NewsDay | Friday December 17 2021 M9 Stirring waves while on internship with MISA Zimbabwe BY TAMUKA CHARAKUPA T HE year was 2015. On my first day, I was very fresh from college; confused and excited as I entered the MISA Zimbabwe gate. I had attended an interview about two weeks back and had been offered placement for internship. As any new intern would, I was formally dressed. Right at the entrance, I was welcomed by Annie ‘Madam’ Musodza who showed me around the offices and introduced me to colleagues I would work with. One particular colleague, Koliwe ‘Kodza’ Majama, was to supervise me together with two fellow interns, Yolanda Moyo, and Bubblejoy Chimbwanda. She quickly noticed I was dressed formally, with a tie, of course, much to her delight. I was obviously overdressed, a conclusion I arrived at after observing how everyone else was dressed. Kodza told me that I was free to wear anything that was comfortable and that wearing a tie was not necessary. I was relieved. Days passed into weeks, weeks into months and boom it was a year already. MISA became my family, my home. Each day, I would face a new experience, and Koliwe was always on our throats for perfection. When she walks into the Resource Centre, expect a full audit of the tasks that she would have assigned. Some of the duties she was particularly thorough about were on updating the membership database, filing of newsletters and media monitoring. If one was found wanting and with no positive feedback to report on, a chastisement would be appropriately served to whip the comrade into shape. Working hand and glove with Koliwe was a tough experience in the early days. She was quite a taskmaster and workaholic. I feared her, but with time I got accustomed to her methods and also got to understand her personality, which brought me closer to her. She became a friend and big sister. I wanted to be like The roots of my journey in activism BY CYNTHIA MANJORO M Y activism journey began in 2006 during my internship at MISA Zimbabwe. I vividly remember that during a trip to Harare to visit the national television station, ZBC, we passed the MISA offices. My lecturer pointed to the offices and I was the first in my class to state that I would like to join MISA Zimbabwe as an intern. So, you can imagine my delight when my CV was selected from among others in the class for me to join the organisation. Armed with the naivety of a 21 year-old second year journalism and media studies student, I was assigned to the information department where I was to be mentored by a seasoned journalist with vast writing experience, and an intern who was about to leave. I’m not going to lie; it was a bit intimidating at first. MISA Zimbabwe is a prestigious organisation whose work on defending and promoting media freedoms, freedom of expression and access to information in Zimbabwe was well known by all journalism students at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), and as I would learn later, in the civil society sector as well. In the face of this prestigious organisation, it felt easy to shrivel and hide. But when life gives you such opportunities, you just can’t let yourself hide. You have to give it your all. And I did. The working environment was very cordial and the team was like one big family. And, as is the case with any family, we had nicknames for each other. Hilton Zvidzayi, the intern who was about to go back to university was “elder”, I was “younger”, the office orderly was “Cde Gono” and the administrator was “Madam Admin”. And to this day, whenever we meet, we still refer to each other by these nicknames. I was assigned both major and minor roles within the organisation and this gave me a chance to not only put my knowledge into practice but to also gain deeper insights into the journalism industry in Zimbabwe. I conducted research with the then Director, Rashweat Mukundu, wrote articles on media violations and did logistical work in preparation for any events that the organisation would carry out. Despite being an intern, I was tasked with spearheading the World Press Freedom Day celebrations in Chinhoyi . I have fond memories of having an article I co-published in the first edition of the journal, Thinking Beyond. I also took to fixing printers or computers in the office and updating the organisation’s website back in the day when this required more than just copying and pasting. While I had no prior experience or knowledge of these tasks, the organisation allowed me to learn to adapt to whatever professional situation I found myself in. What was supposed to be a yearlong in- ternship turned into a year-and-a-half. My internship experience allowed me to network with journalists from different media houses and towns. This proved to be valuable as I had a strong network of journalists whom I could call on for publication of articles and stories I did in my future roles as Information Officer or Communications Manager for different organisations. There were days, however, when I felt that my supervisor, Nyasha Nyakunu, was throwing me in the deep end, but I soon realised this was meant to build my capacity and that he had faith in my ability to succeed. During my last six months with the organisation, I was joined