By Uzillah Munyengeterwa Hove – A beacon of hope for women.
In 2014, Uzillah Munyengeterwa Hove embarked on a journey to empower women and make them worthy contributors to the running of the home.
This had been her lifelong dream, having been raised by a mother who was involved in different income generating projects in a bid to help her husband in raising the children.
Thus Today’s kitchen and home was born and women could join ‘rounds’so as to buy household property and save for other income generating projects. Before long, Uzillah was running business seminars so as to train women on how to run successful businesses that would translate into meaningful revenue streams for the family.
The ‘musha mukadzi’mantra helped to spur her on in this quest to have women who could hold their own in the tough business world. This was not only aimed at stay-at- home mothers but also for women who were out of jobs and those who were working but needed to supplement their incomes. Uzillah did not only train the women but went on to assist them to find their passion and then nurture the business and be a mentor until the women could stand on their own feet.
In a space of four years, the organisation has grown to include other sub branches for women wanting to buy cars, get drivers licenses, buy stands, build homes , buy commercial vehicles for business and also travel to neighbouring countries to scout for business opportunities. Uzillah has managed to facilitate group travel plans for women who would otherwise find it a daunting task to travel alone to a foreign country with no information on how to shop or even where to stay.
It is against this background that on the 14th to the 17th of August 2018, a group of 16 ladies including Uzillah, embarked on a trip to Tanzania. The purpose of the trip was to scout for business opportunities and to buy stocks for resale back at home .Uzillah managed to arrange a stress free trip that had all aspects covered, from air tickets, accommodation and travel within Tanzania. These ladies had all attended the business seminars and had been trained by Uzillah before choosing the lines of business for which they had a passion. Uzillah also assisted them in setting up their businesses by helping with Company registration and also tax registration. In Tanzania, the ladies were taken around to meet different suppliers of various goods such as handbags and clothes which are in high demand in Zimbabwe. Linking them up with suppliers will give them the know-how to do it alone should they decide to make follow up trips. They can also join other women who are plying international routes such as Dubai and China. Uzillah also has more trips planned in the future, with the first one slated for China in April 2019 so more women should be able to go and be able to grow their businesses. The women also have a chance to mentor other women who will be newly trained so that at the end of the day, the organisation is about women empowerment and assisting each other to be women of valour.
Uzillah has made a difference in many women’s lives whose testimonies are evident on social media pages and in her book, The Gift of Woman. Livelihoods of families have improved and children have been educated as women take on a more active role in being beacons of hope for their families and the society at large. It is evident that Today’s Kitchen and Home has grown from humble beginnings to become a force to reckon with on the Zimbabwean scene.
As ‘former USA First Lady Michelle Obama said, ‘Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives’. Uzillah is clearly living by this mantra of empowering women to realise their full potential.
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