Evangelistic Poetry & Zimbabwe’s Adult Literacy Campaign

About the Book

Evangelistic Poetry & Zimbabwe’s Adult Literacy Campaign: Two major assignments by a former BTC Student 1984-87 as the title states are two pieces of inspirational and literary research work written in the form of both a depth study and a major assignment for the Belvedere Teacher’s College departments of English and Education respectively. Due to the time gap of over three decades between the time when I wrote the original assignments and the time I eventually managed to get the two tasks published, I must admit, as I converted the handwritten assignments into a typed manuscript, I felt obliged to alter some parts of it and this was a bit more pronounced in the Evangelistic poetry probably because right from its onset it was dominantly more of what some readers might others might view as personal views or personal convictions which, I however personally view as dominantly ‘divine inspiration’. Consistent with my original intention, the poems seek to function as a vehicle which a reader can aboard and allow the Spirit of God drive them to their conviction or conversion point to experience the new spiritual birth if they have never reached that point before. Hence, in comparison with orthodox religious poems, these are basically preaching poems aimed at winning the reader’s soul for Christ if they are not ‘born again’. Part 2 of the book mainly discusses Zimbabwe’s post independence National Adult Literacy Campaign; problems and progress. It gives the reader a glimpse of the background and foundation work which eventually upgraded Zimbabwe to a status of into having the highest rate of literacy (reportedly around 92%) in contemporary Africa.

About the Author

Innocent B. (Hondo) Chirawu a.k.a. Mudi was born in the then apartheid Rhodesia and as a child lived in what was then known as Chiweshe Tribal Trustland, Mazowe district of Mashonaland Central province of present day Zimbabwe. He went to Salvation Army’s Nyachuru Primary and Howard Secondary. Although Innocent was top set student who came top of 3 Form 4 classes in Midyear Bible Knowledge exams, as a teenager, a bad experience with skunk nearly cost him his final ‘O’ Level exams and his future, but Jesus Christ found him through some of his ministers who helped him make a u-turn on his old lifestyle whereby he used to believe in ‘live fast, die young’ and ‘adhored the hippy culture and idolised one of the late rock stars of the 70’s’. After getting born again Innocent was miraculously healed in an AoGA church revival where Apostle JK from Kenya was ministering as an invited guest (a detailed testimony is Innocent’s first book Memoirs of innocence & Experience). During that same year Innocent studied ’A’ Level English and Sociology at Ranche House and Harare Poly respectively. His first job clerical with Standard Chartered Bank before he resigned into full time church ministry, completed his Diploma in Theology at IBTC in W.Africa. He afterwards graduated in Woodwork and English from Belvedere Teachers College, taught at Mvurwi Secondary School (1988-91) and Seke 1 High (1992-96) then gained his Bachelor of Education from Zimbabwe Open University (Zou) while teaching full time at Zengeza 3 High (1996-1999) where he was also Head of English department before he joined the Associated Newspapers of Zimbabwe’s The Daily News stable as a trainee sub-editor. He worked for the tabloid for approximately three (3) years doubling as graphic designer and assistant chief proofreader while he did part-time editing of undergraduate and postgraduate modules for Zou and also completed his first year in BA Media production before he migrated to the UK in 2001. In the UK, Innocent did further training, graduated from Nottingham Trent university with a PGCE Design & Technology ( Resistant Materials and Electronics/Graphics) and worked mostly as a supply teacher of his specialist subjects as well a general cover supervisor across the curriculum in over forty (40)secondary schools and a few nursery schools through various agencies. In between all this busy schedule, Innocent also studied and completed his Masters in Education Practice degree with De Montfort University (Sept 2010-Sept 2011). Without taking any break, he proceeded to study nursing at the University of Nottingham where against all odds his obtained his nursing qualification and became a registered mental health nurse. In recognition of his rich experience and veteran status in the field of education practice and educational leadership, Innocent was conferred with a doctorate in educational leadership by Riverbanks (USA).