by two other interns whom I worked closely with as they started their journey with the organisation. At that time, I was tasked with heading the Gender and ICT department of the organization, which was no easy feat. Upon completion of my first degree, I went on to complete a Master of Science in Development Studies with NUST and a Master of Philosophy in Monitoring and Evaluation with Stellenbosch University. I have held a number of communication posts but I have also been able to move into programming with no prior experience or professional knowledge. My ability to write clearly and concisely, which I sharpened during the year I spent under the mentorship of Nyasha, has opened up a number of opportunities for me professionally. I am currently the Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Manager for an international organisation and a mother of two. My only regret is that, because of the size of the organisation, I was not able to join them on a fulltime basis upon completion of my first degree. The opportunity came later, however, but I was unable to take it up as I was working for the United Nation’s International Organisation for Migration. Despite this, MISA-Zimbabwe has and will always be, in the words of former MISA Zimbabwe chairperson, Kumbirai Mafunda: MISA yepamoyo (MISA, closest to my heart). ___________________________________ Cynthia Manjoro is currently the monitoring, evaluation and learning manager with an international organisation. her. She would guide me on how workshop reports are written, how to write articles and pushed me to have an interest in digital media, which I am now a full time practitioner in. On the other hand, Nyasha ‘Jena’ Nyakunu, would walk in with several newspapers in his hands. "Mfanami (Youngman) Tamu Tamu, how come you missed this alert?" Softspoken and composed, he would hand me the newspaper to write a media alert and send it to him. After completion, he would call me to his office, point out several corrections and tell me to do it again. And again, he would summon me back into his office; point out another mistake on the retake. This was an everyday experience, but one that shaped my writing skills even to this day. Jena challenged me to write. He pushed me to publish in the local newspapers, leveraging on the peer professional relationship he shared with prominent media houses. I then started by publishing letters to the editor before slowly getting space for opinion pieces. That became the solid foundation upon which I built my career on. Chris and Chido Musodza were also some regular faces. These two were digital security technocrats. It was through working with them that I got to further develop interests in cyber-related issues. They taught us how the internet basically works, how to protect our everyday digital platforms such as social media pages among other issues. Today, I boast among friends and colleagues as an expert in digital security through their assistance. Tabani, ‘Boss T’ Moyo, Farai ‘Fatso’ Nhende, and Jackie Chikakano, were the softest go-to bosses. I hardly had hard times with them; their assignments were easy and could be completed with less hustles. Boss T usually gave assignments that could be unearthed in the resource room library which I could submit even before needed, so were Jackie’s and Fatso’s. At the back office, there, I would find the ‘most loved’ colleagues, Cde Simango and Sekuru Ophias, the finance guys. There, I would go with documents which needed authorisation, reconciliation statements and cash requisitions. It was a quiet and serious office, you would hear the sound of a pin dropping on the floor. Cde Simango was a man of few words, and usually busy on his computer. Sekuru Ophias, jokingly, had time for a little chat before signing my papers. He would ask about my family, my girlfriend and my welfare at the institution. I felt at home. Then there was Sekuru Jose. He was usually the first person I would meet at the gate before work. He was always laughing and would make sure that as in- terns, we would be involved in discussions, especially during meal times. He would sometimes walk down the memory lane with us, being equipped with institutional memories, on how things were done. Indeed, every colleague was there in his or her own way. It was a whole ecosystem with different unique parts working together to form a bubble of life. MISA Zimbabwe became my entry door into the media space. The professional network I made through the institution saw me becoming one of the youngest freelance journalists to publish articles in local papers while still at college after the completion of my internship. After college, MISA was still there looking out for me. I would be invited to workshops. One avenue led to another, and to date, I am the youngest reporter at the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation in charge of three districts, Chipinge, Chimanimani and Buhera. I am proud to trace my roots to this welcoming institution which I am forever grateful to be associated with. Happy anniversary MISA Zimbabwe. ________________________ Tamuka Charakupa is a reporter with the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation and a former intern with MISA Zimbabwe.