He did quite well with his fishing business but then his bank was liquidated. He had just R50 in his pocket. “This was the time when the Zimbabwean economy was deteriorating and I was left in a no exit situation that reduced my life to that of a beggar. So I grabbed with both hands the opportunity offered by a friend who encouraged me to join him in Cape Town. I jumped the boarder to Khayelitsha, Cape Town,” said the Buhera man in a recent interview.
Adjusting to life in a foreign land was not easy. “I could not afford a decent meal and was always completely out of pocket. I finally found a job as a bricklayer assistant in a construction company. That was one of the worst experiences of my life, but it put food on the table. The turnaround in my life came when I got a post to teach at ABET (Night School),” he said.
In 2007, Mangwiro became the first Zimbabwean teacher to teach at I.D. Mkhize Secondary School, where he also learnt for the first time how to use computers. Between 2008 and 2010, he worked at the elite Phandulwazi Secondary, where he made headlines by producing his first school magazine.
He joined Khanyolwethu School in 2011 – and made headlines when South African television channel, ETV, featured him for three months on their popular programme ‘South African Heroes – Teachers attracting the attention of the whole nation and other countries’.
“I got the shock of my life when the Minister of Education (Angie Motshega) invited me to the Head Office in Pretoria, as one of the best teachers in the country and got the best moment I shall cherish till death when she hugged me. I shed tears of joy to see her appreciation,” said Mangwiro.
His idea to write school magazines was inspired by his experiences at Zimbabwe’s Group A schools.
Today, the Zimbabwean is a facilitator at the University of Western Cape’s Healthwise Programme, which boosts the teaching of Life Orientation in secondary schools.
“I liaise with 56 secondary schools, running workshops and training. I bring materials to the schools and regularly communicate with the teachers,” he explained. “But I have not stopped pursuit of my own academic excellence, and am currently doing a Masters Of Education Degree, despite the strain of having to travel extensively.
“Being declared a South African Hero in Education, being awarded a Certificate of best performance and getting an award of excellence from the Minister of Education remain the crowning achievements of my life. I feel proud that I am accepted and that I was given a chance to display my ability.”
His biggest dream remains that of seeing his home country revive its education sector, once one of Africa’s best. He believes this would be possible if teachers were to be paid salaries that matched international standards, to curb the brain drain paralysing the sector.
“We could also do more if we upheld honesty, respect, being adjustable, humble, violence-free and dedicated in whatever we do,” said Mangwiro. “I encourage Zimbabweans all over the world to uphold our norms, values and culture. We should also improve our educational qualifications and be experts in our field.”
Mangwiro’s story is a fairy tale, considering that his poor family failed to take him beyond the Rhodesia Junior Certificate. He did his Ordinary and Advanced Levels by correspondence, while working as a contract teacher at Munyira Secondary School between 1984 and 1987.
He later trained as a Secondary School teacher at Mutare Teachers College, coming out with a Distinction in Religious Studies.
Post published in: News