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‘It takes a good child to be raised by a village,’ says Dr Maramura

11 July 2022 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Pexels

The African proverb ‘it takes a village to raise a child’ conveys the message that it requires many people to provide a safe and healthy environment for children. The village gives the child the security needed to develop and be able to realise their hopes and dreams.

Dr Tafadzwa Maramura believes that the same applies vice versa. “It takes a good child to be raised by a village. You need to understand that the village can only do so much, the rest lies on your shoulders as the child,” she says.

The journey of a child raised by a village

The senior lecturer reflects on the journey that led her to serve in the Department of Public Administration and Management at the University of the Free State. At the age of three, she lost her father, who was an army general in Zimbabwe. Soon after, her academic journey would begin at a boarding school. Her widowed mother then moved her to a mission school due to financial constraints, seeing that she had two more children relying on her for survival. Since her father served in the government, she qualified for a state scholarship, which saw her launch her academic career in South Africa as an undergraduate student.

“I came to South Africa in 2010 and pursued a Bachelor of Social Science degree in Development Economics at the University of Fort Hare. Once my honours were conferred, I acquired my master’s within a year. Thereafter, I enrolled at the North-West University, where I completed my PhD within two years.”

Dr Maramura was the Vice-Chancellor’s valedictorian for her bachelor, honours, and

master’s degrees. Graduating cum laude was another way of ensuring that she pays it forward to the village that raised her. Not only was she funded by the Zimbabwean government, but she also received financial aid from South Africa throughout her studies.

Once a child, now part of the village

Today, as founder of a foundation based in Zimbabwe, she pays the fees of orphaned and disadvantaged primary school learners. “I wish everyone could adopt a child, pay their fees, buy their schoolbooks – because we only have each other, we do not have anyone else. That’s also part of what I call co-creating.”

The Brightest Young Minds in Africa alumna goes above and beyond focusing on academics, as she believes that “if you are the only one holding the light, everyone else will have to follow behind you to make sure that they can see ahead. However, if you share that light, then it means many more can see, therefore making it easier to solve societal challenges as a collective”.

She argues that the amount of money you spend on lunch could pay a child’s school fees for a term, and the cash that you use to buy a jacket or a pair of shoes, could cover a child’s fees for a month.

Making a difference in the lives of young children is her way of playing the role of the village now that she is an adult. “I make sure that wherever I am, I make an impact in the lives of others.”

Dr Maramura says she plans to make sure that life is better for the next young African female, by setting up a mentorship programme for the next generation of leaders. In addition to that, her goal is to become an associate professor, rise in academic rank, and develop a research unit that can speak to issues of sustainable service delivery.

On how to be a good child

You do not need to be a figure of authority to make an impact. According to Dr Maramura, all you need is a desire to co-create, and making sure that the public is in a different place after you have left the relevant office you hold or the organisation you serve. “Make sure that you can co-exist, because humans don’t live in a vacuum, we exist among each other.”

Serving the people makes all the difference. She suggests that everyone asks themselves what they are doing for their community, class, or family.

News Archive

Dr Oprah Winfrey praises our university

2011-08-24

Dr Oprah Winfrey after receiving her honorary doctorate degree.
Photo: Rian Horn

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Transcription (pdf document)

“I came 8 000 miles to say, thank you, Vrystaat!” and “God bless South Africa,” were the words Dr Oprah Winfrey used yesterday to respectively open and close her address to an overflowing Callie Human Centre on our Bloemfontein Campus.

Our university awarded an honorary doctorate in Education to Dr Winfrey during a stately, yet warm and cheerful affair yesterday, which saw the 4 500 seater Callie Human Centre packed to the rafters with adoring fans, staff members and students.

The honorary doctorate is in recognition of her unparalleled dedication to improving the lives and futures of so many by improving education and ensuring that it is accessible to all. Through her award-winning show, The Oprah Winfrey Show (which concluded this year after 25 years of entertainment and service), and the various charity organisations she has established, Dr Winfrey has harnessed the power of her iconic stature in the struggle to eradicate poverty and make education accessible to all.

The ceremony’s audience was entertained by South African music legend, Ms Sibongile Khumalo, the Bloemfontein Children’s Choir, Bartimea School for the Deaf and Blind’s Sign Language Choir, and several other musical performers as well as dancers.

Dr Winfrey could not hold back her tears when Mr John Samuel, interim Director of our International Institute for Studies in Race, Reconciliation and Social Justice, described her as an “honorary daughter of South Africa”. She proved just how much the country means to her when she joined in the singing of the South African national anthem, Nkosi Sikeleli, despite struggling with the words in some parts.

According to Dr Winfrey, her interest in our university began after she had read an article by Prof. Jonathan Jansen, Vice-Chancellor and Rector, in which he emphasised the need for South Africans to stop accepting mediocrity, if ever the country is to develop to its full potential.

She asked Mr Samuel to convey her message of support to Prof. Jansen and the wheels, which led to today’s great event, were set in motion.

She also expressed her admiration of the transformation process at our university and our commitment to “reconciliation, peace and harmony”. “What has happened at the University of the Free State is nothing short of a miracle and this is truly what the New South Africa is about,” she said to loud cheers from the audience.

To emphasise her point, she called the five workers from the Reitz video to the stage and used their forgiveness and acceptance of the students responsible for the video as an example of the healing achieved at the UFS.

“Having seen this forgiveness has allowed me to expand my vision of what we can be.” She also delivered a message of encouragement and reminded students that anyone, despite their circumstances and background, could become successful and grow to overcome their obstacles, as she had done.

“Anyone can be successful if they put their mind to it, work hard and are diligent,” she said. “We must all strive for more than success, though, and fulfil the highest expression of ourselves as humans by realising who you are and what you are meant to be.”

Following her address, Dr Winfrey answered several questions from our students, giving them advice on, among other things, how to choose a career that is right for them, and good characteristics to look for in leaders and peers.

She also mentioned that several learners from the Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy, which has its very first group of Grade 12 learners this year, would be visiting our university next month in order to help them select a university to attend next year.

Media Release
25 June 2011
Issued by: Lacea Loader
Director: Strategic Communication
Tel: 051 401 2584
Cell: 083 645 2454
E-mail: news@ufs.ac.za

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