The month of May saw several events across the country celebrating Africa Day, including a belated program at Pa Nyatsime Heritage and Culture Centre in Nyatsime, Chitungwiza on May 27. The event was facilitated by the Zimbabwe Intangible Cultural Heritage Organisation (ZICH) in partnership with Teaching Artist Institute (TAI).
It brought together learners from Zengeza Main and Chaminuka primary schools as well as Crowlorgey Academy. In attendance were local cultural icons, traditional musicians and heritage advocates.
According to organisers, the purpose of the event was to instill African values in children while celebrating the motherland.
The guest of honour Solomon Makokisi represented the Chitungwiza district schools inspector Elisha Kujeke.
In his remarks he said such initiatives make it easier for students to understand the direction of heritage-based education. "We should make you resource persons in this area so that together we develop the curriculum to become the best it can ever be," he said, adding that heritage and culture are irreplaceable elements of African consciousness.
ZICH executive director, Justice Mfiri said organising such events where students are afforded a chance to interact with the material culture of Africans is just an expression of their mandate.
“The idea of bringing students to this cultural centre and giving them heritage lessons, a tour and allowing them to see and feel what it is to be African, is just one way of us paying tribute to the soil that bred us,” he told Standard Style.
“Our key demographic is the youth, riding on the old saying, catch them young. We are committed to affording this generation of students a chance to go out and learn, which is an opportunity that never had during our time. Thanks to heritage-based education, we can now facilitate such excursions for students to apply their minds to African consciousness. Through training, workshops and multimedia, we advance the mandate of self-consciousness towards African prosperity.”
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ZICH is a non-profit youth association driving the mandate of revitalising Cultural education, Heritage advocacy and Cultural and Creative Industries lobbying towards formalisation of arts and culture sectors, social integration and increased tolerance in the pan African vision for a united Africa.
Students expressed their gratitude for being given the opportunity to be part of the Africa Day celebrations, in turn they were charged with the mandate of becoming ambassadors of the African values of Ubuntu in their
