Angeline Munzara Chawira

Zimbabwe;South Africa

Age 38

FOUNDER OF CHAVA BRAND,ENTREPRENUER AND AUTHOR

On the 30th of December,1981 a baby girl was delivered in my aunt’s bedroom and that baby girl happened to me. I was raised in the deep rural settlement of Vhumbunu in Mutare. I am an expert when it comes to making fire because my main daily duty was fetching firewood from the bushes to make fire. The only time we would see lights and electrical gadgets was when we visit my maternal Grandparents in Mutare urban. I come from a family of three (3) I was the last born of the family with my Mum working as a Nurse aid and my Dad as a Construction Worker.

My siblings and I attended school at Vhumbunu Primary School we used to walk 3-5 kilometres to go to school every day this really was a challenge because by the time we get to school we will be tired so we would suffer from less concentration and sleep more in class than learning. In the rural areas the condition of an uniform does not matter. What matters is having the uniform- it can be torn or old but what was important was having something to put on.Our everyday lunch to carry to School was “Mangai” Boiled Maize corn. We used to carry Mangai to school everyday. I managed to pass my grade 7 and moved on to High School.

I had a very tough childhood.I had to witness my father abusing my mother physically and emotionally. This made me to focus more and pay much attention to my School work because i promised myself that I will not end up in the same situation.This situation really traumatised me as a child.

When i got to form 2 we moved from the village to Mutare town. My Parents had separated  so we stayed with my Grandparents for a while.My Mum found a room in Maonde-Sakubva high density for us to survive. It  was a one(1) big room so my Mum separated it with a curtain so it could be a house to fit all of us.We used public toilets to bath.

 I  passed my Ordinary Level at Elise Gledhill High School in Sakubva Mutare this was not easy because it was a financial strain on my mother.I remember when I was about to write my Advanced Level final examination.I was the last person to pay my examination fee  Mum did not have enough so she had to sell her clothes so she could pay for my exams.I actually  paid on the last due date I was really hurt because she sold everything and had almost nothing to put on to ensure that I had a brighter future.She had failed to send my brother for Advanced Level and she had vowed never again was she going to let history repeat itself.I worked really  hard and I passed well I got 14 units at the end which got me an admission at the University of Zimbabwe to study Law.

I moved to the big city of Harare to complete my studies. At first the government would give  a payout to  students like me who were coming from disadvantaged background.When I got to my second year they could not fund us anymore this meant I had to pay own fees,aware of the situation back home I knew there was no way my family could afford to pay for my fees. I then started looking for part-time jobs. I would assist lectures with some administrative work and research. I am a very fast writer so i used to copy notes for those students who would miss classes and sell it to them.

Luckily I found a foster father who had a charity organisation he was touched by my story and offered me a bursary to further my degree and this I will forever be grateful for. During my 3rd year I could afford to pay my brother’s tuition fee back in Mutare and support myself at the same time.

The move to Harare helped me spiritiually I was saved and I forgave my father for all the trauma I experienced as a child and let go of the anger and hatred I had inside of me and became a better person because it was controlling me.

In 2004 i graduated with a Bachelors in Laws with (Hons) (LLB)and Masters in International Relations. I remember on my graduation everything from my childhood was now just a memory from being a small village girl I was now something. With God’s grace I immediately got a job with Community Technology Development Trust a local NGO dealing with smallholder farmers in Zimbabwe as an Advocacy Manager I worked with this organisation for five (5) years. In 2009,  I moved to Switzerland Geneva to join the Ecumenical Advocacy Alliance, under the council of churches as a Food for Life Campaigns Coordinator this was a great experience for me because I learnt a lot. In 2011, I moved to South Africa to join the World Vision International  this was when I started  my own fragrance business titled Chava in South Africa.

Chava is a company I founded in 2018 the company specializes in Fragrances,Fashion,Detegents and Capacity building from a faith based perspective. We desire to promote beauty wellness and sustainability.We do give back to the community through women economic empowerment initiatives such as savings group. Our brand supplies for both men and women. I spent a lot of time and hard work building this brand. We have been running for a few months now and we going to be the world’s most loved,most trusted and most consistent brand. We want to be the place where our clientele go to as a preferred partner of choice.I am also a writer and Love it I had my master’s thesis which was published by Lambert Publishing house in Germany and it is available on Amazon.

Life is unpredictable i never thought God would uplift a village girl like myself who was delivered in a bedroom  room.Have a clear vision and goals write them down now and begin to take your little steps towards your goal. Never compare yourself with anyone or listen to noisome people around you who would want to discourage you.Focus! Focus! Focus! Know who you are what you want and trust GOD in every step of the way knowing that you are unique. Who you are today is not what you will be in the future and the power is in your hands to change your destiny.