Listen to Understand Retreat Overview

The Weekly Guest Host Onita Sibanda (OS) speaks to her colleague, the Director of Ubuntu Circle Initiative Tinashe Muchuri on issues around Listen to Understand (L2U) Ubuntu retreat.

OS: We are excited to share an overview of the Listen 2 Understand Ubuntu retreat. Our very own, Tinashe Muchuri will join us to share more on the topic. We are two weeks from our Listen to Understand (L2U) Retreat. This is the fruits of the partnership between the Institute of Ubuntu at Michigan State University, US and Ubuntu Circle Initiative –Besana Media, Zimbabwe. Why Hwange District?

TM: Thank you for this challenging and interesting question. Hwange is home to multitudes of people from diverse cultural backgrounds. Most people know Hwange District because of its power generation role vested in Hwange Power Company, as a tourist attraction space because of its vast wildlife protected in the Hwange National Park and Victoria Falls Park, Victoria Falls at the Zambezi Border with Zambia, being the link to about five countries in Southern Africa at Kazungula Border Post. Hwange is renowned for being the host to the painted dogs too.

But, the most important thing to talk about is its people, the composition of people in Hwange District. The people shines the way for visitors to enjoy everything found in Hwange District. The district is home to people of Chewa, Kalanga, Nambya, Ndebele, Shona and Tonga, among many others. These people live together here in harmony. They maintain their respective cultures through their tribal cultural chiefs.

Ubuntu is about sharing space, feeling for one another and working together to achieve a common purpose and goal. The people of Hwange District live together in peace endeavouring to achieve sustainable peace, and livelihoods. What binds them is their ubuntu practice. The thread is invisible to the eye as it cannot be touched by the grip of one’s hand, but it is felt as people relate to each other without looking at the tribe of the neighbour, workmate or in-law. It is because of these elements, that the the organisers of the Listening to Understand Retreat saw it fit to convene in Hwange District to drink from the source of Ubuntu, where it is in practice. This is so, in order to reclaim, foreground, and transmit indigenous paradigms and value systems suppressed, delegitimized, and made invisible during colonialism. For the past years, Besana Media has been working with the community in community listening sessions, to positively challenge inequalities and drive positive change.

OS: What are the dates and where are the delegates or participants being drawn from?

TM: The Listen to Understand retreat is going to be held in Hwange District from 29 September to 4 October, 2024. Its participants are drawn from academics, local community communities, ubuntu practitioners, students, artistes, and university leaders from all across the world.

OS: What are your expectations from this retreat?

TM: As Besana Media we expect to emerge from this retreat with new connections which will bring in new conversations that brings great solutions for our community. We will be most glad if people of the world who are going to convene in Hwange District learn something new from how people of various tribes are integrated in one space working towards common good. We hope that the participants who are going to grace the retreat are going to gain not only the urban residents way of life. But, will also have first hand experience of the Hwange District rural life, our cultural practices where Ubuntu thought is practiced without labelling it, for it is our people’s way of life. Over and above these, we expect to be empowered through listening from others.

OS: How do you link the work you are doing on young people and Ubuntu work?

TM: Besana Media is gripped with the issues of children and young people. The future is in the hands of children and the youths. However, a future of uninformed youths is gloomy and dull. It only brightens up if children and youths are given the knowhow. Children are the pillars of success. Today draws from great norms and values of the past in its drive to construct a better future. Human beings are constructed based on cultural, moral, and aesthetic ideals borrowed from the past and ongoing innovative conversations on how the same can represent their contemporary situation and how best they may be conceived and realized. Besana Ubuntu Circle is a humanistic awakening platform aiming at putting good past pragmatic knowledge and practices into action casting the bad knowledge and practices into the composite heap in search for peace and development through executing exemplary lives. Ubuntu thus brings a whole person to the community and this retreat is going to shape our thrust and way we view Ubuntu and Children in our community. Children are a major concern of the world as everything that we do is centred at the interest of children so is Ubuntu gears people to put the raising of children at the centre of the community.

OS: What are the in-community engagements you are looking at?

TM: We are looking forward to have some in-community engagements in both Hwange Urban and Rural. We would like to attend a traditional court in session so that participants can have appreciation of Ubuntu practices in the Nambya community and how justice system is also carried out. In Urban area we would love to interact with community members, and listen as they dialogue among themselves about their community issues. Our desire is for participants to have an appreciation of Ubuntu in practice, and how humans and wildlife are integrated in a community like Hwange District. To see how wild conservation is taking place, we are going to visit the Painted Dogs space to appreciate their importance to humanity and community development. Human wildlife relations are fluid.

OS: Briefly tell us about climate change, drought and the role this retreat can play in bringing ‘thought’ knowledge to practice on indigenous solutions?

TM: Climate change though is becoming topical in recent years it has been with humanity from a distant past. Climate change and droughts brings conflict among community members. The Retreat is not a onetime event but a foundation to sustainable problem resolutions based on Ubuntu, a ‘bantu’ process of keeping the community together. The retreat is going to look at how indigenous knowledge can be used to solve climate change and drought in our communities across and how we share the little resources available amongst us in fair manner. The retreat will afford participants a platform to share the knowledge and see how ubuntu can be utilised across the world. Food is vital and its availability saves everyone on earth. The relationship between human beings and the environment is very important to curb climate change and its products such as natural disasters, droughts, cyclones, wild-human conflicts as they fight for the scarce resources. Dialogue is a tool that helps to settle tension among people of the same community and other communities. The retreat is therefore a formidable event for people to dialogue through listening and understanding each other.

OS: It seems you are bringing solutions to the communities. What support do you need to make this retreat a success?

TM: In our drive to have people enjoy life focused on developing their respective communities, we look forward to cooperation from community members in ensuring that participants enjoy their stay in our beautiful country. We also look forward to those who may support with funding to come on board.

OS: I know from Hwange Ubuntu retreat, there is an inaugural Ubuntu conference in Mutare at Africa University! Why Ubuntu is becoming more popular and urgent in Africa?

TM: Ubuntu is being topical and many learning institutions are pushing for the agenda of Ubuntu because they have seen its value. Human beings require that understanding and commonality in the way they drive for the betterment of resource and idea sharing. Universities are spaces of idea sharing and it is from these spaces that the ideas are then implemented for the good of humanity. The popularity of Ubuntu is a realisation that not only science can bring human good. Ubuntu is holistic, and create humans in various fields of study empowered with emotions and feelings for others. We are not saying Ubuntu is blameless, but it its goodness outweighs its weakness. It is events like this retreat that are used to strengthen it through opening up dialogue. Africa has caused little harm to humanity, the wild and the environment. This is attributed to ubuntu. It is therefore why the world wants to listen and learn about ubuntu ways of life and incorporate it into the modern ways enriching them with a human factor. These events show that the world is paying attention to Africa and Africa is also listening to itself in order to proffer lasting solutions for the good of the people.

OS: Last words?

TM: We are looking forward to host the participants from all over the world with a hope that we will all listen and understand Ubuntu thought and practice and shape our models in diverse communities. It is our trust that the retreat will create a love for our Hwange community and also a drive to have continued collaborations with other institutions within Zimbabwe, Africa and the world. Initiatives that foster a deeper understanding of Ubuntu principles, applicable to future community projects and academic endeavours.

OS: Thank you Tinashe for your time and purring us in the picture. See you at the retreat.

TM: Thank you Onita!