Tanyaradzwa Tizora

Harvest House International Church is hosting a City Family Fest on the 7th of October 2023 at Masvingo Sports Club cricket ground.
The City Family Fest is a one-day event that is aimed at bringing back “Ubuntu” by gathering people, from different walks of life in the city together through fun games and social engagements in a family-friendly environment.
Harvest House International Church and the leader of Masvingo City Central Hub Senior Reverend Mugove Chikarakara the City Family Fest will have lots of activities and invited everyone who is interested to attend the great event.
“On the 7th of October we are hosting a City Family Fest at Masvingo Sports Club cricket ground in a verge to bring back ‘ubuntu’ in our city by gathering people from different communities,”
The organizers of the City Family Fest have lined up fun-filled events such as treasure hunt and children’s activities ,auction and garage sale ,360 photo booth ,talent show with lots of prizes to be won, health and drug abuse sessions and live performances by Zimbabwe Gospel artists who include the Harvest House Choir and Snowy from Bulawayo.
“We have lined up so many events like live performances by Zimbabwean Gospel artists ,treasure hunt and children activities ,auction and garage sale, talent show with lots of prizes to be won,360 photo booth, interaction with Masvingo with City Fathers and health and drug abuse sessions to mention just but a few,” said Senior Rev Chikarakara.
Senior Reverend Mugove Chikarakara said that he believes that we all have a role to play in bringing togetherness in the city.
“Everyone has a part to play in making Masvingo a city filled with love laughter and togetherness,” added Senior Reverend Mugove Chikarakara.
The event will also afford people of Masvingo advertising space for companies and space for market stalls to sell their products and services.
“We have sponsorship packages for companies ,individuals and market stalls. We have Bronze going for $50 Silver $100,Gold $150,Platinum $200,”said Rev Chikarakara.
Citizens will have the opportunity to interact with councilors from wards 1-10 and Masvingo CID is going to conduct health and drug abuse session while professional doctors like Dr Gerald Katsamba who is a diabetes specialist will lead the health session.
For enquiries sponsors, companies and individuals can contact the following organizers Tendai on +263772 616 167,Prince on +263777 716 533 and Trevor on +263772 866 081.

By Nicholas Aribino

Deaf people do not regard themselves as disabled people. The understanding of Deafness by Deaf people is not that of a pathology but of a difference. People who are Deaf do not believe that there is anything that has broken down anatomically or sensorily that needs fixing. They are proud to be who they are-Deaf people. It is the object of this opinion piece to expand the understandings of the readership regarding Deaf people and Deaf culture.
You will have realized by now that I am using the upper-case D when I write the word Deaf. For Deaf people, the word Deaf with a capital letter D implies a social category of people who believe that being Deaf is not having a medical condition but a cultural difference that stands out in terms of its belief systems and normative practices. The inability to process linguistic information for Deaf people does not warrant the hearing world to define and rule them as objects that are at the mercy of stimulus policies or social protection, rather it is a reminder to the consciousness of the hearing world to realize that there is diversity within the human community. Deaf people are loud and proud of their uniqueness as a linguistic -cultural group that expresses itself through markers of cultural identity like Miss Deaf, Deaf clubs, Endogamous marriages, residential schools, sporting activities and sign language, among others. The source language for Deaf people is sign language which is also sometimes referred to as a manual language. The absence of receptive and expressive language for Deaf people is not at all an occlusion to life’s opportunities because society should accept them just like any other socio-cultural linguistic group of people, like the Tonga, Shangaan, Ndebele. In the light of the above argumentation, any discrimination of Deaf people based on their inability to oralise their feelings, thinking and beahviours is seen by Deaf people as an attack on human diversity. To that effect, those who believe in the Deaf culture would encourage their children to attend residential schools for the Deaf where sign language is the medium of instruction and in the case of inclusive education the apologists of Deaf culture would expect the school system to use their native language (sign language) for teaching and learning purposes. Observably, in the Zimbabwean context where the constitution recognizes 16 languages, inclusive of sign language, it is therefore the duty and obligation of the government of Zimbabwe to embrace and enhance the learning experiences of Deaf children through the combined efforts of ministries responsible for education to ensure that sign language becomes a sine-qua-non for all prospective teachers.
Belonging to the Deaf culture is not just a matter of being Deaf but a matter of identifying with the value systems and normative practices of Deaf people like language differentiation, attitudinal deafness, behavioural norms, endogamous marital patterns, historical awareness and voluntary organizational networks. In terms of language differentiation, it is important to note that membership in the Deaf community is dependent on communicative competence in sign language. Where attitudinal deafness is concerned, it is the credo that is held by members of the Deaf culture that they are in fact culturally and socially Deaf-it is not about one being audiologically Deaf. Behvaioural norms set apart Deaf people from the hearing world in terms of habits that help Deaf people to interact, for example eye contact patterns, rules governing physical contact and touching and facial expressions and gesturing. For example, the absence of receptive and expressive language for Deaf people has helped them exploit their sense of sight to the hilt; sight has become their keen sense for appreciating and understanding the world. To that effect, a male teacher of the Deaf children should not keep a beard as that would interfere with lip-reading. The Deaf culture is also solidified by in-group marriages. History of the Deaf, that has developed from aural -oral to manual communications is also prized in the Deaf culture. On the aspect of voluntary organizational networks, Deaf people romanticize and essentialise organizational networks that serve the Deaf community to maintain the cohesiveness of the group and to provide for the companionship needs of group members.
It is important to understand that from the perspective of the Deaf community, Deafness is not a pathology but a socio-cultural linguistic difference. Deaf people largely prize homophily by cultural identity which is given credence through their language which is sign language. In an environment where Deaf people interact with the hearing world it is important to recognize and prize the need for using signed communication. Deafness does not affect intelligence as evidenced by Deaf academics that are largely found in the USA at the Gallaudet University. America has produced Deaf poets, artists, dancers, academics and writers. The most important thing where Deaf children are concerned is to give them a good start, taking into account that human energies can be released and blocked, stimulated and flattened by individual encounters and ongoing relationships between people.

