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On Friday the 18th of February 2022, Girl Grandeur Zimbabwe held the first Creative Women Café at the Youth for Innovation Trust Olympiad. This meetup is under the #SheNspiration project which is funded by #eSkills4GirlsFund. 

The #SheNspiration project by Girl Grandeur Zimbabwe is the only programme that has set out to adequately equip Zimbabwean female storytellers for lucrative opportunities in the creative industry. It’s for women and girls who want to get paid in an era of exposure. 

There were two sessions. The first session had panelists such as Khaya from Skyz Metro FM, Miss Kayz the blogger, Nobuhle Zulu who is the editor of iNgudukazi Magazine and Michelle Thanya who is an actress, podcaster and spoken word artist. The second session had Zoleka Mazibuko who is a feminist writer, Ashley Ganyanhewe who is a talent manager for Bulawayo’s celebs such as Asaph, Bhekiwe Dube and Mimmie Tarukwana to name a few. Thembelihle Terry-Lynne Zulu moderated the sessions. 

A total of 52 young women were in attendance to discuss their experiences in the creative industry of Bulawayo. Issues that came up included failure to monitise creative enterprises, the need for networking and that more spaces should be created for creative women to mingle and share ideas amongst each other. 

“When I went to the United States for the Mandela Washington Fellowship, my mentor Robyn took me to a writing circle for women only. It was a safe network of women who critique and support each other’s creative projects. That’s why I brought this meetup to Bulawayo to see if there is a market for such a space. And yes there is,” said Thembelihle Terry-Lynne Zulu the founder of Girl Grandeur Zimbabwe. 

Some of the factors hindering women from taking advantage of the opportunities brought by ICTs include: the high cost of data, cyber bullying, digital illiteracy and not having the equipment such as laptops. These factors further exacerbate the gender digital divide. There is need to create more safe spaces for girls and women online and offline. 

Girl Grandeur Zimbabwe is a social club for women and girls countrywide. Girl Grandeur was founded in 2013 as a social club for girls and women in hopes that it would address the lack of an informal club for women to just come together and have fun and build friendships. This club was to help women to share their experiences and advise each other on their respective grievances. Since then, we have leveraged the power of new media to become digital storytellers showcasing women’s authentic stories and highlighting their plight. We believe in the power of stories to bring about the change that we want. 

#SheNspiration is on a mission to inspire and teach women and girls how take control of their own narrative, tell their own stories and make money while doing it. This is accomplished through trainings, downloadable resources and holding creative meet ups for female creatives to come together, learn and build strategic partnerships. The end goal is to birth more women-led creative enterprises while closing the digital gender gap.

It’s not a long time ago I made use of the pseudo name ‘The Lorax’ as I wrote articles on the environment. Why The Lorax one would wonder. Why did I opt for that orange and slightly annoying mystical creature? Well……. for starters I did think he was rather cute with his orange fur and I do enjoy a good animation.  Most of all though, I loved his message,

“Unless somebody cares a whole awful lot, nothing is going to get better, it’s not,” Dr Seuss

The Lorax was that one creature that cared a whole awful lot about trees and the environment thus the famous intro, “I am the Lorax and I speak for the trees”. I just could not help being somewhat nostalgic, hence, I get to be The Lorax again and I concur that,

“He that plants trees loves others besides himself,” Thomas Fuller

Let us take note of that statement which encourages us to be selfless and soak it in. For over the years, I sense as a people we are no longer in touch with the role we ought to play in preserving the environment and what it means in its entirety. We are reminded often than not of the significance of conserving it but do we truly understand and grasp all the concepts being thrown at us? Or the whole notion has been sensationalised to a point it’s deafening.

Why conserve the environment plus will we reap the benefits of doing so in this generation? Such questions naturally pop up in one’s mind. As thus, let’s briefly explore sustainable development. It entails us preserving the current resources so that our children and children’s children can benefit from them the same way we did if not better. Through it we are automatically included in a crusade to give the future generation a better prospect where they will not long or wish for resources we enjoy today.

As a resident in the town of Bulawayo which is currently faced with water shortages. I cannot help but feel our town fathers let us down. The Matebeleland Zambezi Water Project (MZWP) which was first conceptualised in 1912, was aimed solely to ensure that we would not experience the current water shortages. Hands down it was an incredible idea. Tragically, it never came to fruition. What was the cause for its failure? Many are quick to call out corruption and squandering of funds as the main factor. Some say it is because the project was overambitious and costly. While these are indeed the realities of the tragic story of the MZWP. The root cause for the failure of the project is in my opinion that individuals tasked with the responsibility to see it through, did not fully appreciate the need for sustainable development. They did not understand the role they had to play as our fore fathers in safeguarding natural resources. But sadly,

“The Earth will not continue to offer its harvest, except with faithful stewardship. We cannot say we love the land and then take steps to destroy it for use by future generations,” John Paul II.

So what can we then do from this moment on to right this wrong and guarantee our offspring have a future with enough resources? For as the unfortunate group we understand and relate to that the ultimate test of a man’s conscience may be his willingness to sacrifice something today for future generations whose words of thanks will not be heard.

The solution is in the seed of environmental stewardship. I say let us plant it and let it grow! We cannot have our future generations missing out on the beauty that comes with nature. They need to have a getaway experience to the silent wilderness, wild woods, and rocky areas and give the soul a chance to be at peace. They will need free access to clean air and safe water. This seed of environmental stewardship will make this a reality, therefore I say,

LET IT GROW!