by Everjoy Chiimba
I started my primary school education at Kuwadzana 2 Primary School (1996-2002). A local school in one of Harare’s high density suburbs. After that I went to St Dominic’s Chishawasha from 2003-2006 and moved on to St Ignatius from 2007-2008 where I did History, Geography and Management of Business. It seemed like a collection and not a combination but the reason behind it was so that we could have more options when it came to choosing our career path. Unfortunately due to the economic crisis in 2009 I could not go to university so I looked for a job and worked at World trade Centre internet café in town for a month. After that I was always at home and always used to go for mass in the morning. It sustained me and kept me sane. So many things were going through my mind. Most of my friends were abroad pursuing their university studies and here I was stuck at home. I felt angry and let down. I could not even go to town because I was ashamed to meet my peers and having to hear all the stories about university life. But in all this God was my source of hope. I kept praying not to be envious but to be patient until His plans for me came to fruition.
In 2010 I became a volunteer at Jesuit AIDS Project as a programmes officer. This was the best decision of my life. It opened up so many opportunities for me. I met a lot of people and made new friends but above all my mind was at ease. I felt happy doing something meaningful, raising awareness about HIV/AIDS. In 2011 I got a scholarship from the Jesuits and started my B.A at the University of Zimbabwe. I was happy to finally start my degree but again I was not happy because I got a B.A. I wanted to do Social work but did not cut the mark. However, I was doing Geography, Archaeology and History in first year and I really liked Geography but the fact that people looked down upon B.A made me unhappy. People say that we were ‘being around’ or call us teachers. One lecturer even said, ‘ndimi mune shungu dzekuuya kuUniversity’. All the same I worked hard and in 2014 graduated from with B.A in Geography and Archaeology. My passion lay in geography and I always looked for opportunities online pertaining climate change. In March 2014 I attended a Climate Reality training in Sandton, Johannesburg. I was fortunate enough to meet the former Vice President of the United States of America Mr Al Gore as he is the founder of Climate Reality Corps. In June of 2014 I went to Kenya for a workshop on Environmental sustainability in Africa where I represented Zimbabwe.
I learnt about a German scholarship called the Katholischer Akademischer Auslaender-Dienst (KAAD) and applied in August of 2014 at the same time I applied to do a Special Honours in Geography at University of Zimbabwe but the department always promised to get back to me and they never did. I went there numerous times until I realized that they no longer wanted anyone with a B.A background as they had were exclusively under the Sciences after years of being in between faculties. This move was effected in 2012 and my class was the last one to have people from the Arts. However, this did not deter me. I applied for Archaeology and got accepted. In October I was informed that I had made into the second round of the scholarship and in December I made it into the final round. April 2015 I went for an interview at Arrupe College and on the 20th of March received an email that I had been awarded a scholarship to Germany. May 16th I arrived to Germany and started the language course. In October I started my MSc in Environmental Risks and Human Security at the United Nations University. As a student representative, I was one of the 3 students selected to meet the UN Secretary General.
My message is: No matter which academic program you do, follow your dreams and do not let anyone talk you down about which program is better than the other. We all cannot be lawyers and doctors. Do your best and always plan ahead but above all commit God in all you do!
