Tadiwa Svibe
His name means “given love”
Grade 6 · Chamukwenjera Primary School · Chivhu, Zimbabwe
Tadiwa is 13 years old and lives with his mother and his 16-year-old sister. His name, Tadiwa, means “given love” . A fitting name for a boy whose mother has worked hard to give her children the best life she can.
Tadiwa has never met his father.
His father married another woman, and Tadiwa’s mother left when he was still very young. Since then, she has raised Tadiwa and his sister on her own.
A family making ends meet
The family does not have a home of their own. They live on someone else’s property, where they look after the homestead in exchange for being allowed to live there.
Tadiwa’s mother does everything she can to earn an income. She buys milk from local farms and sells it to people in the surrounding villages. She also keeps chickens to generate a little extra income.
It is not enough to make life easy, but she continues to find ways to provide for her children.
She is also very strict about one thing: Tadiwa must go to school.
He keeps showing up
Tadiwa has struggled academically over the years and has had to repeat his year several times. But despite those setbacks, he continues to attend his classes.
His favourite subject is Mathematics, and at school he enjoys playing soccer with his classmates.
When asked about his future, Tadiwa has a clear ambition.
He wants to become a lorry driver.
His school journey has not been easy, but his mother continues to encourage him to keep going. Her determination that he attends school every day is giving him something that she herself has not had: the opportunity to build a different future.