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Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, thank you for all the work you do to make this world a better place.

Mother's Day is around the corner, let us remember to celebrate our mothers for all the special work they do.

Father's Day is around the corner, let us remember to celebrate our fathers for all the special work they do.

Put a smile on a child's face this Easter, donate a toy and we will deliver it to a children's home on Good Friday.😊

Thank you for the support you keep giving us, we appreciate all the effort you are all making to make this world a better place!

Remember......Family First, Better Community.

Family First..... Better Community!!!

☺

Happy Fathers' Day to all the fathers out there. Family First, A Better Community!

Dear Family

In light of the covid 19 recommendations effected on Monday the 14th of June 2021 we have cancelled our Father's day fund raising function we had scheduled for the 19th of June 2021. We appreciate the support you gave us through your pre-bookings for this fundraising function to help educate an Epworth Girl. Stay Safe☺️

https://www.newsday.co.zw/2021/06/power-of-father-this-fathers-day/

The Power of Father, This Father's Day.

By Nothando Bhila

AT a tender the age of nine months, Tiger Woods’ golf talent was identified by his father Earl Woods. The power of fathers upon their children, a prodigy indeed. This is a touching story that portrays the role fathers play in our lives as evidenced by Woods’ golfing success, thus fulfilling Albert Einstein’s words: “Education is not the learning of facts, but the training of the mind to think.”

Malam Mamuda Kibir Dutsinma goes on to say: “The basic truth of life is that the skills that are needed to be much sought-after and become more successful in life are not really found within the walls of the classrooms, you are full of possibilities when you think beyond your degrees and certificates”.

This story shows how involved Earl Woods was with his son’s life from such a tender age to be able to spot such a gift in him. In my opinion, the gift of discernment was at work as well as the science of observation.

In Ghana we met Gyakie, a female musician who was raised in Kumasi in the Ashanti region.

She was born into a family of musicians and by age eight, she had started joining her father in the studio. She was also influenced by Asa and Ghanaian musician Omar Sterling of R2Bees.

This is another touching story on fathers and how they can play a part in what becomes of their children and contribute to how they make a living later in life, if not from a young age as we have already seen from the above models.

Coming back home to Zimbabwe, we have Mudiwa Hood, whose father and great-grandfather also played an interesting role in shaping who he is today. Hood is not his stage name but it is actually his real name as his great-grandfather’s name was Hood.

The socialite sensation could not have been any better than his rich history that has proudly landed him the brand he is today, Mudiwa Hood, we applaud the social work he does in the community.

A father’s love is one of the greatest influences on personality development, which is one of many findings in a new large-scale analysis of research about the power of parental rejection and acceptance in shaping our personalities as children and into adulthood.

Fathers do not verbalise as much as mothers do, they tend to be more direct and use fewer words. They may seem to be “too tough” than the moms, but their toughness is rooted in helping children to be prepared for real life.Sulumani Chimbetu, the son of the late dendera musician Simon Chopper Chimbetu, was influenced to sing by his father who rose to stardom in the 1990s and it became somewhat a taboo to watch the musical show, Mutinhimira Wemimhanzi Ezomgido on Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation (ZBC-tv) without one of his songs featuring.He not only named the education trust after his father, but went on to become a teacher too and he thoroughly enjoys his job and the contribution he is making to Zimbabwe’s education system.

The very author of this article won an award for writing at the age of 10 after her father Clarence, Ransome Bhila had accustomed her to writing and reading. Her father’s influence is so much so that words are to date among her favourite toys.

Her late grandfather Ransome Bhila was a man who enjoyed philanthropic work in Manicaland East, becoming one of the first headmasters in this region until he went to be with the Lord in 1960. He believed in giving back to the community because we do not live on islands since the community plays a role in our success. Some of the rewards God gives us are for our great-grandparents who honoured God, but did not get what they deserved.

This Father’s Day, as I wrap up this article, help educate an Epworth girl through the Ransome Campaign run by Family Integration Serum Trust and take part in writing the epic story about her life journey like the stories we have read about here today.

Biblically, the father is the head of the family, the steering wheel of the family. This Father’s Day, help strengthen the family unit by educating an Epworth girl so that they can better explore the opportunities life throws at them from the training they receive to think along the lines of Albert Einstein and Malam Mamuda Kibir Dutsinma’s school of thought.

Nothando Bhila is a Pan-African writer passionate about issues to do with Africa. She writes here in her personal capacity.

The founder of Killian Education Trust is the son of a teacher and he told himself he would not follow in his father’s footsteps until he got an appreciation of what he did.

