Zimbabwe Christian Alliance

7 Leadership Lessons From Nehemiah

Mobile crane building a blue 3D text. Part of a series.

By Jonah Nyoni

Nehemiah is a great biblical character who exuded great leadership qualities during challenging times. There are great lessons we can use as a country and the corporate space. Nehemiah won against opposition, naysayers, conflict, and obstacles. Let’s analyse seven great lessons from Nehemiah.

Compassion

If a leader is compassionate, it means they are considerate or concerned. Nehemiah was concerned about the broken walls and a broken system. When he heard of the situation, the Bible says he sat down, wept, mourned, fasted and prayed to God. (Nehemiah 1: 4). This was a leader who was concerned.

A leader does not relax when the situation is not good. He becomes part of the solution. Zimbabwe needs leaders that are concerned about its current state, growth, recovery and the future. Martin Luther King (Jr.) once said, “Human progress is neither automatic nor inevitable… Every step toward the goal of justice requires sacrifice, suffering, and struggle; the tireless exertions and passionate concern of dedicated individuals.” (Further reading: Nehemiah 2: 2).

Communication

A great leader communicates the picture of the future vividly. In a time of crisis, the leader stands on faith, hope and confidence. He motivates people to see beyond their current challenges. He builds in people a vision which is bigger than their selfish rewards. As though he was talking about the Zimbabwean situation, Nehemiah said, “You know very well what trouble we are in. Jerusalem lies in ruins, and its gates have been destroyed by fire. Let us rebuild the wall of Jerusalem and end this disgrace!” (Nehemiah 2: 17).

The situation might not be positive, but it is the role of the leader to motivate followers and team players. Nehemiah further says, “Then as I looked over the situation, I called together the nobles and the rest of the people and said to them, ‘Don’t be afraid of the enemy! Remember the Lord, who is great and glorious, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your homes!’” (Nehemiah 4:14).

The leader communicates to the team or community. The glue that keeps people together is the leader. That is what Nehemiah did. That is applicable to Zimbabwe now. We need to speak with one voice and move with one purpose. Nehemiah saw that he could not rebuild the walls alone but he needed other people to bring in other skills. The Bible says, “…for the people had a mind to work” (Nehemiah 4: 6). Every successful and effective leader communicates to the team. (Further reading on teamwork and talents – Nehemiah 3).

Conviction

It’s said that if you are not ready to die for what you believe in, you are not yet ready to live for it. Nehemiah was facing great opposition, but he never lost faith, focus and fervour. He was convicted. People buy into a leader who is sold out to a vision. Nehemiah believed in the abilities of others and in the ability of the supernatural power. In one instance he said, “The God of heaven will help us succeed. We, his servants, will start rebuilding this wall. But you have no share, legal right, or historic claim in Jerusalem.” (Nehemiah 2: 20).

Courage

In rebuilding Zimbabwe, we need courage. Most people from different walks of life might have just given up. Forty-one (41) years of independence seems to have brought misery to many. It’s an open secret that most people think Zimbabwe is doomed to be like this. Rwanda went through an atrocious genocide, but if you see it now, you won’t believe that it was in trouble some decades ago.

Zimbabwe has experienced unprecedented pain, but the leaders need to give us courage. Like in the days of Nehemiah, the country has a lot of enemies. Firstly, we are our own enemies. Secondly, we have malcontents that do not want to see the progress of our country. We will always have enemies of success and such is life. (Further reading on enemies: Nehemiah 2: 10 and Nehemiah 2: 19).

Clarity of vision

As we rebuild Zimbabwe, we need a leader who is going to spearhead a clear vision. Firstly, the leader should appreciate and acknowledge the damage that has been done to the country. Nehemiah inspected Jerusalem to appreciate the magnitude of the damage and the cost. (Nehemiah 2: 11- 14). Secondly, the leader must spell a clear vision. The leaders should create a great, clear, compelling, colourful, and creative picture of the future.

Calling

If you know that you are called to lead, you progress in resilience. Every leader must be purpose-driven. We have many leaders that were consumed by their purpose and despite the challenges, they kept moving on. Such was Jeremiah. Jesus Christ knew that he had to face the cross, but he kept on moving. Martin Luther King Jr. had a dream.

Celebration

The leaders must learn to celebrate and be thankful. There are small daily victories that must be celebrated. Celebrate people that make the dream become a reality. Above all, we must be thankful to our God who helps us lead better in rebuilding Zimbabwe.

Jonah Nyoni is an author and speaker.

