By Dr Ireen Mahamba

ZIMBABWE’s children of today cannot become full blown heirs unless they too are taught what it is to be an heir just as their counterparts in the struggle were taught.
Today’s children of Zimbabwe are generally aware that they are Zimbabweans, we hope and trust, but the basics have to be stated directly and clearly in a formal classroom situation, as well as through extra-curricula activities, that Zimbabwe is their country and that they own it, that it is their divinely ordained heritage as President Mugabe never tires of saying.
This is quite different from saying I live in Zimbabwe.
As for living, it might be possible to live in different countries, or a certain country for various reasons, but to say ‘Zimbabwe is our country’ brings about a different consciousness, it means you own it, its affairs are your affairs, it is your business, and if you own a country you are very rich indeed.
This should be very clear in the mind of each child of Zimbabwe, from those who live in the metropolis to those who go to school barefoot with only a packet of mangai for lunch.
Of course they own this Zimbabwe collectively with the rest of the 12 million Zimbabweans, hence the book is titled, Zimbabwe is our Country.
The children of Zimbabwe cannot develop this consciousness automatically, from bits and pieces they hear on the radio and or TV, or from conversations of adults, they need to be systematically taught these truths so that they become part of their lives, part of their consciousness.
Just as the children and youths from the struggle were taught that Zimbabwe is beautiful, for them to appreciate the preciousness of this heritage, children and youths of today need to be taught this so that they can fully appreciate it.
The beauty that Zimbabwe is so famed for, our children should be aware of from the tenderest ages, because it is theirs, so that they grow to love and appreciate their country, and when they cherish all the gracious gifts this land is endowed with, they will know why they are second to nobody on this planet earth, it will be natural for them to work for its prosperity, and it will be normal for them to defend it with their very own lives when necessary.
When something is precious, you want to do everything to enhance it and to protect it.
The beautifulness of Zimbabwe goes beyond what is marketed in the brochures of the Ministry of Tourism, there is plenty of beauty around the countryside, beauty in the gurgling rivers and rivulets, the lakes and dams the Boterekwa, the balancing rocks scattered throughout the country, the hills and mountains designed in interesting shapes, the grassy plains, the varied indigenous trees and even in the domestic animals.
Their eyes need to be opened to this through the teaching and learning materials across the curriculum.
In the same manner the riches of this country need to be made apparent to each child and youth in Zimbabwe, that our country is endowed with precious minerals, gold, diamonds, platinum, chrome, iron, all of them so that they can understand what they own as Zimbabweans and why their predecessors had to die to free the country and restore it to its owners and why they must be vigilant and still protect it because those who once stole it did not give up voluntarily but were driven out at gun point, and like all thieves if they find a loophole, they will come back and steal again.
This will give the young people the background to understand the sanctions imposed by the former thieves that Zimbabweans drove out through Chimurenga.
They will understand why indigenisation and empowerment, they will understand why they must be owners of companies not branded slaves to serve former masters in perpetuity.
They need to know that this country has rich land and a climate that support a variety of crops from the temperate climate of the Eastern Highlands to the rich dark soils of Gokwe, to Mazoe Citrus and the Triangle Sugar Estates.
The children and youths should not wait until they do Geography or Environmental Science or Geology much later at university, but this knowledge should be woven across the curriculum from crèche to university.
But who are these Zimbabweans?
They are a great people, who have descended from the ancient architects of the Great Zimbabwe, a rare monument of its own only second to the pyramids in Africa, authors of an ancient civilisation that spanned four centuries and left a proud legacy of Dzimbadzamabwe, that we are still proud of to this day, hence the name of the country Zimbabwe; this the children should learn.
That’s who we are, that’s who they are.
They need to know they are the descendants of great herders and farmers, a people who have mined gold for centuries, the precious yellow metal that has mesmerised Europeans and Arabs for centuries, from the days of the Germans and the Portuguese to the present fascination by the English, Americans and others.
We are not beggars, neither in our cultural heritage nor in material endowment.
We are a people of great accomplishment.
We are a good people, a peaceful, God fearing people, we steal from none and we do not hesitate to protect what is ours.
These are the precious values our children need to be cognisant of, need to be cultured in.
These are issues our children need to be taught across the curriculum not only in history, social studies, geography, but in languages, maths, science and all the rest of the subjects in the curriculum.
This is what it means to teach our children to be heirs of Zimbabwe. This is their legacy from the liberation struggle, the founding mentality that liberated Zimbabwe.
Dr Mahamba is a war veteran and holds a PhD from Havard University. She is currently doing consultancy work.