THE San community in Tsholotsho is still living in fear of sending their children to school following a myth that their children will disappear if they mix with other communities.
This was revealed by traditional leader, Chief Goledema, in an interview with Southern Eye yesterday.
Chief Goledema said according to their culture they were used to staying together with their children and never to separate from them.
“According to our culture we love our children so much that we do not want to be separated from them. Parents fear that once they send them to school to mix with other communities they will disappear and never come back anymore, so parents are cautious of sending them to school,’’ Chief Goledema said
He added that he had a difficult task of trying to demystify this and encourage parents to allow their children to go to school.
“I have been trying to convince them that I, as their chief, go and attend meetings outside our community and be able to come back, I have not disappeared. We thank government for its effort of trying to integrate the San community into the rest of the society because we have some reserved posts in government departments like Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority and Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service,’’ he said.
He revealed that 60 youths from their community have been recruited by the Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service.
Chief Goledema said all those with ‘O’ level passes had been absorbed leaving those without and indicated that they still had a chance to qualify.
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He said:“This has encouraged those that have been reluctant to go to school to do so because they are now seeing the benefits of being employed after school."
The San are a group of indigenous people who are thought to be the first inhabitants of southern Africa.
The San people of Zimbabwe are also known as Abathwa or Amasili in the local Ndebele language and as Bakhwa in the local Kalanga language. The latter groups are themselves referred to by the San people as Abesintwini (loosely translated to Bantu origin).