Sulumani Chimbetu, the son of the late dendera musician Simon Chopper Chimbetu, was influenced to sing by his father who rose to stardom

https://fundmass.co.zw/product/educate-an-epworth-girl/
Family Integration Serum Trust (F.I.S.T.) believes that if we put family first it leads to a better community. For it’s inaugural campaign, the themed Fathers’ month Ransome campaign- “Educate an Epworth Girl” was motivated by the leading role fathers play in the family thus the personified campaign name of the founder’s grandfather who was into charity work.

Five girls have been selected from a Secondary School in Epworth to be the beneficiaries of this campaign. The target is to pay their tuition fees for a year. The Covid19 pandemic brought about socio-economic hardships that have seen a number of students failing to pay their tuition fees in this Harare high density suburb.

Educate an Epworth Girl – Fundmass Fathers’ month Ransome campaign- “Educate an Epworth Girl” was motivated by the leading role fathers play in the family thus the personified campaign name of the founder’s grandfather who was into charity work.

Happy Africa Day to our Africa Family!

Happy International Day of Families

New World Order, Microwave Society

BY NOTHANDO BHILA

The old age axiom, the more the merrier has been reversed to read the less the merrier. Can this be a result of the selfishness that we have been somewhat asked to partake in slowly but poisonously through technological advancement and of late the worldwide lockdowns which in my opinion have forced technological advancement to treble in an effort to cater for their specifications and, therefore, further “scattering people and not gathering them”?

The Annals of Behavioural Medicine conducted a study that found that when people discussed hardships in their lives with friends beside them (instead of alone), they had lower pulse and blood pressure readings.

Your ability to face life changes and challenges is greatly improved by strong bonds, adaptability and resilience is gained.

Knowing that you belong, you are cared for and needed provides a sense of meaning and purpose and gives motivation to push forward, grow and succeed.

Spending time together has been linked with living longer, healthier happier lives.

A strong social network helps people live longer, mental health boosts self-confidence and teaches effective conflict resolution.

Like microwave ovens that heat the food, but stay cold themselves, people are becoming more impersonal than personal even at relative level, superiority complex is fast penetrating the family complex where in some instances people now ask subconsciously or perhaps it’s consciously: Why should I ask how this person is doing when it is he or she who needs me more?

Why should I pass my condolences about their loss, but if it was me it should be automatic because I am superior materially?

Use of microwave reduces risk of burns

Similarly, people are now more inclined towards avoiding ‘burning’ so to speak, from people’s personal issues.

It is when you interact with a number of people that you get to understand the new world order of how people are no longer people-oriented in offering assistance, but have become as virtual as the virtual age of today, like microwaves that cook food unevenly, it is more about just dishing out solutions that are general and not tailor-made for the individuals.

Helping themselves strokes their egos in so-called helping you that helps them instead.

Rewarding those who do not solve problems, but rather appear to be solving them yet they are exacerbating the problem.

Shall we continue on this path where certain things are now just structures we carried from long ago, but with no meaning in the new world order?

Are we really going to keep the world safe by being asunder and not being together inasmuch as it has always been said that there is safety in numbers.

Perhaps some of you may say, but this is only temporary.

The real question I ask is: will the world ever really recover from this given for example, the “low cost orientation” involuntarily instilled in us from the workplace perspective.

For example, some companies have realised and welcomed saving of office space from employees working from home and saving of resources as these very employees manage their allocations at home more economically than they would in normal working offices.

Some have said working from home saves wear and tear of clothes while some women welcomed elongated “wig life” from the reduced public appearances. For how long shall we run on the microwave society principle? Is it sustainable?

The advantages of microwaves are not limited to radiation penetrating deeper than other kitchen appliances that can fry the surface without even heating the centre of the food due to the turntables.

Equally, the microwave society does have means of deep pe*******on interaction wise such as Skype, Zoom where you can see the faces of people you are talking to and perhaps provide the “personal remote touch” that gives a sense of closeness as that with physical presence.

Another advantage of microwaves is that they use less energy than stoves. Indeed, the means of interacting today demand less energy like those mentioned above, seeing they are instant and no travelling is required.

Some of the microwave disadvantages include loss of food taste, dehydration, and microwaves are not standard just like it is today with the vast means of communication.

These can be summarised as expedited communication and lack of physical contact with seldom disruptions of network, location related and unclear communication.

How do you manage change when change is unmanageable?

Simply take what is relevant to your progress and pretend you cannot see the rest, after all progress is a must.