Dr. Nicholas Aribino : ZIMCARE Trust Country
Director and is writing in his own capacity.
Contact : +263715617095

Cephas Shava

Mwenezi- A grade five teacher at Sarahuru Primary School in Mwenezi District, Godfrey Marambira was on Monday, September 25 found hanging in a forest and people suspect that he was murdered over love affair with a married woman who resides a few kilometers from the school and then hanged to conceal the murder.
The deceased who is said to have been coming from his rural home in Chivi for the weekend on Sunday is said to have deviated the route after reportedly being lured to come to a homestead of a married woman in the late hours.
He didn’t know it was a trap from the woman’s husband who was baiting him after he suspected Marambira to be in an affair with his wife after stumbling on some love text messages in his wife’s cellphone.
Though no official comment was obtained from the police, Sarahuru Primary School head Kudakwashe Gwezhira confirmed the death tragedy but professed ignorance of what could have really transpired to his subordinate on the fateful night.
“Marambira was one of our punctual teachers at school but on Monday morning we were just informed by his wife that he was yet to arrive home and his cellphone was not reachable since the previous night and had last communicated that he was at Neshuro Township.
“We made efforts to locate him but all was in vain and we were called around midday that his blood stained dead body was found near Zhanje Mountain hanging from a tree. We do not know what really happened to him and the matter is now in police’s hands and I am sure their investigations will establish what really transpired,” Said Gwezhira.
Although police investigations where still ongoing by the time of writing Tellzim News is reliably informed that the suspected murderer who was still being pursued by detectives is a known cross-border trader (name withheld) from Chidhumo village under Chief Neshuro which is some few kilometers from Sarahuru Primary School.
Sources allege the suspect who usually resides in South Africa came across some love text messages between his wife and Marambira. He then decides to use his wife’s cellphone to lure him to come for some quality time.
“Upon suspecting that his wife was having an affair with the teacher the husband took his wife’s phone and began to lure Marambira to visit in the late hours and have some quality time before proceeding to his school. Little did he knew that he was communicating with the husband Marambira who was coming from Chivi diverted the route to meet his lover,” said a source.
It is alleged that Marambira was told to just sneak into the dark room as usual and upon entering the married women’s house he was hit on the head resulting in his immediate death.
Upon realizing that he had killed Marambira the suspected is said to have bundled his dead body into his car and drove to a near bush which is near Zhanje Mountain where he hanged the deceased’s body on a tree besides his satchel and two loafs of bread to appear as if he committed suicide.