Petronella Munhenzva will be appearing on the David Chikwaza- Global South Indaba on Tuesday the 14th of February 2023. The indaba will be our first and special Edition of the David Chikwaza- Global South Indaba, “Speaking from Experience: How to Land a Highly Competitive Scholarship” series.
On the panel, Petronella will be joined by Cephas Svosve who is currently doing his doctoral studies in Maths at the University of Oxford, Eric Ngang of Birmingham University and US based Lola Aojutiku. All of these panellists have won some of the most highly competitive scholarships awarded by very prestigious institutions including Oxford University and the Rhodes Scholarship program.
Petronella Munhenzva is a research consultant, speaker and author. She recently finished her MPhil graduate studies at Oxford University. She holds Honours and Masters degrees from the University of Zimbabwe. She is currently serving as one of the Coordinators for the Africa Working Group with (Young Scholars Initiative (YSI). With YSI, she has organised conferences in Los Angeles (USA), Washington DC (USA), Bologna (Italy), Ibadan (Nigeria), Edinburgh (Scotland), among many others.
She is also an academic writer with academic publications. Petronella is someone to look forward to on the Indaba platform come Tuesday the 14th. Born on 1 November 1994, in a deep remote rural district of Zimbabwe and ending up at Oxford University, Petronella’s story is something to draw inspiration and audacity from.
FROM GOKWE TO OXFORD: THE GIRL WHO DARED TO DREAM
Petronella’s recent work is the book, “From Gokwe to Oxford: The Girl Who Dared to Dream”. It is an inspirational book that chronicles the journey of a girl who grew up in a rural district in Zimbabwe called Gokwe. The book tells the journey of Petronella’s life, growing up and learning at some of the country’s worst schools without books, desks or adequate Infrastructure. Regardless, Petronella made it into Oxford University, one of the world’s top universities.
The book is written for people that fall short of society’ specific standards for success, people who are at a disadvantage yet are trying to make it. It is for people that need hope and a glimmer of light, people who need to believe through just one more day, especially as we are in very uncertain times.
The book was written when she got to Oxford, and the most common question that she was asked was how she had managed to come straight from Africa and study at Oxford. Also, being the only black graduate student at her college, every conversation she had was about “how lucky she was…,” or “She must be really smart..” or “Her father must be an elite in Africa, a politician, a minister or a king in some African kingdom.”
Consistently, she realised that the path to success was not linear and that the system around it naturally excluded a particular group of people. She decided to tell her story and motivate girls and children growing up like her in Africa and anyone in an impossible situation. It is possible for them to achieve their goals and fulfil their dreams despite their background, bank balance or social standing.
You can buy Petronella’s book here
“FROM GOKWE TO OXFORD: THE GIRL WHO DARED TO DREAM” Documentary
Petronella also made a documentary that tells the visual story of the book, “From Gokwe To Oxford: The Girl Who Dared To Dream.” Her biggest hope is that her documentary, story and foundation makes someone believe in the impossible. Believe in yourself, your dreams and abilities and above all believe in the grace of God that exalts and qualifies the unqualified. Like her book, Petronella’s documentary tells the story of dreams, hope, defiance, focus and grace.
Her journey started in the most humble of places. Odds stacked against her from all angles, and she still believed and hoped. In her own words, “If anyone can take anything from the documentary about the book, let it be that it’s not a question of where you start, it’s a question of where you end.” Despite what society has pegged as the standard for success, your story in all its beauty, it’s flaws matters and it can be a beautiful one. Through the book and the documentary her wish is may her story inspire you to fight for your story.
Please like and SUBSCRIBE to Petronella’s YouTube Channel for more inspirations content
To watch the panel discussion/indaba Petronella will be part of, please SUBSCRIBE to Global South Indaba YouTube Channel
The Indaba will premier Live on Tuesday the 14th of February 2023, starting at 14:00HRS CAT.
You can contact Petronella Munyaradzi Munhenzva at:
+447568999594/ WhatsApp, [email protected], [email protected], www.petronellamunhenzva.com
