wfn.org | Commentary: Looking back at Africa University's first decade

[NewsDesk <NewsDesk@UMCOM.ORG>]

Oct.  8, 2002 News media contact: Linda Green7(615)742-54707Nashville, Tenn.
10-31-71BP{459}

NOTE: Photographs, including a head-and-shoulders picture of Pamela Crosby,
are available.

A UMNS Commentary
By Pamela Crosby*

Going to Africa is a monumental experience for many people. Travelers return
home hungry to share stories of the continent's profound impact on them.

For many, a visit to Africa University is a highlight. At the campus in
Mutare, Zimbabwe, the students, faculty, and staff have the beauty and
tranquility of a rural setting while enjoying a vibrant, international
campus community.

But more than 10 years and a journey of faith ago, the university existed
only on paper. Instead of a campus, a visitor would have seen only a vast
valley, with a new road and bridge that had been built to give developers
access to the area. Later, Volunteers in Mission remodeled temporary
buildings to serve the first 40 students.

Today, the university is preparing for a grand celebration, Nov. 15-17,
marking its first decade of educating students from around Africa and
producing the continent's future leaders. From that first group of 40
students, the school has grown to a current enrollment of about 1,000.

Some 12 years ago, the Africa University board of directors appointed a
building and grounds committee. The group began planning the 1,500-acre
campus on property donated by the Zimbabwe Annual Conference. The committee
included Kaseya Ilunga, Elias Mumbiro, James Salley, Bishop Abel Muzorewa,
Bonaventure Ndorimana and the late Richard "Dick" Reeves, who served as
chairman.

Reeves was a retired engineer from Decatur, Ill., whose love for Africa
University became known throughout the church. Following a 38-year career as
a water-pump manufacturer, he'd traveled several times to Africa, building
latrines, digging wells and developing clean drinking water resources under
the auspices of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. 

"I'm just an old pump man," Reeves would say. But as an Africa University
board member with engineering experience, he made many trips - at his own
expense - to oversee the university's architectural progress. He worked
closely with Zimbabwe-based architect Norman Dickens and Dickens' firm of
Hope, Mills, Peto Associates in Harare.  

The architects, contractors, and members of the university's building and
grounds committee developed a plan that would not smother the landscape with
Western-style buildings. They wanted the campus to be compatible with the
valley's rolling hills and acacia trees. They selected materials produced in
Zimbabwe, and their designs were contemporary yet reminiscent of buildings
indigenous to the area, such as rondovals, which are commonly used as
village meeting houses. Erected in 1996, a round chapel, donated by the
Kwang Lim United Methodist Church, in Seoul, South Korea, is the focal point
of the campus.

The first sight that greets a visitor is the university's entrance gate,
modeled after the Great Zimbabwe - the ruins of a complex built by
indigenous African people between 1250 and 1450 A.D. Once through the gate,
vehicles cross the "Bridge to Dreams," donated in 1992 by the Central
Illinois Annual Conference. 

Not long after the 1994 official opening, the pressing need for student
residence halls became the order of the day. In 1995, U.S. businessman and
philanthropist Peter Kleist contributed $500,000 and offered his land
development and construction expertise. Some of his suggestions related to
such improvements as adding showerheads to preserve water distribution and
building stairways on a natural curve to extend the life of the steps. 

The campus has 15 residence halls - many built by Volunteer in Mission teams
- with lounge and laundry facilities, and lecture halls and computer labs.
The buildings include the $1 million Ireson/Kurewa Center, funded by USAID
and built in 1996, home to the Faculty of Agriculture & Natural Resources,
with modern, well-equipped laboratories and lecture halls. Most of the
edifices take advantage of the prevailing breezes for temperature controls.
Only buildings housing computers, extensive telecommunications systems and
books require air conditioning. Dedicated in 2001, and also funded by USAID,
the new Jokomo/Yamada Library supports teaching and research efforts with
both traditional and electronic resources. 

Today's Africa University is a testament to the generosity and tenacity of
United Methodists all over the world, who have supported the school from the
beginning. The campus also reflects the work of dedicated architects,
contractors, engineers, builders, construction workers and volunteers. In 10
short years, the campus has grown from fewer than 10 temporary structures to
30 debt-free, contemporary buildings that reflect the spirit and flavor of
Africa. 

And the work continues.
# # #
*Crosby is assistant editor and writer for the Office of Interpretation of
the United Methodist Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville,
Tenn.

Commentaries provided by United Methodist News Service do not necessarily
represent the opinions or policies of UMNS or the United Methodist Church. 

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