Family Integration: Gathering and not scattering

A wise man once said, “Mentors are there to make the learning curve shorter.” Likewise, I know of a mentor, an esteemed mentor who has helped make my learning curve short, shorter than I ever imagined in a different phenomena. His name is Dr. Apostle Alexander Chisango, this man summarized his lesson as “Gathering and not scattering.” Vehemently he opined that if the world is to move forward in a workable manner, it has to adopt the aspect of ‘Gathering and not Scattering’. His teachings are basically premised on the bible verse, Isaiah 58 verse 12 which says, “Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations, you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings”.

The same bible passionately highlights the importance of unity and how people will stand if they are united and adversely fall if they are divided. These are profound teachings as the majority of the plight the world faces today are as a result of ‘one ships’ so to speak. It is when people bring together ideas and whatever gifts maybe in their possessions that these can be brought together and solutions brought about that do not bring relief, but deliverance from whatever problems being faced. Creation made people uniquely different in stature, character, personality and abilities, in my opinion the general idea was for confluence to enable the flow of resourcefulness as each individual appreciates the role each person plays.

The world today, is in dire need of not only healing but resurrection as is told again in the wisdom book, the bible, that a ruler of a Galilee synagogue asked Jesus to heal his 12-year-old daughter. As they were traveling to Jairus' house, a sick woman in the crowd touched Jesus' cloak and was healed of her sickness. Jesus turned round to the woman and said "Daughter, your faith has made you well. Go in peace." (Luke 8:43-48) (Christ healing the bleeding woman). In the 2nd and 3rd Gospel's version, a messenger arrived with the news that Jairus' daughter had died, and he was advised not to trouble Jesus any further. However, Jesus responded:
Be not afraid, only believe. (Mark 5:36)
Jesus continued to the house, where there He "saw a commotion, people weeping and wailing loudly" (Mark 5:38). He informed all those present that the girl was not dead but asleep. He then went upstairs and restored the little girl to life. In Mark's account, the Aramaic phrase "Talitha Koum" (transliterated into Greek as ταλιθα κουμ and meaning, "Little girl, I say to you, get up!") is attributed to Jesus.
As signified by the bible story of Jairus’ daughter who was resurrected after she had died. "What appeared to be a disastrous delay in the healing of the woman actually assured the restoration of Jairus' daughter. It was providentially ordered to test and strengthen Jairus' faith."

Likewise, Apostle Alexander Chisango always says, “God does not take out of our lives anything He will not replace”, He will either replace it or become it. After all God does promise to supply all our needs. As God hates waste, it is worthwhile for people to strive by all means to survive the PROCESS, leading to God’s PROVISIONS beyond anything ever imaginable.
Grace is edified by knowledge, grace is God’s part and our part is making it grow. It needs planning, organising. This is why capacity then grows. Grace has a territory as it is not for every place, Psalms 143 verse 5.