Gospel musicians find alternative ways to make money during COVID-19

Lorraine Maplanka-Stot and Sabastian Magasha

COVID-19 left some people jobless and other companies scaled down and the music sector has not been spared. The Christian Voice (CV) engaged with gospel music artists.

Gospel musicians, just like other musicians, have been struggling to make a living since concerts have been banned due to COVID-19 regulations.

Lorraine Maplanka-Stot said musicians have been adversely affected by COVID-19 because they depended mainly on live concerts.

“Christian artists are facing challenges because they minister at different churches through invitations, concerts and make money from gate takings or honorariums, but these days it has been quiet” she said.

That challenge did not stop Stot from venturing into other avenues as she said she is now doing retail work to eke a living and advised gospel artists to find other means, besides music, to make money.

“I have been doing buying and selling. I do orders for people from South Africa. My advice to fellow Christian music artists is to have at least four streams of income. You must have more than one stream of income to sustain your livelihood and not to depend solely on music, though it is our first love and first preference.” she said

Stot, is an award-winning singer as she was nominated in the Outstanding Female Artist category and Outstanding Song of the Year for her song Bekezela by the Bulawayo Arts Awards (BAA).

Sabastian Magasha also stressed challenges faced by Christian musicians especially those who solely depend on their music and their talent to earn a living but COVID-19 disrupted that.

“A lot of musicians were basing only on talent. The arrival of the pandemic affected that in so many ways. We no longer have crowds of people gathering. We make money when people come to our shows and when people pay, but because of the pandemic that has been stopped.” said Magasha.

Magasha called upon the government to come up with means and policies to help musicians in such challenging times.

“This was going to be better if there was a policy or if the government was to come up with a program to support musicians. We want the government to be supportive in what we do because I believe that art is a sector that brings money and forex into our country as well. The government should also protect our music because it is our intellectual property. There is a lot that the government can do to protect, support, and show us that we are important as well. We play a pivotal role in inspiring people”

Magasha said he does not only do music, but he has a job and he volunteers his services for a Foundation. At that foundation they engage and uplift communities in different ways and help them build ways to be self-sustaining.

“Some of the projects we have been doing are irrigation, gardening, drilling boreholes in rural areas and towns. We are also involved in projects for women in Mutoko who are into sawing.”

Magasha advised Christian artists to be professional, innovative and creative in whatever they do.

“My advice to fellow Christian musicians is to be creative in what they do. Whatever they are doing they should do it wholeheartedly. They should understand that what they are doing is business and have to package it in a manner that is appealing internationally.”

Gospel artists currently resort to online shows, which they are yet to find better means on how to monetize. Magasha encouraged gospel artists to use the internet to sell their music.

“Nowadays a lot of things are happening online; you should also register your work online and make sure you are able to monetize your work be it on Facebook, Instagram, and Youtube. At the end of the day, do not only have one source of income.” He said.

Beyond being the voice of the voiceless: An Introspective Proposition.

Kimion Tagwirei

By Kimion Tagwirei

There have been voluminous writings in journals, print and electronic media proposing, supporting and pushing for the Church to be the voice of the voiceless since time immemorial. Most Church bodies and individuals have been speaking out for the poor, weak and oppressed whilst that is commendable, the Church should consider going beyond being the voice of the voiceless. The Church should move from speaking to standing out actively and empowering the voiceless to speak and stand for themselves out of their problems towards their desired needs.

Being the voice of the voiceless

Biblically, Proverbs 31:8–9 instructs, it is paramount to speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, ensure justice for those being crushed, advocate for the rights of all who are poor, weak, helpless, oppressed, usually used and abused by selfish politicians for power conquest and retention. That is being the voice of the voiceless – being advocates of those who cannot stand for themselves in our societies. Proverbs 24:11 calls us to “rescue those who are being taken away to death; hold back those who are stumbling to the slaughter,” and Isaiah 1:17 adds; “learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow”.

Biblical reflection on voices of the voiceless

Esther boldly used her influence with king Xerxes to save Jewish people from imminent genocide (Esther 5–10) whilst Amos voiced against oppression of the poor and vulnerable. Nathan diplomatically rebuked King David against power abuse and sexual mania exposed in his case with Uriah’s wife (2 Samuel 11–12). Joseph saved Egyptian people and his family from famine (Genesis 47:13–26), and contributed to critical needs of their times.

Our Lord Jesus Christ declared that the spirit of God was upon him to deliver good news to the poor, heal the broken-hearted, preach deliverance to captives, recovering of sight to the blind and to liberate the oppressed (Luke 4:18). The Bible indicates that voicing for the voiceless is imperative for us to learn from, and contribute towards solutions to identified problems of the voiceless in our communities.

