Free will is a blessing that was endowed to mankind during the creation of the earth and heavens. When God created Adam, he gave authority to take care of all things in any way that Adam sees fit in the eyes of God. This was a free will blessing which should be accepted in all socio-political spheres that men are created in equality to choose what they see fit within the normal bounds of their rights. The normal bounds of my rights have however suffered oppression to fit into the measurement of my authorities’ definition. The burden however is not always easy to bear. I felt suffocation sometimes, and I struggled to appreciate why I was created in full. But now my eyes have seen and I can appreciate that the only measure is to exercise my freedom of will in full up to the extent to which I do not infringe into God’s or someone else’s territories.

Egocentrism has seen loads of restraints being cast on my liberties; to such extent that at one point I was fooled into thinking that I do not deserve some of my virtues.  In fact at one point I actually believed that I did not have freedom of expression. But now I see again and I thank God for the restoration.

Free will is not something that you have to exercise for you to enjoy it.  An anticipatory feeling is enough to give one peace and fullness of life.  Just the fact that I know I can exercise a right when need presents itself is enough for me to say that I am living my life in full.  I will call it intuitive fulfillment.

Hey! Need a job? Want to work in the NGO/development sector in Zimbabwe? Check out the job vacancies below and apply today. If you want to receive regular civic and human rights information, together with NGO job vacancies and other opportunities like scholarships by getting our regular email newsletter, please email join [at] kubatana [dot] net

Head of Programs: Catholic Relief Services
Deadline: 7 June 2013

Catholic Relief Services – Zimbabwe Program (PVO: 6/2002), an international humanitarian and development organization, seeks to fill the above named position.

CRS Zimbabwe seeks candidates for Head of Programs based in Harare, Zimbabwe. The main role of the Head of Programs (HoP) is to lead CRS/Zimbabwe’s programming department, to ensure the quality and growth of CRS programming and to support the development of CRS and partner programming staff. Vested with substantial decision-making authority, this individual will regularly undertake representational responsibilities with the local Church, government, and donors.

Requirements
-Master’s degree in international relations/development or a related field
-Five to seven years international management experience, including significant supervisory experience in complex development and relief programs in developing countries, with project management experience in one or more of the following areas: agriculture and/or livelihood recovery, WASH, nutrition, DRR, and conflict management
-Excellent personnel management and leadership abilities; effective team builder, facilitator & mentor; good networker; proactive & decisive thinker; both creative and analytical; consensus-builder
-Ability to manage interpersonal relationships facilitates meetings, build consensus within groups, manage interpersonal conflict, and juggle/prioritize multiple tasks
-Demonstrated strong ability with project grants management, including participatory project design, detailed planning, budget preparation, expenditure tracking, monitoring and evaluation, and reporting
-Experience accompanying civil society development and organizational strengthening, especially experience with partner strengthening and cross-sector engagement
-Familiarity with the social development function of the Catholic Church and experience in working with Church partners
-Excellent English written and verbal skills for project proposals, reports, and other communications
-Computer proficiency in Outlook, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
-Requires approximately 40 percent travel within Zimbabwe, plus attendance at regional conferences and workshops when requested

Apply
Those who meet the above criteria are invited to submit their applications together with a cover letter and detailed Curriculum Vitae that includes the names and contact details (plus e-mails addresses) of three traceable references. Applications should be clearly marked “HEAD OF PROGRAMS”. Only short-listed candidates will be contacted.  Please submit by: Friday 7 June 2013 to: The Country Representative, 95 Park Lane, Harare or 33A Duncan Road Suburbs Bulawayo or P.O. Box CY 1111, Causeway, Harare, or to taurai.musakaruka [at] crs [dot] org

Country Director: Population Services Zimbabwe (PSZ)
Deadline: 9 June 2013

Population Services Zimbabwe (PSZ), an affiliate of Marie Stopes International (MSI), is a market focused and result oriented non-governmental organization. We develop the efficient, effective and sustainable family planning and reproductive health programmes, with particular emphasis on the lower and disadvantaged communities in Zimbabwe. PSZ’s goal is to meet the needs of underserved individuals and dramatically improve access to and use of family planning and other reproductive health services. PSZ is part of a Global Health Partnership, which operates in 40 countries providing over 5 million services worldwide annually.

