A Call to Civic Leadership

By Angelinah Chiwonerwa

"You can not teach an old dog new tricks", so they say. Well, this does not mean that we should not at least try to "teach", or try to eradicate the bad thoughts and ideologies that some people hold about community development. This does not mean that we should fold our hands and watch the society's morals go down the drain.

It is time to ask the appropriate questions , "What can we do for our country?", not, "What can our country do for us?". We are rolling the sleeves and getting our hands dirty. This is a call to CIVIC LEADERSHIP.

Civic leadership? Yes... CIVIC LEADERSHIP!

You have to offer a helping hand in the development of your community and nation at large.You make a decision to be part of the solution providers.You cease to be the team leader for those who are waiting for someone to catch a fish for them and feed them.You are out there teaching people how to fish. It reminds me of a Chinese proverb, Give a man a fish, and you feed him for a day. Teach a man to fish, and you feed him for a lifetime.

The unemployment rate in Zimbabwe is at alarming levels and the youths are greatly affected. This is not the time to play the blame game, blaming the government and other leaders. It is the time for young people to wake up and smell the coffee.Wake up! If jobs can not be provided to you, you need to create them. Remember, you are the "future" and this "future" begins now. You went to school to get an education to become something. NOW BECOME that thing. Education is there to open your mind to infinity possibilities. Do not wait for someone to come and feed you. In these hard times, young people have to rise. As Maya Angelou recited it:
 

Out of the huts of history's shame

I rise
Up from a past that's rooted in pain
I rise
I'm a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that's wondrously clear
I rise

Zimbabwean young people should be actively engaged in community building and nation resuscitation. With whatever you have, you can make a difference. Our nation has a strong sense of  "UBUNTU",  humanity to others. Let us work on maintaining that as young people. You may not be formally employed but that does not mean you do not have the skills to help your community. YOU HAVE SOMETHING TO GIVE. THE WORLD IS WAITING FOR YOU. Other young people offer mentorship sessions to students in high schools. That is impact! Others volunteer in different projects. Mr Rabison Shumba works with young people in his initiative "Touching Lives". Hope has been restored, dreams birthed and nurtured as this team knocks on doors with solutions. You can not afford to be doing nothing. This is a call to civic responsibility, civic leadership... answer it! Remember - Nothing About us Without us.