Indosakusa Tsholotsho Community Development Trust

WHEN the Government rolled out the new curriculum in 2017, the educational concept was welcomed with mixed feelings by Zimbabweans.

A majority of the people criticised the new curriculum. In some cases some who criticised it were said to be those who had challenges in spelling the word “curriculum”, and those who could not even define the word “curriculum”. That was the joke doing the rounds then.

It is pleasing to note that what the Government introduced as the new curriculum is being implemented by communities without realising it. On 23 December 2019 I had a chance to witness Zimbabwe’s new curriculum being implemented in a classic way by the Tsholotsho community under the leadership of the newly launched Indosakusa Tsholotsho Community Development Trust.

The people of Tsholotsho have come together in what one can call a “Pull-Resources-Together Campaign and develop.”

On the day in question I got lost and decided to visit the district education office at Tsholotsho Centre only to discover when I was at the door of the office that it was a public holiday due to the Unity Day that had fallen on a Sunday.

I shied away from the locked education office and headed towards the business centre. On my way, my attention was absorbed by a vehicle that was moving around inviting Tsholotsho residents to attend the launch of a newly-formed organisation called Indosakusa Tsholotsho Community Development Trust (apologies if I did not capture the name well).

I decided to join the invited guests at Tsholotsho Better Schools Programme of Zimbabwe (BSPZ) premises which were the venue for the launch.

When I marched in I thought I would be the smartest member inside because I was smartly dressed in neck tie for the Education Office.

When I got in I discovered that people inside were putting on uniforms. They were putting on T-shirts with an IsiNdebele inscription Sisonke sizakulungisa (Together we will make it right) at the back. All the T-shirts colours were national colours as appearing on Zimbabwe’s national flag.

Indosakusa is a developmental organisation formed by the people of Tsholotsho and has permeated itself to all corners of the world. The objective is for the people of Tsholotsho to develop their district using resources organised by the locals.

I was pleasantly surprised when speaker after speaker stood to speak about the organisation. Everyone spoke about the development of Tsholotsho by Tsholotshoans. I was quick to note that the formation of the organisation was following the ideologies of Zimbabwe’s new school curriculum which calls upon and empowers the citizens of Zimbabwe to be skilled in problem solving.

The leadership of the organisation explained that they had mobilised resources to donate to Tsholotsho District Hospital. Blankets and different machinery were sourced by the organisation. I recall the unforgettable question by the guest speaker, Mr Nkosilathi Ncube, a provincial man working with the diasporans, which goes, “If every citizen of Tsholotsho could donate R10 towards the development of Tsholotsho how much money would Tsholotsho raise?”

He was also quick to estimate that R3 million could be raised and Tsholotsho could be turned into a greener pasture for the locals. I witnessed Regional Funeral company representative Mr Joel Tondo Moyo, based in Tsholotsho donating R2 000 to the organisation on behalf of the company for the development of Tsholotsho.

Who knew that funeral parlours develop communities. Most of us thought that funeral parlours bury people, make money and end there. I was compelled to “smile loudly” when an Indosakusa speaker stated that they would use the donation from Regional Funerals to support the local hospital to reduce deaths so that in future there may be no deaths and Regional Funeral premises would be changed into a viable supermarket. Surely wishes will one day turn into horses and people will ride.

I therefore give the residents of Tsholotsho a salute for the initiative. It is long since I last saw people from different political backgrounds wining and dining together but Indosakusa is an organisation that has managed to draw people from various political spheres and those from different social backgrounds.

Different speakers emphasised the point that Indosakusa has come ukuzodonsa ukusa (to bring development) and not politics. All the speakers emphasised that all the people working with the organisation must be apolitical for development’s sake. The speakers raised some of the organisation’s aspirations and I can recall these among some of them;

The organisation has taken an initiative to support the district’s health system by donating the much needed resources to the hospital to complement the Government’s efforts.

The organisation has planned that public toilets must be constructed within Tsholotsho Business Centre to curb diseases from stealing people’s souls.

The organisation has undertaken to construct bridges, roads, football pitches for the youth.

As an educationist and a national trainer of teachers in the new school curriculum I was taken aback when the leadership of the organisation raised that the they were planning to construct a vocational college in Tsholotsho. It was said that the college would train school leavers on various courses that included building, farming and carpentry.

I was challenged to learn that Tsholotsho has national parks that shelter are home to different animals species.

I looked down in sadness when I learnt that people who work in national parks are trained in Mutare. Tsholotsho has no such a training institution yet it has all types of animals. It was raised to my amusement that the vocational college that is planned for Tsholotsho by Indosakusa will include such courses in its curriculum. The guest speaker also revealed that the curriculum for the college will be designed with the needs of Tsholotsho communities in mind.

Indosakusa is undoubtedly addressing people’s needs. I listened attentively as the delegates at the launch were asked to identify all the areas in Tsholotsho that have poor cellular network. Places were recorded down for action. If all goes well all the corners of Tsholotsho will be accessible soon.

All that goodness is done by the people of Tsholotsho for the people of Tsholotsho using resources drawn from Tsholotshoans. I could not hold my smile when I heard that the joining fee to the organisation was R150 while the monthly subscription is R50.

Little resources become great resources when put together. If only I was good at marketing I would market Indosakusa organisation to the whole world. Zimbabwe’s new curriculum is competency-based. It identifies the talent in learners and develops the talent. What Indosakusa has initiated is exactly what the new curriculum is campaigning for. The new curriculum seeks to empower learners to be patriotic, entrepreneurial, skilled, be employers, creators of employment, problem solvers and self-dependent citizens and that is exactly what Indosakusa Tsholotsho Community Development Trust is doing. It is lifting the Tsholotsho banner higher.

As an educationist and implementer of the new curriculum I believe that Indosakusa has just organised the people of Tsholotsho to put them on the right track. Hats off to the Trust! I encourage Tsholotsho leaders who include councillors, Members of Parliament, village heads, chiefs and civil servants to support this good initiative.

I also encourage all the people of Tsholotsho to join the Trust for the development of Tsholotsho. Self-dependence is the reason why we participated in the liberation struggle and the reason why we brought in our new school curriculum.

Forward Zhwane! Sisonke sizakulungisa!