Cover to Cover winner’s profile

Alfred  Tichaona Jaricha
Kuwadzana 1 High School

If we say greatness is achieved, why do some push hard and yet still fail? Of course, we can begin to explain how they made too many mistakes and so forth, but why them and not the other ambitious fellow who built six towers? Does this push predestination into the picture? 

I was born on the twentieth of September in a year of drought, 1992. I did my pre-school at a local crèche in Chivhu and my Grade 1 at Chivhu Primary School. After father’s death, Grade 2 was a new beginning. This gave me an experience of four days at Mutipitipi Primary School preceding a term and a half at Dudley Hall. Though it may seem minor, I find it necessary to mention that I finished off my second grade at Kuwadzana 3 Primary School and completed my primary education there. In Grade 3 I received a prize for the best overall student. That was the only prize-giving held at the school during my time. 

After  stiff competition over the years, I finally scooped six units at Grade 7 with two 1s in Mathematics and General Paper and two 2s in Shona and English — which was not pleasant.
Secondary school was a different experience altogether — less preferable — however, Kuwadzana 1 High School welcomed me with the honour of being the vice-chairperson of the Citizen Child Club.

My first significant achievement in Form 2 was becoming the junior secretary of the New Generation Science Club (NGSC), which was a leading club at the school. Also early in the year, I was introduced to the Writers’ Club by Rumbidzai Ngoshi, who was the current president. In July of 2007 I attended the Young Writers’ Indaba hosted by Zimbabwe International Book Fair for the first time. 

In the same term I scooped the third prize with NGSC at a Science competition held at Zengeza 1 High and our school was nominated the best. This granted our club the privilege of working with the Ministry of Science for a week during the Harare Agricultural Show. In September of the same year, I participated in IntrAfrika, an arts competition hosted by the Zimbabwe German Society (ZGS), acting in a drama organised by the Writers’ Club. That was another third prize. In this same month, I also made my first two publications in a children’s magazine called Young Talk. At the end of the year, ZGS hosted a programme called Youth on Film International (YOFI), and I also participated as a journalist. 

At the beginning of Form 3, I managed to get my first publication with a newspaper — Sunday Mail — in the Bridge. Regardless of being an “O” Level student at a high school, I was nominated as president of a Writers’ Club, . Again I attended the ZIBF Young Writers’ Indaba in 2008, where I spear-headed an issue that changed the choice of schools invited to the event.

That was not an achievement I can look down upon. In 2008, YOFI was held early and I also participated. We also participated in IntrAfika where two of my Writers’ Club groups, Visual Arts and Music, scooped first prizes. 

Drama won second prize. After the competitions in 2008, ZGS invited me to a one-day writers’ workshop. On all these occasions, I was continuously getting opportunities to meet established writers. When I met Shimmer Chinodya, he introduced me to Budding Writers’ Association of Zimbabwe . On September 26, there was a speech and prize-giving day at my school. I was honoured as “the most enterprising student”.

Early 2009 was almost eventless until on March 17 when Zimbabwe Women Writers’ visited our school to present to me my certificate for scooping the second prize in the Junior Advocates competition which they host. I was again nominated president of Writers’ Club. Before the ZIBF Indaba in 2009, I had contested for the post of Junior Member of Parliament, a race which I lost to Honurable Romeo Chatereka. 

The rest of the year I was busy with examination preparations, in which I passed with two Cs in Geography and Commerce, two Bs in English and Technical Graphics and four As in Integrated Science, Physical Science, Biology and Mathematics.

Against my will, I enrolled for Advanced Level at the school where I had done my junior secondary school. However, I was glad that I became one of the first two students to ever do Geometrical and Mechanical Drawing (GMD) in the history of Kuwadzana 1 High. I took up Mathematics, Physics and GMD. 

By this time, I had published my umpteenth article with The Sunday Mail Bridge. From March 14 to 20 2010, I attended a week-long writers’ workshop at ZGS with the likes of David Mungoshi as one of the mentors. This workshop enriched my writing. Because a quitter never wins, I gave it another try for the Junior Parliamentarian position. 

This time around I lost the contest to Honourable Tariro Muranda who is currently the Kuwadzana 1 High School headgirl.  I attended my fourth session of the ZIBF Young Writers’ Indaba on July 29 2010. For 2010, I was the vice-president of Writers’ Club. 

After all these indabas, workshops, and numerous writers’ seminars, one may not be exactly surprised to hear that I was the overall winner of the Cover to Cover short story competition in 2010 with The US Dollar. 

Along with this prize, on the first of October I received the Physics and GMD first prizes and “the best club experience certificate” which were presented to me by the Kuwadzana MP who is also the Information Communication Technology minister Nelson Chamisa.