FAMILY INTEGRATION, INTRODUCTION

Family is a unit I grew up affectionate about, but this unit is now under attack by different ailments which is now causing it to be fragmented and as a result I now term it the 21st century family. This is because it is fast losing the norms it had at its inception which had always made me to be so found of it. Sadly, with what we now call modernity I shudder at the unlikelihood of a possible recovery of this institution. The world is said to be moving towards more of individualism were even nations are encouraged not to rely on other nations they perceive to be of a higher power as this can be detrimental. My opinion is that this individualism did not start at nations’ level, but at the level of family. I am literally amused by how there is a correlation between the family unit and how nations behave amongst each other. Likewise, there is an African proverb which goes, “A family is like a forest: when you are outside, it is dense; when you are inside, you see that each tree has its place.” The propounder of this proverb perhaps had ideally foreseen a situation where this would always be and yet today, in as much as each tree has its place, there is little or no acknowledgement of“ each tree’s place” if not some trees desiring to have several places including those places it does not have the means to survive because of the unique specie it belongs to. Instead of complementing additional tree species, they shun the role played. This reminds me of another intriguing African proverb which goes, “If you want to go fast, go alone and if you want to go far, go together.” The perhaps more attractive 21st century perception of individualism would naturally go against this proverb and find people being more attracted to ‘going fast than going far’. The status quo of Africa’s economy maybe reflects the extent to which we have not adhered to this African Proverb. We probably have a lot we could learn from ethnic minority groups like Jews for example who value togetherness and have principles that have led to them being amongst the most successful people in the world. As Celso Cukierkorn says, “Poverty is a result of poor choices not of poor luck.”
Family celebrates when there are new births and when members extend family by marriage, sympathise when members fall sick or there are deaths. Steve Biko summarized African family by saying, “We regard our living together not as an unfortunate mishap warranting endless competition among us, but as deliberate act of God to make us a community of brothers and sisters jointly involved in the quest for composite answer to the varied problems of life. Hence in all we do we always place man first and hence our action is usually joint community oriented action rather than individualism”. The concept of family holds great weight in Africa or rather due to present regional circumstances, “Used to hold weight in Africa.” Endless competition is very much alive today so much it can cause family members to be jealous or not to converse as they gun for family power so that they become the first to be contacted should there be family celebrations, misfortunes like deaths or said to be the most successful in the clan. The poor family members may have to rely on grapevine or be contacted last about the death as they are perceived as insignificant. In my opinion, instead of going round and round looking for world solutions to poverty at high and mighty gatherings let us go back to basics of the family unit were the world leaders are first brought up. Any friend, colleague or relation of mine can attest to how many a time I have reminisced on some of the joys we had back in the day of school holidays where you could visit your relatives as a family for two weeks or up to a month at their place of residence without it being a problem. Today it can be a taboo I tell you, worse off with the current economic hardships in Zimbabwe. As I recall there was not much emphasis placed on what you ate or entertainment your relatives gave you as communion was the order of the day or was it because at that time I was a child and I possibly enjoyed playing with my cousins? The questions that linger in my head today from our African perspective where communion was very crucial is, in the 21st century have we perchance put economic hardships ahead of family communion? Is extended family communion now maybe left to weddings, occasionally sickness, new births and funerals even for first cousins? When we see our relatives today is all we see more of ‘budgets’ than ‘bond’? In our 2018Zimbabwean money currency situation I would pose this question as, when we see our relatives do we see the exodus of ‘bond notes’ instead of the ‘bond?’ Are our friends replacing our relatives as there appears to be less or no competition with these as it stands with family power
hunger? Is this not us displaying ‘greed’ at the very smallest element of any nation called family and then expect our leaders to behave differently when they too come from families? Could water be getting thicker than blood and undeniably making Oliver Mutukudzi’s lyrics in one ofhis songs timeless that go, “Zvamunowona husahwira huno k***a hukama” which translates to friendships having a stronger bond than family? The 2018 observance of the International day of Families focused on Sustainable Development Goal 16 relating to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. The approaches to family policies for inclusive societies vary around the world. In some regions emphasis is placed on social inclusion of various types of families and/or individuals such as migrant or indigenous families, ethnic minorities or families with persons with disabilities. In other regions primary emphasis is placed on social protection for vulnerable families to facilitate their full inclusion in the mainstream of society.>As approaches vary, this year’s observance of the International Day of Families was to raise awareness of the role of families and family policies in achieving more inclusive societies from regional perspectives. The international panel discussion focused on the importance of ensuring equal justice to all family members, especially women. It also addressed the efforts at universal birth registration and legal identity for all, especially targeting vulnerable families. The importance of social protection for social inclusion and other aspects of socially inclusive and family-oriented policies were addressed as well,https://www.un.org/development/desa/family/international-day-of-families/2018idf.html . The family agenda was very much appraisable although I believe there is need to make more noise about the family unit than is currently there as its role is very much undermined. More can definitely be done to promote family integration especially with the increase of divorce rates causing much family fragmentation we see today leading to some if not most of the social ills we see in society for those who may not have handled their fragmented backgrounds well.
The Mirriam- Webster Dictionary has several definitions for the noun family: A group of individuals living under one head A group of persons of common ancestry A group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation A group of things related by common characteristics A basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children Indeed these definitions relate to the different family units and are applicable to Africa where cultural norms are not limited to, but include, polygamy, tribal structures, extended family, raising of birth children and birth order. I am made to believe that by the time the 21st century ends what we call the extended family will be very irrelevant and the family that will hold much water by then will be the one Miriam- Webster defines as the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children. The extended family is fast eroding especially since the advent of technological ways of communicating like whatsapp, instagram, facebook platforms on social media. First and secondcousins not only have the liberty to view their relations pictures of children, life advancement amongst other updates on social media that now suffice as physical contact. These now serve as “communion” amongst first and second cousins. An example of extremes in my opinion are how extended family now finds norms like “kubata mawoko”, (paying condolences for a family death) on whatsapp acceptable without physical presence even in instances were distance is not a major hindrance. A sad or crying emoji on the whatsapp platform accompanies the condolence message to the intended recipient thus concluding the condolence that will not be followed through by a physical visit. It sure is my prayer that the family unit and its values is salvaged if possible before it is too late.

