The Sunday Mail
By Tanaka Weutonga
When dedication,hardwork,ingenuity and faith meet, the result is bound to be breath-taking, record-breaking in fact.
And if you had asked Kuziva Mahwire about his abilities and what he could achieve, achieving 17As and one missing subject in the Zimsec November 2016 examinations would certainly never been one of his answers.
However, in contrast and to the whole country’s perplexity, Mahwire has toppled a record that has for long troubled many.
Contrary to popular belief and myth though, the journey to this feat was not easy. Sleepless nights, burning candles and a 7 to 9pm class-shift is what Kuziva had to endure for so long a period.
Even the initial decision to write 18 subjects, which he took alongside his genius friend Takudzwa Caitano, was met with negative criticism from most of their peers.
“Very few people encouraged me,” says a confident Kuziva who claims that even though writing so many subjects was not ‘really necessary’, he had always wanted to differentiate himself from everyone else.
However the road did not start there. Kuziva had always been blessed with academic prowess which he says was hidden ironically in his first name.
Having attended his primary education at Eastridge Primary School in Hillside, Kuziva then headed straight to Marist Brothers Boys High School, a mission school in the heart of Nyanga in 2013 to attend his secondary education.
He describes Marist, his school, as “a place where dreams are manufactured” having been made a leader at the school in 2015 as a house captain.
Moreover, success had always followed Kuziva. During the fall of 2016, Kuziva was a member of the Marist debate team which won the NASH National Junior Debate league, him being the national best speaker. Likewise, Kuziva was also part of the quiz team which won the 2016 National School Quiz Championships which is a SADC quiz competition hosted in South Africa.
Kuziva who wants to major in Software Engineering and Computer Science says that he wishes to attend Harvard University in the United States. Kuziva plans to go back to Marist brothers to concentrate in Further Mathematics, Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Management of Business. He says he views the Co-founders of Google Inc.,Larry Page and Sergey Brin as his role models. Kuziva has already started following his dream and is an ambassador of Globe Connect Inc and Shasha Iseminar, both tech startups founded by his fellow peers at Marist Brothers.
Kuziva encourages everyone who wants to achieve a feat similar to his to keep the faith and not to listen to destructive criticism. He says he has always viewed himself as a lion who is unfazed by sheep’s opinions.
Kuziva, however, thanks his parents and his teachers who always encouraged him throughout the journey. He also extends his gratitude to Takudzwa Caitano who he believes has played a pivotal role in what he has become today besides being one of his (Kuziva) role models. Above all Kuziva does not forget to extend appreciation to The Almighty God who, he says, has taught him to trust in Him throughout his journey.
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Tanaka Weutonga, the writer, can be contacted on 0785192588
