…As the schools MOV alumni continue to help towards developmental initiatives 

Ngoni Dapira

APART from being known as Manicaland’s sporting bastion, Mutare Boys’ High School (MBHS) has now turned into a reputable creative arts bastion.

L-R: Malvin Muparutsa and Munashe Chikuni

On Wednesday two of its students received their prizes for winning the eighth edition of the annual DStv Eutelsat Star national competition. 18- year old Munashe Chikuni clinched the national poster category award whilst his schoolmate 14-year old Malvin Muparutsa emerged as the runner-up. In the essay category of the competition, Isaiah Marikopo (19) from Allan Wilson High School in Harare was the winner while his runner-up was Devine Madzima (14) from Dzivarasekwa High School, also in Harare.

The DStv Eutelsat Star competition that was initiated in 2011 focuses on creative arts on science and space technology by holding essay-writing and poster-designing competitions for high school students at national and continental level. The competitions are hosted each year by leading pay-TV operator MultiChoice Africa and satellite company Eutelsat. Prize winners in the two categories – poster and essay – are named at national level in each of the countries of entry, and these go forward for consideration for continental prizes.

Chikuni who is an Upper Six Arts student received a laptop and a DStv HD decoder whilst his colleague a Form Three student Muparutsa received an HD decoder and $720 (RTGS) boarding fees bursary for the second term. Both students will also attend for free a soft skills training course and mentorship programme, courtesy of a Harare based image branding consultancy firm, Vakoma Business World.

On the other hand, sadly, Zimbabwe failed to clinch a DStv Eutelsat Star continental title again this year. Botswana’s Tanaka Chonyera (18) won the continental essay category while Priscilla Marealle (19) from Tanzania won the continental poster category at the continental prize giving ceremony held in Ghana early last month.

As usual the continental winner in the essay category won a trip for two to Paris to a rocket launch site in French Guyana to witness a rocket being sent into space to place a satellite into orbit while the winner in the poster category won a trip for two to visit the South African National Space Agency and MultiChoice facilities in South Africa. The two schools attended by the overall winners were also each honoured with a DStv installation, including dish, TV set, PVR decoder and free access to the DStv Education Package.

At national level, Mutare Boys’ High however carved a new history in the 2018 edition as the first school to have two of its students clinch awards in the same national category. Manicaland schools continue to dominate in the competition with winners almost every year, particularly in the poster category of creative arts. In 2015, Mutare Boys’ High student Mallon Marume scooped the continental poster award and became the second Zimbabwean to win the annual competition after Joseph Mahiya from Harare’s Hellenic International Academy. The two carved their own history for Zimbabwe as it became the first country to win the continental competition consecutively in 2014 and 2015.

Mallon Marume the former continental winner from Mutare Boys’ High on his trip in France after winning the 2015 edition of the competition.

Eversince the inception of the DStv Eutelsat Star competition, Mutare Boys’ High has been one of the most consistent schools to feature in the national finals to prove that it has indeed turned into a creative arts bastion.
The reigning national poster category winner, Chikuni, took over the reigns from  Takunda Nyambuya who was from MBHS as well. Prior that, in 2016 Mutare Boys’ High had a runner-up in the posters category, Brandon Murira whilst that same year, Shaun Matondo from Hartzell High School also hailed the province at national level.

MultiChoice Zimbabwe Mutare manager Mellody Chada said as MultiChoice Zimbabwe they were pleased with the quality of Zimbabwean entries in the competition every year.
“This is a competition that is open to young people across Africa, and is one in which Zimbabweans have had particular success over the past few years, with winners and runners-up in the two different sections of the event. Mutare Boys’ High Schools’ achievements in this competition over the years serve to highlight the fact that clearly it is a school with high standards and has great success in channelling interest into science and technology,” said Chada.

MBHS Arts department head Jawett Pedzeni also received a special recognition award for his sterling work with the arts students, having produced one continental winner, two national winners and many runners-up since the inception of competition. Pedzeni also acknowledged the unwavering support of the alumni from the school that helped spruce up the Arts department for it to have modern facilities that inspire the students.
“Right now I have vast talent ranging from Form one to six. We used to have many challenges as the arts department. Our tables were very rough with age and we also had shortages of stools, with most broken in need of repairing. Materials such as canvas, paint, pencils and brushes were in short supply and we had no computers for modern graphic designing but alumni from the Men Of Valour (MOV) stepped up to help and gave a facelift to our arts department,” said Pedzeni.

Pedzeni (centre) with his winning students and their art works in the background.

He added that through the MOV funding, since last year, the school now pays a yearly subscription of $120 to the National Art gallery of Zimbabwe in Mutare which helps give students exposure as their art works get exhibited there. The alumni helped towards this after the school had failed to pay the subscriptions since 2015. “Our arts students can now visit the gallery for free and do their research or derive inspiration from other art works there rather than to pay for every visit as they are currently doing. They now also exhibit their works there,” he said.

Through the exhibition platform at the NAGZ in Mutare, last year alone, two paintings by the schools students, Chikuni and Caleb Muusha were bought as presents for high profile delegates. Chikuni’s present was bought by a consortium of local  (Manicaland) businesspeople and given to President Emmerson Mnangagwa, who back then was still a presidential candidate, during the time of his Mutare campaign tour just before the 2018 harmonised elections. Muusha’s present was bought and given to the then Minister of State for Manicaland Affairs, Senator Monica Mutsvangwa as her farewell present after her elevation to her current position as Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services. This attests the quality of the arts work being produced by the students.

MBHS headmaster Tendayi Gwashu thanked MultiChoice Africa for creating such platforms for the students to showcase their artistic talents to the world. During the same event the school also celebrated receiving two state of the art microscopes sourced by one alumni Julius Magodo based in the United States of America.

Mutare Boys High School alumni part of the Men of Valour Trust handing over two microscopes donated to the school by an alumni who sourced for them in the United States of America

MOV Trustee board member Lloyd Kodzanai  who spoke on behalf of the chairman, Tapiwanashe Kujinga thanked alumni from MOV that voluntarily continue to unite towards fundraising initiatives to help develop the school.

“We have old boys allover the world in America, France, Russia, United Kingdom and we are all bound by our love for our school. This school shaped us to be who we are today. We set where you are there which is why we are coming back to try and ensure you have the privilege to go through your high school with all the basic amenities that help advance your education or talents in any extra curricular activities,” said Kodzanai.

The MOV Trustee operates under a Trust Deed which was filed in July 2014 and registered on 8 August 2014 after review under the registration code MA958/14. The deed was shared with all member old boys then, as well as the school and the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education.

Some of the MOV alumni during a gettogether held in Harare last year in February.

Creation of an old boys’ association was mooted as a solution to arresting the deteriorating standards at the school. A number of other old boys were thereafter roped in to become trustees, namely Richard Chiwandire, Nawalkumar Jeram, Pension Mandimutsira, David Marange, Kodzanai, Kujinga and Wilson Chivaura who are all serving as the incumbent Trustees, leading other alumni in the association.

Kodzanai highlighted that though membership was currently low as MOV they were taking a leaf from government schools like Harare’s Prince Edward School which had over 1000 alumni contributing towards several projects at the school. He emphasized that as alumni they would not interfere with the roles of the School Development Committee but work in collaboration with it as an interested party that wants to ensure the development of the school.