wfn.org | Africa University graduates 251 students

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.UMC.ORG>]

June 19, 2001 News media contact: Linda Green·(615)742-5470·Nashville, Tenn.
10-31-71B{278}

NOTE: For related coverage, see UMNS stories #279 and #280.

By Andra Stevens*

MUTARE, Zimbabwe (UMNS) -- When Shadreck Mapfumo walked onto the platform to
receive his degree from Africa University on June 16, his day of celebration
marked the end of years of struggle and sacrifice for his parents and 10
sisters. 

Born at Dorowa Mine near Rusape in Manicaland, 25-year-old Mapfumo received
a bachelor of business studies degree from Africa University's faculty of
management and administration after four years of study. 

The past three years have been difficult for Mapfumo's family. His father, a
bookkeeper and the sole breadwinner in the family, was involved in a
workplace accident in 1976 that left him confined to a wheel chair. 

In 1998, while the younger Mapfumo was in his second year at Africa
University, health reasons forced his father to retire. Left with a meager
pension and what could be produced on a small plot of land, Mapfumo's
parents took some of their 11 children out of school in order to manage the
living expenses and to keep in school the brightest and most promising
siblings, Mapfumo among them.

Even with this sacrifice and annual grants from the university, as
graduation day drew near, Mapfumo still owed Africa University close to
US$1,339 in tuition fees.  He thought he would not make it onto the platform
with his fellow graduates until an anonymous donor stepped in through the
university to settle his account.

 "I was gravely concerned that all my hopes would be dashed if I could not
settle my debt," he said. "My parents had been stretched to the limit, and
getting that kind of money seemed almost impossible. The help I have
received from Africa University throughout my studies has changed my life in
a great way."

Two hundred fifty-one students - 13 candidates for master's degrees and 238
for bachelor's degrees -- graduated from United Methodist-related Africa
University this year. The 2001 graduating class consisted of 129 women and
122 men from 12 African countries: Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic
of Congo, Kenya, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Rwanda, Swaziland, Uganda,
Zambia and Zimbabwe. 

Walter Kamba, the Herbert Chitepo UNESCO Professor of Human Rights,
Democracy, Peace and Governance at the University of Zimbabwe, was the
convocation speaker. He challenged the graduates to look at the
contributions they can make in their communities. 

For the first time, all five faculties at Africa University presented
candidates for the graduation ceremony. Both the faculty of management and
administration and the faculty of humanities and social sciences graduated
their first groups of students. The faculty of humanities and social
sciences had 41 people receiving degrees, and the faculty of management and
administration conferred 71 bachelor's degrees and 13 master's degrees.

Seven candidates in the faculty of theology received bachelor of divinity
degrees. The Rev. Sophirina Sign, a United Methodist pastor, was chosen as
the Best Female Graduating Student. 

Tayengo Albano, also a divinity degree recipient, looks forward to the
contribution he can make to bringing peace to his troubled country of
Angola.

"I feel fully equipped to go back to Angola to spread the Word, not just in
a systematic way, but in a way that can help our leaders to come to a common
understanding and appreciate that our people want peace," Albano said. "The
church's unique voice must be heard on behalf of the people. I think that is
crucial, it is my priority, and I have a vision and great hope that God will
help me and many other Christians in Angola to bring an end to war through
Christian life. "

The faculty of agriculture awarded 29 young people with bachelor of science
degrees, and once again, the university's faculty of education had the
largest number of graduates, with 90 students receiving education degrees.

Graduates in the faculty of education included Faniyan Adeola. Born in Port
Harcourt, Nigeria, Adeola lost her father in 1980, and her mother raised her
and a brother as a single parent.

"At Africa University, I saw things differently, and I learned to appreciate
my country and to be able to fend for myself," Adeola said. "I am going home
much enlightened about Africa, and I now feel confident that the young
generation will make a better world; we have everything we need in Africa."

Adeola majored in English and music and received a bachelor of arts degree
in education. She is eager to take up her chosen profession.

"I went into the teaching profession even though many people look down on it
as low-paying," she said. "I went into it fully conscious that money is not
everything; it is the care and service that you have to give and take pride
in."

As Adeola looks forward to improving the lives of Nigerian school children,
Mapfumo is contemplating the difference that his accomplishment will have on
his family.

The first in his family to graduate from a university, Mapfumo still has
three siblings - one pursuing a degree in quantity surveying at the National
University of Science and Technology and two others at Hillside Teachers
College and Bulawayo Polytechnic - who will need his help to finish their
training. The three youngest children, who had to leave school because of
lack of money, must also go back and finish their education. But, degree in
hand, both Mapfumo and his father are confident that a new day has dawned
and that better ones will come for everyone in the family.

"I feel well equipped with my specialization in marketing to be able to land
a job now," Mapfumo said. "I also see a lot of potential in Africa as a
market, and I dream of becoming an entrepreneur in the import and export of
goods in Africa."

This year's graduating class joins more than 400 Africa University alumni
across the continent who are contributing professional skills and leadership
in all sectors of society.

# # #
*Stevens is Africa University's director of information.

*************************************
United Methodist News Service
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