even for a second, think about the consequences of such reckless actions.

Heyyy,stop worrying about the kick and forget about the client. Can't you see that this was the perfect excuse that I had been looking for all this while. For one, l had long set my eyes on Chingano's handsome reward and Ed was becoming a real nuisance to me. There is no better time to sell-out than when you are being chased away from your own house by a stranger. The promise? Well promises are meant to be broken, l have had my fair share of that and have been disappointed a lot.

I immediately texted a good friend of mine who was a police officer. I lied to him of course, pretending to be a responsible citizen of the nation. I wouldn't have dared to tell him that I had been living with Ed for three months. Instead, l told him that he had hired my services just for that night.

My good friend pushed the dial button and communicated the message to the police headquarters and all hell broke loose for my dear Edward!

By Prince Gora.

Chapter 2 out next Sunday, the 13th of October 2019.

Let me know of what you think on:
Facebook: Prince Gora or on Be Great Africa
Twitter: @goraprince15
Email: goraprince15@gmail.com

Zupco...problem or solution??? Part 2

As l sat at the terminus I was asking myself questions,  whose fault was it?
The passengers?
The operators?
The government?
Or everyone?

I began analysing the passengers,  could they have waited like l did and go home after 8pm? Surely Yes! But at what cost (in terms of time)? It was then that l realised if l had an extra $1 bond myself l could have quite easily joined then and got home in time.

But then can't the passengers unite and hold their own until the fares go down?  I think Yes,  the question then is why are we not doing it? Then l thought of the mother who has to cook for her kids, in all fairness, she can't stand in solidarity with us,can she?

I shifted the blame to the operators, fuel prices are going up weekly and not hourly or even daily, why then do these guys change their fares in split seconds?

To find out, while sitting pakadoma l engaged the conductor and bluntly accused him of robbing us, the  citizens of our hard earned money.

He shot back...although expensive,  fuel is generally not there in service stations (at the rate at which operators need it). Their solution?  They buy from the black market and according to him, yesterday a 5L of diesel was going for $90-00 bond notes (NB: Notes).

As to why they change their fares at will? He simply pointed at demand and supply factors and the fuel cost and availability. Then added the impact of rank marshals (mahwindi), these guys get paid the equivalent of 1 or 2 passengers' fares once a kombi is fully loaded, so naturally, they push for the fares to go as high as possible (again using the concept of demand and supply).

Although l could get the gist of his argument, I still tried hard to pin him and put the blame on the kombi operators... that is before the whole kombi joined in the conversation on his side forcing me to retreat into my shell.

I only had the government to blame now...
I was first compelled to exempt them from blame arguing that they are trying to address the situation by,for example, providing the far cheaper and  popular ZUPCOs.

A deeper look however changed my mind quickly. Firstly, the ZUPCOs on the road are way fewer compared to the demand. Secondly, they are not frequent enough and thirdly, they are in fact costing us a lot more(in terms of time and money, albeit indirectly) and perhaps even providing a loophole with which authorities can steal the taxpayers' money.

I couldn't help not considering the time factor. The hours spend on those meandering ZUPCO ques is horrendous. I am a victim actually,  and l have missed many lectures and other important school chores this semester in the name of ZUPCO,  not mentioning the countless times I have arrived home late again in the name of ZUPCO.

Can't the government try to provide order at terminuses and try to make fuel more available in order to protect the ordinary citizen?
I am sure they can, but for reasons best known to themselves they won't!    

Conclusion
While everyone else takes part of the blame, it is the government that is failing to uphold the social contract, they have the tools and the resources to save the citizens from forking up to $400-00+ a month in kombi fares or they simply just don't care...

Perhaps it's high time that we seriously start thinking about holding our government accountable. They keep on breaking the social contract time and again and what do we do?
We just watch from afar... now they are taking us for a ride.

Food for thought!

By Prince Gora  

Zupco...Solution or problem?

It was around 6;00pm when l arrived at the 4th street bus terminus on the outskirts of Harare's CBD.

I had budgeted my ZW$4-00(the amount I had used to go home the previous day).

By Prince Gora

As l approached the terminus, the sight before me immediately told me that something was wrong and indeed my worst fears became a reality a few moments later.

$5-00 bond, the fare had gone up!
I had no other option but to wait. 10 minutes later it was $6-00 bond!
A quarter of an hour later,  the kombis (commuter omnibuses ) strategically momentarily  disappeared, when they came back barely five minutes later, the fare was $7-00 bond and people rushed to get in...and you blame them? Or you blame the kombi operators? Or the government?

Since l only had $4 bond in my pocket, all that l could do is take my phone out of my pocket, take a few pictures then open blogger and start typing...

Time is up!...let`s put an end to period poverty

The fight to end period poverty doesn't belong to NGOs and feminists only, it's a fight for us all

They say injury to one is injury to all. Amid the worsening economic conditions, prices of sanitary ware have shot beyond the reach of many women, the working class included. Half of our population is wounded...which means we are all wounded, both men and women. We simply can't afford to take issues to do with menstruation and period poverty lightly anymore.

My heart bleeds especially for the underprivileged girls and women in the remote, impoverished parts of the country. A friend of mine recently told me about Agnes (not her real name). 13 year old homeless Agnes menstruates for 7 days and uses rags, socks and newspapers she picks from the dustbin and pavements and also sniffs glue to escape from the severe period pain. Just think of the health risks she exposes herself during the process!

For how long shall we continue to accept stories of girls failing to attend school because of period pain? It's high time we take collective action to end period poverty. If the world can manage to provide free condoms for a voluntary action, we surely can manage to provide free sanitary ware for an inevitable biological process that comes every month.

We all need to start talking about it and taking action too, remember our lives begin to end the day we choose to keep quite about things that matter!

Just imagine if our society was not openly talking about HIV/AIDS issues, where will we have been right now?

The removal of import duty and value added tax (VAT) could have been a step in the right direction had the cost of sanitary ware not remained high. Real action is needed, real action is what is being done by the Umguza girls, Sanitary Aid Zimbabwe, other NGOs and many individuals out there, we all need to join the fight.

We can end period poverty - TOGETHER! We just need to amplify the voices calling for free sanitary ware! The right time is NOW, and the right people is US!