The Greatest Honour – The Doctrine According to Sarah Kachingwe

STEMBILE MPOFU

For many years I had the privilege of working with Mrs. Sarah Kachingwe as my Board Chairperson. Sarah Kachingwe’s most notable achievement was that she was the first black woman to enroll at the University College of Rhodesia. She was born in Rusape in 1936 and attended Goromonzi High School. She enrolled in the University in 1957 to study a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and History. She went on to teach and later served in several government positions. These included her tenure as the Permanent Secretary for the then Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications and board positions in Zimpapers and Forestry Commission among others.

Her position as my board chairperson meant that I often met with her to discuss developments for the organisation I was working for.

This gave me time to hear more about her experiences as a pioneer in the various areas of service she undertook. Mrs. Kachingwe’s life at the time I knew her was simple.

During the rainy season I would arrive at her home in Greendale and she would come from working in the maize garden in her back yard to greet me. We would sit in her simply furnished living room and discuss business. These were the times she also related some of her life experiences from which I learnt a great deal.

It was not difficult to reconcile the simple woman I sat with to the woman she spoke of who had held several powerful positions in government. It was not difficult because her clarity of thought, values principles and integrity were consistent with how she conducted herself at the time I worked with her.

These were reflected in the simplicity of her life style and the respectful way she would make her points in meetings.

Her style was always to approach things from a position of enquiry and not relenting until her point was made. This is how we all learnt from her and her vast experience, she never told us what to do but asked questions until we got the answer right.

The recent appointment of Zimbabwe’s new cabinet has given me cause to reflect on the many lessons I received from Sarah Kachingwe. One in particular has come to my mind consistently.

She related stories of the discrimination she faced as the first black female student at the University of Rhodesia.

A lesser person may have given up the quest for a degree having endured some of the hardships she went through. She however knew what she wanted to achieve and did so despite the difficult conditions.

On reflecting on her life’s achievements she said that she felt that the degree she had earned at that time was not the high point of her academic achievements.

She explained that her first degree was a reflection of her personal achievements, it honoured her individual effort and crowned her personal academic journey. Mrs. Kachingwe had later on in her life received an honorary degree from Zimbabwe’s Women’s University.

She saw this honorary degree as her greatest professional achievement.

It was an affirmation that she had made good use of what she had learnt from her first degree. The honorary degree meant that the individual achievement that was personified by her Bachelor’s degree had benefited others beyond herself and that gave her an immense sense of having achieved through the serving others. Mrs. Kachingwe passed away in 2012 undoubtedly with a sense of a life well lived.

Zimbabwe’s new Ministerial Cabinet has been named and it has inspired great hope in a nation of people that have been barely surviving in the last two decades. It is a Cabinet of people who are highly qualified in their various fields.

This in itself inspires confidence in the citizens. However, Zimbabwe’s Cabinet appointees have never been short on individuals with the right academic qualifications.

Our former President had seven degrees. He headed several of perhaps the most educated Cabinets in the world in his 38 years as head of government. As most Zimbabweans are aware the lofty qualifications of the Doctors and Professors did not amount to service for the nation but remained beneficial to the individuals themselves.

As Zimbabweans we have an obsession with the acquisition of academic qualifications. It has led people from all levels of society to even cheat their way into acquiring these qualifications.

This obsession has however served us well at the individual level.

It has allowed our citizens to find employment on every continent in the world and contribute to their growth and prosperity.

However, when we consider what we have done for our own country it does not amount to a great deal. Some of the Masters, Doctors and Professors have used their qualifications to self-serve.

Despite being given the responsibility to serve a nation they have chosen to ensure that their individual academic achievements benefited them in their personal capacities. According to Mrs. Kachingwe this meant that one’s degree was as good as a wall hanging and nothing else.

The new cabinet appointees must change this self-serving culture that has dogged government business and work to serve the nation.

The responsibility that has been bestowed upon them to serve their country and its people is a great one. Their qualifications are their own individual achievements and at this point they do not belong to the nation. What will belong to the nation are the fruits of their labour.

This lesson is captured in the “I Ching”, an ancient Chinese book of philosophy that provides counsel to those in leadership, it reads:

“It is only the effects our lives produce that give us the right to judge whether what we have done means progress or regression.”

Each member of Zimbabwe’s Cabinet has begun their journey of service. All Zimbabweans wish them well in their endeavours because they carry the nation’s hope on their shoulders.

As the citizens of Zimbabwe, we shall be the Deans that grade your work and decide if its effects bring progress or regression to our country.

At the end of your terms in office we shall be guided by Sarah Kachingwe’s Doctrine in deciding whether or not you deserve to be bestowed with our greatest honour.

We will either affirm that you have used your knowledge in service of your country and her people or if we decide you have failed, we shall with great disappointment declare whatever academic qualification you have earned a mere “wall hanging.”

 

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button