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Nqobile Tshili, Chronicle Reporter
FOR many people, its unimaginable that a child can walk 20km to and from the nearest school every day.

This was, however, a daily routine for Mr Descent Dube (29) from Halawubha Village in Matobo District, Matabeleland South whose nearest secondary school was 20km away.

Mr Dube had to walk the 40km daily for four years until he completed his Ordinary Level at Mqabuko Nkomo Secondary School.

When most youths in Matabeleland South give up on education and go for menial jobs in South Africa to earn a living, Mr Dube trekked to the neighbouring country to raise money for University fees.

His is an inspirational tale of grit and determination against seemingly insurmountable odds.

Mr Dube, the eldest in a family of four, says he is one of the two pupils at Mqabuko Nkomo Secondary School who passed O-level in his stream in 2010.

He says his story is one of tenacity, determination and sacrifice in order to have a better life.

Mr Dube says after completing his O-level, his next challenge was to proceed to Advanced Level which was not being offered by his school.

The nearest school with A-level, was Tshelanyemba Secondary School which was 30km away and therefore he could not walk such a long distance.

Mr Dube was born to peasant parents who are based in South Africa, where his mother is a domestic worker. His father is a security guard who left him and his siblings when he was very young.

It soon became clear that there were no financial resources to enrol him at a boarding school.

Nonetheless, Mr Dube said he enrolled at Tshelanyemba Secondary School which meant that he had to walk the 30km to school and back.

He said he presented his case to school authorities at Tshelanyemba Secondary School and they offered him and eight other boys who were in a similar predicament accommodation in a storeroom.

“We lived in the storeroom the eight of us but every Friday I would go back home and return on Sunday. It was not a conducive environment but was much better than walking 30km to arrive at school tired and walking back home which obviously meant arriving at night. I’m proud that at the end of my studies I had 12 points and was more than qualified to proceed to university,” he said.

Mr Dube said he defied all odds to complete his secondary education despite the challenges of looking after his siblings which at one time nearly forced him to drop out of school.

“I can say I grew up in a child-headed family and being the eldest I had to look after my siblings. I have never lived with my parents for a very long time. Maybe they left for South Africa while I was in Grade Three and during that period we stayed with our grandmother. But when I was in Form Three, I moved to my father’s home. I was the eldest so I had to look after my siblings,” he said.

Mr Dube said his parents used to send groceries and he had to see to it that food was cooked and that his siblings’ clothes were washed.

“When I moved to Tshelanyemba Secondary for my A-level, things became much difficult as I had to leave my siblings alone. At some point I nearly dropped out of school but the urge to make a difference saw me soldiering on,” he said.

Mr Dube said his parents earned very little which was not enough to pay university fees.

He said he made a bold decision of joining scores of Zimbabweans who cross the border to South Africa to look for work.

“I was very clear when I moved to South Africa about what I wanted. I wanted to work to raise university fees. I was a waiter for two years from 2014 to 2016 and returned home. I managed to raise my first-year fees and enrolled with the National University of Science and Technology (Nust) where I studied Journalism and Media Studies,” he said.

Mr Dube said his parents from their meagre salaries sacrificed to raise some money towards his university education and was also assisted by well-wishers until he graduated last year.

He has since formed a Non-Governmental Organisation Matobo Youth Development Initiative (MYDI) where he is the director.

He says his organisation aims at assisting underprivileged youths who are talented but lack resources to realise their dreams.

“I’ve always wanted to give back to the community which raised me. I feel there’s a lot of potential and a lot is lost because the youths lack information. I decided to form a youth organisation with the aim of addressing some of the challenges I faced growing up. I learnt with intelligent students who sadly could not make it and now lead a miserable life because they lacked information on how to deal with challenges such as lack of money for school fees,” he said.

Mr Dube said most youths in Matobo district do not appreciate the value of education hence many drop out of school to be general workers in South Africa.

“I believe that MYDI will change the mindset of young people and the community at large. Through the organisation we want to reach to many young people so that they understand the opportunities around them.”

Mr Dube said his organisation plans to run career guidance programmes at schools meant to explain the importance of education and attaining professional qualifications. — @nqotshili.