PSZ are commencing a period of geographic and programmatic expansion and the Country Director (CD) is responsible for a successful and sustainable programme. S/he ensures the attainment of PSZ goals and objectives and provides leadership to the PSZ team to develop and implement and expand the national programme efficiently and effectively. The Country Director will provide professional, high-quality and effective strategic leadership in the continued development of PSZ. We are offering you the opportunity to take your career to the next level, whilst putting your skills to use assisting us to achieve our Mission of “Children by Choice, not Chance”.

Key Results Areas
1.The CD is expected to ensure excellent relationships are established and maintained with all key stakeholders and donors, while ensuring the integrity and effectiveness of PSZ’s distinct contribution to the attainment of these objectives.
2.External relations and resource development: To ensure PSZ is well regarded, well resourced and influential.
3.Strategic and Annual Planning: Ensure successful strategic development and national expansion of PSZ, in line with the values of the Global Partnership and the end goal of a sustainable organisation leading the way in the health sector.
4.Finance: Ensure PSZ has good financial health.
5.Programme implementation: Oversee the development and implementation of annual operational plans and working budgets, in conjunction with other team members, actively participating in meetings as needed.
6.Team Leadership: Provide overall leadership and strategic direction to the team and ensure existence of a motivated, productive and appropriately managed team.

Qualifications
-MBA/MBL
-Management/business qualification
-Have technical/clinical competence for Sexual Reproductive Health & FP services
-10-12 years of management experience in similar or allied roles in previous organization

Apply
Submit CV plus covering letter clearly marked “Country Director” to: populationserviceszimbabwe [at] gmail [dot] com

Only short listed candidates will be contacted

Finish things. That’s how you develop your voice. Whether it’s a poem or a short film or a painting or a piece of theatre, whatever it is, finish it. Let it go and move onto the next thing. Lots of the stuff I’ve done I think is really, really shit but it’s fine because it’s finished.  – Kate Tempest

Something was recently posted online that made me pause and reflect on how impersonal Zimbabwean society has become over the years thanks to the odious nature of our politics.

A reader posted on a bulletin board to comment on the death of someone prominent last week.

Thus read the comment: “Greet Satan for me. BYE.”

These forums have become the modern day agora where all sorts of comments are aired, yet I found it was one of those audacious statements that get you asking about the person’s cultural and social sensibilities, yet for anyone who has lived through the impunity dealt on political crimes especially, you somewhat readily see the anger contained in that statement.

We had always thought that every death is regrettable, that you commiserate with even your worst enemy, for death is something you cannot wish on anyone – alongside getting someone fired, I might add! Schadenfreude, I believe it’s called.

These are things enjoyed by the Devil’s disciples, we are often told, yet Zimbabwe’s post-independence narrative is fraught with emotions that have seen many deviating from the what would be a universally accepted response to the loss of human life and actually celebrating someone’s death.

Such tales abound and they invariably border on politics where, because ordinary people have been failed by all pretence to legal processes, see death as the ultimate equalizer.

There is no need to repeat the late Chenjerai Hunzvi’s words of condemnation to local youths who drank themselves silly celebrating Laurent Kabila’s death back in 2001. The same youths also rejoiced when he himself died that same year!

Thus it can be concluded many here will readily identify with Mark Twain’s witticism: “I didn’t attend the funeral, but I sent a nice letter saying I approved of it.”

Sad by any measure.

