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

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.

International Images Film Festival for Women (IIFF) 2013
Application deadline: 30 June 2013

Film Submissions are now open for the International Images Film Festival for Women (IIFF) 2013. IIFF is the African continent’s fastest growing gender sensitive film festival with 12 prizes in 12 categories, including two prizes in the SIZE category. Accepted are documentaries, feature films and shorts featuring protagonists or men portraying championing gender sensitivity. To promote local Zimbabwean film productions IIFF is calling Zimbabwean filmmakers to participate in the newly introduced Shasha/ Ingcitshi/ Zim Experts (SIZE) category. This is a platform for local filmmakers to tell the Zimbabwean story the Zimbabwean way. Stories that inform, inspire, educate locals and positively impact on their communities. Apply here

To celebrate the 50th anniversary of Africa Day, we invited our subscribers from around Zimbabwe to send us an SMS slogan, and win one of two t-shirts generously donated by graphic designer and generally fun and funky guy Baynham Goredema.

We received nearly 1,500 slogans from across the country, which ran the gamut from silly to serious. So it took some doing to choose our two winning slogans, but eventually we did:

• Africa, our Africa. Laugh dictators and oppressors away. Ha ha ha.
• Africa stop chasing democracy: Ride it!

Where we could connect our subscribers to a location, we mapped them, to show the voices for Africa Day pouring in from around the country:

View Larger Map

You can view the map full screen – and click on points to read different subscribers’ slogans, and zoom in to see some of the denser areas close up.

You can download the full list of slogans here.

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