Family celebrates when there are new births and when members extend family by marriage, sympathise when members fall sick or there are deaths. Steve Biko summarized African family by saying, “We regard our living together not as an unfortunate mishap warranting endless competition among us, but as deliberate act of God to make us a community of brothers and sisters jointly involved in the quest for composite answer to the varied problems of life. Hence in all we do we always place man first and hence our action is usually joint community oriented action rather than individualism”. The concept of family holds great weight in Africa or rather due to present regional circumstances, “Used to hold weight in Africa.” Endless competition is very much alive today so much it can cause family members to be jealous or not to converse as they gun for family power so that they become the first to be contacted should there be family celebrations, misfortunes like deaths or said to be the most successful in the clan. The poor family members may have to rely on grapevine or be contacted last about the death as they are perceived as insignificant. In my opinion, instead of going round and round looking for world solutions to poverty at high and mighty gatherings let us go back to basics of the family unit were the world leaders are first brought up. Any friend, colleague or relation of mine can attest to how many a time I have reminisced on some of the joys we had back in the day of school holidays where you could visit your relatives as a family for two weeks or up to a month at their place of residence without it being a problem. Today it can be a taboo I tell you, worse off with the current economic hardships in Zimbabwe. As I recall there was not much emphasis placed on what you ate or entertainment your relatives gave you as communion was the order of the day or was it because at that time I was a child and I possibly enjoyed playing with my cousins? The questions that linger in my head today from our African perspective where communion was very crucial is, in the 21st century have we perchance put economic hardships ahead of family communion? Is extended family communion now maybe left to weddings, occasionally sickness, new births and funerals even for first cousins? When we see our relatives today is all we see more of ‘budgets’ than ‘bond’? In our 2018Zimbabwean money currency situation I would pose this question as, when we see our relatives do we see the exodus of ‘bond notes’ instead of the ‘bond?’ Are our friends replacing our relatives as there appears to be less or no competition with these as it stands with family power
hunger? Is this not us displaying ‘greed’ at the very smallest element of any nation called family and then expect our leaders to behave differently when they too come from families? Could water be getting thicker than blood and undeniably making Oliver Mutukudzi’s lyrics in one of his songs timeless that go, “Zvamunowona husahwira huno k***a hukama” which translates tofriendships having a stronger bond than family? The 2018 observance of the International day of Families focused on Sustainable Development Goal 16 relating to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. The approaches to family policies for inclusive societies vary around the world. In some regions emphasis is placed on social inclusion of various types of families and/or individuals such as migrant or indigenous families, ethnic minorities or families with persons with disabilities. In other regions primary emphasis is placed on social protection for vulnerable families to facilitate their full inclusion in the mainstream of society.>As approaches vary, this year’s observance of the International Day of Families was to raise awareness of the role of families and family policies in achieving more inclusive societies from regional perspectives. The international panel discussion focused on the importance of ensuring equal justice to all family members, especially women. It also addressed the efforts at universal birth registration and legal identity for all, especially targeting vulnerable families. The importance of social protection for social inclusion and other aspects of socially inclusive and family-oriented policies were addressed as well,https://www.un.org/development/desa/family/international-day-of-families/2018idf.html . The family agenda was very much appraisable although I believe there is need to make more noise about the family unit than is currently there as its role is very much undermined. More can definitely be done to promote family integration especially with the increase of divorce rates causing much family fragmentation we see today leading to some if not most of the social ills we see in society for those who may not have handled their fragmented backgrounds well.
The Mirriam- Webster Dictionary has several definitions for the noun family: A group of individuals living under one head A group of persons of common ancestry A group of people united by certain convictions or a common affiliation A group of things related by common characteristics A basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children Indeed these definitions relate to the different family units and are applicable to Africa where cultural norms are not limited to, but include, polygamy, tribal structures, extended family, raising of birth children and birth order. I am made to believe that by the time the 21st century ends what we call the extended family will be very irrelevant and the family that will hold much water by then will be the one Miriam- Webster defines as the basic unit in society traditionally consisting of two parents rearing their children. The extended family is fast eroding especially since the advent of technological ways of communicating like whatsapp, instagram, facebook platforms on social media. First and second cousins not only have the liberty to view their relations pictures of children, life advancement amongst other updates on social media that now suffice as physical contact. These now serve as “communion” amongst first and second cousins. An example of extremes in my opinion are how extended family now finds norms like “kubata mawoko”, (paying condolences for a family death) on whatsapp acceptable without physical presence even in instances were distance is not a major hindrance. A sad or crying emoji on the whatsapp platform accompanies the condolence message to the intended recipient thus concluding the condolence that will not be followed through by a physical visit. It sure is my prayer that the family unit and its values is salvaged if possible before it is too late.

2018 International Day of Families | Family Theme “Families and inclusive societies” The 2018 observance of the International day of Families focuses on Sustainable Development Goal 16 relating to the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development. The approaches to family policies for inclusive societies vary a...