However, speaking out only may not yield needed answers. Historically our Zimbabwean case has shown that those who speak out eventually get victimized, silenced and at times murdered. Usually those who get victimized do not always get adequate help, and those they used to voice for may keep voiceless and helpless. Most of such people who are fighting for the voiceless get limited support in many of our communities. Several outspoken voices of the voiceless eventually get silenced and fall into dustbins of history.

While voicing for the voiceless is very crucial, going beyond that appears highly progressive. Going beyond being the voice of the voiceless is over and above civic engagements, to empowering the voiceless to speak up for themselves and for others, so that whenever need arises, they can stand for themselves and for others. It seems progressive also because if the voiceless get empowered, they become able to stand not only for themselves, but also for and with those who used to advocate for them when victimization and related challenges occur. It will be thrilling to find the once voiceless speaking for their heroes who contributed to their liberation from helplessness and vulnerability.

Life shows that everyone is, and gets voiceless and vulnerable at a certain point and place – age; position, location, health, education, spirituality, economy and politics are part of factors that determine everyone’s vulnerabilities. When too young, or too old; in authority and influence or without; close or away from answers; educated or uneducated; spiritually strong or weak; economically well up or down; politically enabled or restricted; one appears without a strong voice and exposed to various vulnerabilities. In such times short of a voice, each person needs someone to voice for them. We all therefore need others to speak, go an extra mile and stand for us in times of our weakness, helplessness and vulnerabilities.

Going beyond being the voice of the voiceless

Having done so well in speaking up against evils of our times, it sounds critical to go for extra miles of getting actively involved in areas where needs of the voiceless can be pursued from. The Church should therefore no longer be reactive like watchdogs that only make noise when evil appear. The Church should proactively raise civic leaders, economists, politicians and gospel ministers who will serve humanity as stewards bearing in mind that they are also accountable to God.

Traditionally the Church has been contributing great minds to social, religious and economic sectors of the country as well confirmed by the rise of Christians taking influential positions.

Unfortunately she has been giving minimum attention to active political involvement. While debates about dangers of active engagement in our Zimbabwean context rage on, Old Testament Biblical lessons through prophetic influence and participation in politics of their times, for example Moses’ leadership in liberating Israelites from Egyptian bondage, and New Testament Mathew 5:13–16’s call for believers to be the salt and light of the world challenge us to get involved towards influencing and showing living examples for life advancement. Imagine having genuine Christians in political, economic and social positions of authority in Zimbabwe – it inspires intensified consideration and efforts for active involvement.

More–so, the voiceless cannot be voiceless for their entire lives and not giving attention to their empowerment is retrogressive and irresponsible. The Church can, and should strategize empowerment programs to enlighten and empower the voiceless in all essential areas such as economics and politics. Basic training programs on civic education and related essentials can enable citizens to stand for themselves and for others in pursuit of their needs from an informed position.

Conclusively, voicing for the voiceless has been greatly sacrificial, lovely and commendable, especially in Zimbabwe where advocacy attracts tragic political victimization. This piece pointed us to the need for further stretches beyond voicing, to standing up, getting actively involved in all areas demanding attention, especially politics, to influence as salt. To provide enlightening examples as light of the world as well as empowering the voiceless to voice for themselves, and for others towards a progressive society in which the able enable others for mutual development and continuity.

Nkayi Mortuary in shambles

A close-up of the foot of a dead person in a morgue. A blank tag is attached to the toe.

Residents of Nkayi have expressed concern over the deplorable state of the Nkayi Hospital, particularly the mortuary.

This was revealed during the scorecard meeting that was recently held by the Local Advocacy Champions (LACs) under Zimbabwe Christian Alliance. The meeting was aimed at scoring the services provided by the hospital as well as the Rural District Council (RDC).

Besides the mortuary that was not functional, they also complained about the shortage of ambulances at the hospital. Speaking during the meeting, the hospital representative, Mr Hlabangana said there was a lot of work pending at the hospital due to limited funds.

“The hospital is not functioning at full capacity as we have limited funds. As I am speaking to you right, we have a big problem, the mortuary is not working, that means dead bodies have to be moved as soon as possible,” he said.

He went on to say that there was also a challenge with ambulances and that has forced people to look for their own transport to the hospital.

“The money that is being charged for ambulances is very little for cases that would have been referred to Mpilo Hospital. Besides that, we do not have adequate ambulances to carry people who would have been referred and at times we have suggested that people look for their own transports,” he said.

