KWIDZA COLLECTIVE
Our Story
THE MEANING BEHIND OUR NAME
Why Kwidza?
Kwidza is a nod to Leonard and Emily Gwasira.
They taught their children to keep moving upward in life, not to regress. That teaching became part of the foundation from which my aunts and uncles pursued their lives and achieved something meaningful.
The name carries that family teaching into what we are building today.
Through Kwidza Collective, we want to offer practical support, learning, wellbeing and opportunities that help people move forward in their own lives and communities. That might mean discovering books, returning to education, finding support or taking a step towards a personal ambition.
Keep moving forward, and help create opportunities for others to do the same.
Our vision
A Zimbabwe where people have the opportunity to learn, care for their wellbeing and belong to communities that support their growth, with women and girls able to pursue futures they choose.
Our mission
To work with communities in Zimbabwe to expand access to books and learning, create opportunities for connection and everyday wellbeing, and support women and girls through mentorship, practical skills and inclusive community spaces.
FROM OUR FOUNDER
Why I am building Kwidza Collective
I was fortunate enough to be raised by two teachers. Education ran deep in our family, but what stayed with me was how far my parents were willing to go to give us opportunities.
My mother was determined that her children would have access to a good education. When a door was closed, she looked for another way in. Growing up, I did not always understand the effort behind those decisions. I understand it much better now.
My father loved reading. Books were part of home.
When we moved to Botswana, Friday afternoons became library afternoons. My mum would take us, and we would each disappear into different aisles, choosing books to read and take home. Even after we moved from Matsha College to Motaung, she kept that tradition going.
I read everything from Sweet Valley High and Enid Blyton to Bessie Head and Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o. We had the freedom to browse, discover something unfamiliar and decide what we enjoyed.
Later, libraries came to mean something else to me.
Shortly after moving to Norway for upper secondary school, I lost my father. I was seventeen and far from home. On days when I felt too overwhelmed to go to my lessons, I would go and hide in the library.
At the time, I did not have the words for what that space gave me. Looking back, I do.
A refuge. A place of my own.
That experience is part of why learning, wellbeing and belonging sit together in our vision for Kwidza Collective.
We want more children to have the chance to discover books as we did. I also think about the girls and young women whose education has been interrupted, and those who want another chance but have little support to take it. Marriage, motherhood or a difficult period in life should not mean that someone’s ambitions have to end.
I know a library cannot resolve every difficulty. But access to books, somewhere to learn, and people willing to listen are things worth building.
Kwidza Collective is how I hope to carry forward some of what my parents gave us: a love of learning, the determination to seek opportunities and the care that helped us keep going.
We are at the beginning. We want to start by listening, build something useful with the community and grow from there.
Why the Robert Ezra Library and Learning Initiative?
The initiative is named in memory of my father, Robert Ezra.
He was a teacher, a father and the owner of a beloved bookcase that remains part of my childhood memories. Naming this initiative after him is a personal way of carrying his memory into something I hope others will find useful.
My mother belongs in this story too. She made those Friday library visits happen. Both my parents helped make education and reading part of our everyday lives.
The Robert Ezra Library and Learning Initiative honours my father while carrying forward the care and commitment to education that I received from them both.
Through this initiative, we hope to widen access to books, encourage reading for pleasure and create opportunities to learn alongside others. It is being developed as part of Kwidza Collective, with activities and arrangements to be shaped with the community.
If it helps even one child discover the love of reading we grew up with, it will be worth it.
And I hope that child is only the beginning.
Why the Mukoma Janet Initiative?
The Mukoma Janet Initiative is named in honour of Janet Gwasira, the mother of Kwidza co-founder Phidilia Tambama.
She taught her children to love, and she was deeply loved by her family and community. Her faith showed up in the way she lived: through care, generosity, welcome and attention to the people around her. And I was fortunate enough to know her.
Two lessons she passed on continue to guide this work: Ida hama dzako-love your relatives and your neighbour-and Zvakanaka kuita zvakanaka-it is good to do good.
The Mukoma Janet Initiative carries those values into practical support for girls and young women. It is about making room, checking in, sharing opportunity and reminding people that they do not have to carry life alone.
Through mentoring, encouragement and connections to Kwidza Pathways, the initiative honours Mukoma Janet not only in memory, but through the kind of care she taught her family to offer.