To celebrate Africa Day we asked our SMS community to send us a slogan; over 1400 slogans later we chose these two: Africa, our Africa. Laugh dictators and oppressors away. Ha ha ha and Africa stop chasing democracy: Ride it! The lucky winners get a cool t-shirt designed by the very talented graphic designer Baynham Goredema. Check out our map of slogans here. We’ve decided to dress up like members of the first family (do the same and send us your photos) when we join the Mugabe’s for lunch on Sunday 2 June at 8.30pm on the SABC3 channel; according to David Smith writing for the Guardian in Johannesburg, this is a surreal glimpse of Zimbabwe’s first family as no one has ever quite seen them before. Before the TV cameras Robert, wife Grace and two of their children declare their love for each other, discuss philosophy and religion, and laugh about the time Grace punched a British photographer. The result is compelling and at times jaw dropping. Some might describe it as car crash television. We found out that Combined Harare Residents Association is running a short survey on pre-paid meters; did you know that there is a statutory instrument, which has been gazetted, which compels ZESA to charge you $300 in arrears for the installation? We heard that the test case of Mildred Mapingure versus the State is before the Supreme Court today at 9am. Mildred Mapingure had child as a result of rape from armed robbers. The case is to sue the state for negligence on the part of state employees who failed to prevent pregnancy when it could have been reasonably prevented and they failed to further take steps to terminate pregnancy. Zimbabwe Women Lawyers Association is using International Women Human rights instruments to argue this matter with the hope of creating a favourable precedent in the management and care of Survivors of Sexual Violence. We were proud to hear that Dr. Peter Morgan, a naturalized citizen of Zimbabwe, has been named the 2013 Stockholm Water Prize Laureate for his work to protect the health and lives of millions of people through improved sanitation and water technologies. Several of his most prominent innovations, including the Bush Pump and the Blair Ventilated Improved Pit (VIP) Latrine, have been adapted as the national standard by the government of Zimbabwe. Over 500,000 Blair VIP latrines have been built and serve 3 million people in Zimbabwe alone, and many more have been built worldwide. Dr. Morgan also created the ‘Upgraded Family Well’, which now help half a million people improve the quality of water obtained from traditional wells. We watched Josephine Mudzingwa Siziba who moved to North Shields in Tyneside as a refugee 13 years ago give a guy called John some advice on life; although seen as rich by her family in Africa, she and her husband live on the Meadow Well estate, one of the most deprived in Britain. They survive on the minimum wage and work in a number of jobs to support their daughter as well as their extended family. Every month, she sends hundreds of pounds to help her family in Zimbabwe, who call her “Queen Makoti” because of her good deeds. We went to a Harare SPCA dog show and encourage people with a loving heart and space in their home to adopt one of these beautiful animals. We wondered whether greed is indelibly embedded in politician’s DNA as President Uhuru Kenyatta faces salary reform rebellion by MPs. We came across an article which suggests that the African Union as an organisation that reflects the social character of the states composing it, most of which are under authoritarian rulers who cling to power through force and electoral fraud, is ill-equipped to meet people’s aspirations for democracy and social progress. We learned that more than 12 African heads of state and other global leaders met and reviewed progress toward implementing transformative reforms in the AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and malaria responses and pledged to accelerate the pace of change (increase annual domestic funding for health care, particularly AIDS, TB and malaria services). We tested our knowledge and took the Guardian’s Africa Quiz. We were inspired by a pioneering foundation called Femrite that has helped a new generation of Ugandan women tell – or at least record – often harrowing stories of daily life in the country. We met Ben Sanders who travelled the length of Africa using only public transport from Cape Town to Cairo; check out the photos here. We read that a quarter of the world’s children are at risk of under performing at school because of chronic malnutrition according to the UK charity Save the Children. We found out what a week of groceries looks like around the world; Mali and Chad are stark exceptions to excess. And finally, we wondered if you think this is true . . .

Because when something happens, she’s the person I want to tell. The most basic indicator of love. - David Levithan