That’s Roseweter Mudarikwa, the first visually impaired black female student at the University of Zimbabwe and probably the first and only visually impaired substantive head of a secondary school in Masvingo.
One can deduce from the interview that she is not interested in being showered and flattered with praise for her achievements.
She has set a number of academic and professional records but still that is nothing to her.
Mudarikwa has a BA General, a Grad CE, Masters in Special Education and is just about to complete her Masters in Development Studies.
She insists that many people with disabilities should be high up there if there were no stereotypes against them.
“There are negative attitudes against people living with physical challenges like us. In the Ministry of Education, these attitudes are found at middle management. It is an uphill task for someone with a lost sight like me to get promoted.
“We have the qualifications but we are not considered simply because we have a condition. Visual impairment is not a disability, it is just a condition.
“Instead of society copying with conditions like blindness, it is quick to condemn. We must cope with conditions and challenges but we are quick to condemn. Visual impairment is a condition like any other. We must react to visual impairment the way the body responds to conditions like hot or cold weather where the body sweats when it is hot in order to cool itself or develop goose pimples when it is cold,” said Mudarikwa.
She said being a school head was nothing to her and added that she could be high up there was she not visually impaired.
“Am now speaking as an activist on behalf of the enlightened people with disabilities.
“Being a school head to me is nothing. Those that I went to school with are up there. There are people who believe that people with visual impairment can’t do it and these are people who still believe in the old theory that 86% of learning takes place through vision.
“If that is what happens, how then are the visually handicapped passing their academic and other examinations. Zimbabwe has an inclusive education policy but we are excluded when it comes to employement opportunities.
“I am not aware of any visually handicapped person in this country who is a district education officer, a provincial education officer or a director in the Ministry. Everything should be done on merit but merit is twisted to suit attitudes and prejudices of senior officers,” said Mudarikwa.
She also bemoaned the declining standards of education for the visually impaired and the complacency that has crippled into teachers in general.
“When I was in school, teachers used to be so enthusiastic about their work. I was taught by the now Minister of Primary and Secondary Education, Dr Lazarus Dokora for my form five and six at Gokomere High. He was such a pro-active teacher and he would personally go out to get resources to help in my lessons.
“Even the late Professor Walter Kamba who was the Vice Chancellor at UZ used to visit me at my hostel just to make sure that everything was right for me. This is the kind of enthusiasm, commitment and dedication that teachers used to have to their work.
“I therefore don’t understand how teachers who are under such a Minister can afford to be so complacent,” said Mudarikwa.
She said education for the visually impaired in Zimbabwe has fallen way behind compared to the rest of the World.
“I am worried with the education of the visually impaired. It is not keeping trends with the rest of the World; it is many years behind. Braille is changing. Now you have information technology that can turn it into ink print and vice-versa but this is not yet in Zimbabwe,” she said.
Mudarikwa has not just made a name at home. She has represented people with disabilities at the highest level internationally. She was the regional officer of the African Union for the Blind. She also became chair for Africa Disability Alliance and she represented the organisation many times at United Nations Summit and the African Union.
Mudarikwa bemoaned salaries not just in the Ministry but in Government. She said the salaries are too low and urged Government to remunerate workers in tandem with their qualifications and work.
Mudarikwa was born in Chirumanzu to Phinias Mashoko Manatsa and Elizabeth Manatsa. She is the fourth child in a family of seven.
She went to Capota for primary education and did her O Levels at Waddilove Mission. From Waddilove she came to Gokomere for her A Levels and the school was the first choice for her parents as they were Catholics.
She passed her A Levels with flying colours and joined the University of Zimbabwe as the first black woman with visual impairment to be enrolled there.
After completing her BA she joined Girls High in Harare where she taught English and Communication and then to Capota where she improved the pass rate from 0 to 32 percent. She then taught at Mudadisi near Zvishavane where she was the head of department before she became the head.
She then came to Mushandike where she heads the school with 28 teachers.
She said the biggest challenge for teachers who live with disability is the negative attitude of the community.
“In Bulawayo one teacher who was visually impaired faced resistance from the parents who did not want him to teach their children. Many communities do not want blind teachers.
“However, my solace are the kids. They are very sweet. They are sweet, they are my source of inspiration.
“I also have my deputy head, John Museba who is my pillar, my heads of departments and the teachers are very supportive,” she said..
Mudarikwa uses a projector to teach her children. She has the latest technology Braille note taker that converts Braille into into ordinary alphabet.
Teachers at the school are urged to plan their work on computers and she converts that into Braille using her note taker and is able to read all scheme books and make reports.
She is married to Timothy Mudarikwa and then have three children Tanyaradzwa and Tapiwa who are doing Tourism and Hospitality Management at MSU, and Tinotenda who just finished his A level.education
Source:Masvingo Mirror amazing , around the world