One of the pastors, Reverend Irvine Mthembo who is part of the LAC structures said it was important for the hospital to look for assistance where they are not able. He said there are churches who are running schools and clinics in other areas, if approached they could be of great use.

“I am sure that if churches are approached by the authorities to help with the hospital and the mortuary they would assist. We have some clinics that are running with the aid of churches,” he said.

Speaking on the side lines, the Nkayi RDC CEO appreciated the effort being done by the church in making sure that the council and other stakeholders provide quality service for the development of the community.

“The scoring keeps us on our toes as we work towards improving the services that we are providing. I am happy that our rating has changed compared to the last time and we hope to keep improving although there are some other areas that we still need to pull up our stockings,” he said.

The scoring process was done in Nkayi, Gweru, Chegutu and Masvingo.

Women still not wholly emancipated after 41 years of Independence

By Juliet Mucharozva

Zimbabwe this year celebrates 41 years of independence and women are still lagging when it comes to exercising their political rights. In the fight for independence, women fought side by side with men for political, social, and economic independence yet after independence they still do not have the full independence as their male counterparts.

Notable women such as the late Sally Mugabe, Ruth Chinamano, Mama Mafuyana took up the front fighting for political independence not ousting the noble and gallant women freedom fighters who gave up their lives for everyone to exercise political freedom rights. However, it is sad that the dream of these women is just a fearful nightmare as after independence nothing much has changed for women political rights acquisition. Women in politics face awful discrimination, misrepresentation in the political space.

In an up-close interview with The Christian Voice, one woman in politics, Catherine Mhondiwa Gweru ward 13 councillor, emotionally outlined that the political space is not a friendly environment for women. Born in 1967 Councillor Catherine Mhondiwa was inspired by hardships that took place during the Economic Structural Adjustment Programme (ESAP) era. She realized that if women could take charge in the leadership sector there will be great transformation in the country.

Councillor Mhondiwa engaged in various demonstrations advocating against political and social injustices. In 2013 she was elected as the Gweru ward 13 councillor and re-elected again in the 2018 elections under the MDC-A ticket.

“My passion has always been fighting for the end of injustices and being a councillor has helped me pursue my passion. However, there is still a lot that needs to be done in our country to fight against political and social injustices as women,” she said.

The councillor enunciated the struggles that women are facing to gain political mileage. She greatly emphasized on the “pulling her down syndrome” where women are crushed down by men not to be front leaders.

“Many men still find it uneasy to engage women in leadership. If men could start treating us as equals in the political field, we could be talking about a different situation right now where some women would perform even better than the men,” she said.

She urged women to choose each other when it comes to selecting leadership as other women also take cohorts with men in pulling down another woman. Mhondiwa urged the government and political parties to formulate policies that will support the representation of women.

“Women are also each other’s greatest enemies as we do not support each other in our endeavours and that needs to end. Political structures and the government should come up with women leadership programs to empower women with good leadership qualities. Besides such initiatives, society should embrace women leadership and they should know that some leaders are born naturally holding the leadership sceptre,” she said.

The low participation of women in politics is immensely caused by women lacking confidence and fear as the spaces have been dominated by men for ages. Society has restricted politics to men.

“Single mothers or women in general who have tried to penetrate through this fortified male fortress are shunned and booed left and right centre as good for nothing.” she said.

The Councillor who is the only female among seventeen male councillors also grieved on the struggles that she is facing in the council chamber. She recalled painful events after her second election, where one male councillor called her a strong head, and other colleagues shunned her to speak in the council chamber but to write on a piece of paper and give it to the other male counterparts to make them speak for her.

“Women are denied the right to freely exercise their political rights from the grassroot level to the parliament house; their voice is shunned or not taken seriously. Exploring the Zimbabwean parliament house, it has turned to be a battlefield house not a policy making house, where women political leaders are greatly booed when they try to contribute their views,” she said.

Councillor Mhondiwa said the proportional representation which was meant to fill the imbalance gap in the August House has been nullified by male politicians as bacose. These women are stereotyped as people who are holding seats on a pity ticket and they do not have constituencies therefore their voices are not recognized.

“When such things are said about us then how do you expect one to contribute to such an environment? People do not realise that the greatest destruction of a person comes through what is said about them,” she said.

In her ward, she has managed to deliver better service delivery such as clearing of refuse dumpsites and furnishing local polyclinics with solar energy as the health workers always face problems when electricity is down.

“I have also contributed to the installation of a water tank at the clinic. The Councillor formed a local soccer club meant to help young people in her community to desist from bad social behaviour.

Councillor Catherine Mhondiwa urged women to be brainy, self-disciplined, and principled to take up the political space.