Standard Style 22 March 2015

26 THE STANDARD STYLE /COMMUNITY/ BREAKING NEW GROUND
March 22 to 28 2015
After years of groping
in the dark,
Chipo Nenzou
finally finds her
place
Patricia Mabviko Musanhu
Thinner is Better
An education system
that focuses on academics
alone forces
students to put all
their attention towards acquiring
theoretical knowledge.
The assumption is that
this theoretical knowledge is
the most important form of
education they need when it
comes to finding a career. In
such a system, very little or
no recognition is placed on
practical subjects or in understanding
the soft skills
of the students in question
with a view to using these
as additional skills to help
guide them to their careers.
In addition, very little focus
is placed on helping the students
to understand the different
careers available in the
market place so that whilst
they are in school, they can
begin to create some linkages
between what they are learning
and where they are likely
to settle in terms of a career.
Chipo Nenzou is a product
of such a system and like
many students, she struggled
to find a link between the theory
she had learnt at school
and a career she could pursue.
Her search for a career
was a journey filled with confusion
and uncertainty until
a friend helped to direct
her to a most suitable career
through recognizing her soft
skills.
‘’You study quite a lot of
subjects at school and none
of these really link you to any
career because they are so
broad. I didn’t know which
direction to take in terms of
choosing a career and worse
still for me I never got the opportunity
to get some career
guidance whilst at school, ’’
said Chipo.
Chipo completed her ‘O’
levels without any idea of
what she was going to do
next. Concerned with her situation,
her mother suggested
that she takes up nursing
and so she applied and got a
place to do nursing in England.
This course was to last
only a short while.
‘I dropped out because I
didn’t like it and in no time I
was back at home. However, I
couldn’t just sit at home. I realized
that I had to do something
to earn a living and so
I took up a course in secretarial
studies and soon after
wards got a job as a receptionist,
‘’ she said.
Chipo worked for six
months and then left for a
better paying job where she
worked as a personal assistant.
After two years, she left
this job to join a Non Governmental
Organization for another
secretarial position. It
was whilst working for this
organization that Chipo came
to appreciate the importance
of considering her soft skills
in choosing a career.
‘I want to thank a friend of
mine who advised that I consider
taking up a career in social
work because of my natural
ability to sit and listen to
people. I never saw this as a
strength that could possibly
be considered when choosing
a career. I am an introvert
naturally and I have an ability
to give a lot of undivided
attention to someone when I
am interacting with them,’’
she added.
Understanding who she is
helped Chipo to find her way
to a career she has now undertaken
to pursue. Chipo’s
strength in terms of her character
played an important
role in helping her to make
a different career choice. She
now believes that it is important
for any young person to
do a self assessment of their
character and identify their
strengths and weaknesses
with a view to using this assessment
to help them choose
a career in addition to their
education. This will help people
to avoid taking up whatever
is available or whatever
career is thrown at them.
Chipo also advises parents
to help their children walk
this journey of self discovery
from much earlier on in their
schooling lives so that they
are not groping in the dark
throughout their lives trying
to find a career most suitable
for them.
‘I am studying towards a
Diploma in Social Work with
one of the local universities
and will be graduating this
year. I love what I am doing
now and I think it’s where I
am supposed to be. It’s taken
a lot of time to get to where I
am today but I am happy that
I am finally here,’’ she said.
Patricia Mabviko Musanhu
is a Company Director/
Producer at Black and White
Media Productions. She can
be contacted at pmabviko@
gmal.com
Josephine Kanengoni
Yes. It’s a political statement I know. But I stand by it. I’m
so sick and tired of people skirting around the issue and
acting like the only reason weight is an issue is because
we as a people are concerned about our health. We all
know the real reason why weight loss is so celebrated. Just ask
Jennifer Hudson and the Oprah of the early 90’s. Life is better
on the other side of the scale.
In an ideal world – size wouldn’t matter. People would strut
their goodies- whatever size of said goodies. Gabourey Sidibe
would be treated with the same reverence as Halle Berry and
Mariah and her millions wouldn’t struggle so publicly with
weight issues. What’s on the outside really, honestly, wouldn’t
count for anything. But unfortunately society’s standards are
harsh. And society is not too kind to big people. There is a picture
already approved for what beauty looks like, and the one
consistent fact - beauty is always thin. This is the reason why
women as powerful as Oprah will try and fail and try again
to lose weight. Because as happy as they are, they know losing
weight would make them happier. It’s the reason Monique
will tell you she is a lot happier now, even though she insisted
when she was plus size that she wouldn’t change a thing about
herself. It’s the reason why the average adult woman’s life is
filled with obsessions of numbers on the scale and failed diets.
Because ‘big’ is not a good look – not by society’s standards.
And no matter how strong a person you are, no matter how
happy and content, how proud of your achievements, how sure
of your capabilities, every now and then, the reality that all
this would be better enjoyed with a size 8 figure will hit you.
But the worst part, our attempt as society to show our progression
in embracing people of all sizes. Lauding ‘plus size’
women like Salma Hayek and Kim Kardashian as our way of
saying ‘Look at us. We like everyone now– ‘fat’ people included’.
All this does? Affirm the truth that we’re a world that really
doesn’t want to embrace the reality of what big really means.
Because as beautiful and curvy as these women are; none of
them is at the center of the problem. It’s the Gabourey’s, the
ordinary women who make up over a third of our population.
The young girl starving herself or stuffing her face then spending
all night with her face on the toilet seat. The people who
long every single day to lose those extra pounds – whatever it
takes. Those are the people who really understand the plight of
the ‘fat’ woman.