My college graduation was one of the saddest moments of my life. My parents were miles away and couldn’t attend. Only a few extended family members came but my hard work, joy couldn’t be fulfilled with them far away. Although I was excited about graduating at 23 with a Bachelor of Pharmacy Honours Degree, I did not know what I was going to do with the rest of my life.
A week before that big day in August 2017, I got a job at the biggest hospital in Zimbabwe, Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals. A few months later, I was the head of the Drug Stores Department. With life lessons and coaching I got from Makomborero Zimbabwe, I was determined to be nothing but the best. In July 2019, I was appointed to be the Deputy Chief Pharmacist (D.C.P.) at Parirenyatwa Hospital. I was now in charge of 14 pharmacies in the hospital. This post made me the youngest ever D.C.P. at the hospital and in the country at the age of 25. This didn’t stop me from dreaming big. When we were the pioneers at Makomborero Zimbabwe in 2011 it was originally known as Kubhururuka Segondo [Ed. in English: “Flying like an Eagle”) Trust, indeed I was soaring like an eagle at a young age.
On the 13th of July 2020 I was appointed to be the Acting Chief pharmacist at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals setting another record of being the youngest ever Chief Pharmacist at any government hospital in Zimbabwe at the age of 26, being part of the hospital management.
It has not been an easy road, so many ups and down and obstacles. I have lost a parent to Covid-19 in June 2020. It takes determination and being a Makomborero to sail through. An eagle earns its honor from the storms it endures. Walk with wolves, run with lions and soar with eagles. The best part of it all is that it was hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it, and it wouldn’t be so special. Anything worthwhile in life will not be easy to attain, and that is the best part, because it eliminates the majority, who are unwilling to work for.
Denzel Washington once said, “Without commitment, you’ll never start, but more importantly, without consistency, you’ll never finish. Ease is a greater threat to progress than hardship. So keep moving, keep growing, keep learning.” Never stop growing. At the moment I am Master’s Degree fellow at Chinhoyi University of Technology studying Supply Chain Management.
You are your only threat.
By Simba Nembaware
Simba Nembaware was part of Makomborero’s Pioneer Intake of Students in 2011 and completed his A-Level studies with Makomborero Zimbabwe, in partnership with Gateway High School. He graduated from the University of Zimbabwe in 2017 with a BSc (Hons) in Pharmacy.
