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11 July 2022 | Story Valentino Ndaba | Photo Pexels
Dr Maramura
Dr Tafadzwa Maramura says she carved her path by remaining focused and resolute on her journey.

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

A time to celebrate: Autumn graduations
2016-04-07

General graduation information 
Livestreaming

The first series of graduations for the year are upon us. Graduates from all seven faculties, the Business School, and the School of Open Learning at the University of the Free State (UFS) will be celebrating their academic achievements. A total of 3681 qualifications will be conferred at ceremonies on the Bloemfontein Campus from 12 to 15 April 2016.

Sejakhumo Makhetha, daughter of our Vice-Rector: Student Affairs and External Relations, Dr Choice Makhetha, will be among the graduates receiving BA Governance and Political Transformation degrees. Coincidently, Dr Makhetha obtained her PhD in Political Science in 2003 at the UFS. Sejakhumo Makhetha is currently busy with her postgraduate diploma in the same field.

The four-day celebration symbolises the UFS prerogative as an institution to transform lives by producing leaders of tomorrow. Dr Muavia Gallie, Dr Sello Hatang, Dawie Roodt, and Nikiwe Bikitsha are expected to address these future leaders and guests at these ceremonies.

Addressed by the best

On the guest speaker line-up, we have Dr Gallie, a School and District Turnaround Strategist and education activist, who has been identified as one of the 10 Most Impressive Public Leaders for 2015 by the UFS Vice-Chancellor and Rector, Prof Jonathan Jansen. The former Head of Operations, Human Resources and Information and Communication Technology at the South African Council for Educators (SACE) has had more than 30 years of experience in education.

Dr Gallie and Dr Hatang will address graduates of the Faculties of Education, Health Sciences, Law, and Theology on 12 April 2016. Dr Hatang is the Chief Executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation. In addition to being a founding member of the Advisory Council of the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution, Hatang has had the privilege of serving as the Head of Information Communications, and spokesperson for the South African Human Rights Commission as well as Director: South African History Archive at Wits University.

Dawie Roodt, founder, director, and chief economist of the Efficient Group, will speak at the Faculty of Economic and Management Science ceremony on 14 April 2016. This nationally-renowned economist boasts 30 years of experience in monetary and fiscal policy, and is one of the most referenced authors. In 2013, he published Tax, Lies and Red Tape.

As one of South Africa’s leading journalists, Nikiwe Bikitsha will draw on her 20-year career in radio, television, and journalism to address the Faculty of the Humanities graduates on the final day of graduations. Through her passion for Africa’s economic development and women empowerment, the co-founder and CEO of Amargi Media has been a successful Programme Director for UN, IMF and AU-related events.

 

Details of event

Dates: 12, 13, 14, 15 April 2016

Times: 09:00 and 14:30

Venue: Callie Human Centre, Bloemfontein Campus, University of the Free State

 

 

 

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