As founder of Destiny Scholarship Trust,Chiedza Juru continues to advocate for quality education and support young Zimbabweans to pursue their dreams unhindered. In this chat with Project Inspire Africa,Chiezda sheds light into her journey.
Can we meet you?
My name is Chiedza Juru, a 31-year old Zimbabwean and Founder of Destiny Scholarship Trust. I also double as a founding trustee of Institute of Chartered Accountants Vimbiso Scholarship Trust. My hobbies are reading and farming.
Tell us briefly your childhood experience.
I was raised in a family of four children, in a small town called Masvingo. My late father was an educated and disciplined man who valued education. He always emphasized the importance of education and the doors it could open for us. He would make sure that our school fees were paid on time and would be waiting for the school report at the end of each term. My mother who comes from Lesotho, was a teacher and a great giver who also valued education. My father passed on in 2004, and my dreams of getting an education were almost shuttered. I thank God for the Higherlife Foundation’s Joshua Nkomo Scholarship, a scholarship offered to academically gifted students which I obtained soon after I completed my Ordinary Level Examination. It opened a world of opportunities for me.
What’s your educational background?
I am a Chartered Accountant and I have a Bachelor of Accounting First Class Degree from Africa University.I did my primary and secondary education at Victoria Primary and Victoria High School respectively.
What are your contributions towards making your country a better place?
Throughout my academic years, I have always been involved in community building engagements, because of my conviction that success is more of the impact you make in another person’s life, more than it is the amount of wealth one has. As a scholarship recipient, I witnessed the transformation in my life due to another person’s giving. UNICEF estimates that over 69 million children are out of school in Africa. I told myself that I needed to do something to help more children obtain access to Education and to get a shot at life. Together with my husband Benjamin Juru, who is also a recipient of the Higherlife Foundation Capernaum scholarship, and 4 other Joshua Nkomo scholarship alumni we founded the Destiny Scholarship Trust whose purpose is to provide educational assistance and mentorship to rural students from disadvantaged backgrounds; and we assisted 20 students to obtain an education. As a Chartered Accountant I also saw the gap in Chartered Accountants needed in my country and how some students aspired to become Chartered Accountants but could not afford it. With a fellow Chartered Accountant student at the time who is also an alumnus of the Higherlife Foundation Joshua Nkomo scholarship, we pioneered the Institute of Chartered Accountants Vimbiso Scholarship, where I currently serve as a Trustee and we have 25 students training to become Chartered Accountants. This year, I was appointed Chairperson of the Zimbabwe Youth Council Board whose mandate is to advise government on the needs of youth for the purposes of availing opportunities for youth empowerment and youth participation. One of the projects we are working on with the Ministry of Youth is putting in place a National Youth Act which will ensure mainstreaming of youth across all sectors of the economy with youth quotas in place.
What steps did you take to bring your vision to fruition?
I shared the vision with my mentor who advised me to regularize and get the organization registered before operating. I identified people that shared the same vision and passion whose background was similar in that someone else helped them with educational assistance and l invited them to be part of the board of trustees. We contributed the resources needed to register the organization and to build a fund for the scholarships, contributing monthly. Before others join you or help you scale up, you have to put in your resources and have a proof of concept.
What have been your achievements?
• 20 children reached through the Destiny Scholarship Trust
• 25 students reached through the Institute of Chartered Accountants Vimbiso Scholarship
• Mentorship program for the students
What motivated you to do what you are doing?
My life was transformed due to a scholarship I received from Higherlife Foundation, someone gave me a chance. I have a moral obligation to help others as well to catalyze the impact, and do my part in contributing to national development. If each one of us did their part, little by little we would build the country. I believe in servant leadership, putting the needs of others before self, I believe in building strong communities. In the words of Nelson Mandela, “Education is one of the most powerful tools we can use to change the world.”
What has been your major challenge since you began your nonprofit?
Growing the education fund in order to scale up and take up more students on the scholarships.
How have you been able to raise money to implement your ideas?
We have contributed personal funds, as well as extended opportunities to other alumni to donate to Destiny Scholarship. For the Vimbiso Scholarship, it has been through partnership with organizations that train Chartered Accountants and donations from members of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe.
Could you share with us one or two experience(s) you have had in the course of your campaign that has impacted on you?
The most impactful experience has been witnessing our scholarship recipients participating in community engagements and helping others. To have not only educated young people, but young people with a heart for the community, who will share their success at every stage with the community is a step towards building servant leaders.
What are your prospects in the next 5 or 10 years?
Growing the scholarships and creating a platform for more young people local and abroad to give back through Education.
What do you think is the major cause of unemployment in Africa, and how can we get over this?
Africa needs to shift from exporting raw materials to value addition and beneficiation. This will lift up our industries, create more jobs and also ensure we get more value from finished products. In addition, our Education system needs to evolve and raise innovators, entrepreneurs and leaders that have the right values and can be true custodians of our resources as a continent. Education alone is not enough, if it doesn’t give young people skills that can help them create jobs or obtain relevant employment. We need to teach our youth to create businesses, we need to teach skills such as Agriculture from a young age because the Agriculture contributes a significant portion of the African economy.
If you had an opportunity to speak to presidents in Africa, what would be your message?
Youth contribute 70% of the African population; yet the majority of young people have remained excluded from economic participation and meaningful contribution to the development of their communities. Young people’s zeal, energy, skills and innovativeness should be embraced in order to build Africa. Young people must be at the center of national and continental development. The government must put in place policies and laws that mainstream youth participation across all the sectors of the economy including youth quotas. We need to leverage our youth demographic dividend to build the Africa we want! In addition, the fast tracking of the implementation of the African Continental Free Trade Agreement which seeks to create a single market, deepening the economic integration of the continent will enhance the competitiveness of member states within Africa and in the global market. We have made progress politically; the next important step after attaining political independence is economic independence.
Thank you for sharing your story with us and we do pray that many will be inspired as they read
It is my pleasure!
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