Here is the final part of Pauline Machengo’s story – to catch up on parts 1 and 2, click on these links: https://friendsofpakati.com/2020/04/18/saturday-star-profile-of-former-pakati-student-pauline-machengo-part-1/ and https://friendsofpakati.com/2020/04/23/profile-of-former-pakati-student-pauline-machengo-part-2/ – so welcome to part 3 of Pauline’s remarkable story…it is quite a long one, so please take the time to read and enjoy!
“Hello! Welcome to the last part of my story. I am Pauline Machengo, a Zimbabwean based in Cape Town, South Africa, and I came from Murehwa. I hope you will enjoy and get to know me better, as I’m going to dwell much more on my current life here in South Africa.
Through the economic hardship in Zimbabwe, in October 20217 I decided to look for greener pastures. I was so excited to leave Zimbabwe for South Africa especially Cape Town. A new life, new country, meeting my sister again – I was so overwhelmed. I bade farewell with my family and friends, and embarked on a 3-day journey to Cape Town by bus. This was going to be both tiresome and exciting. I wanted to see what South Africa looks like and what it is like to be in South Africa. I was hoping for a better life. I was really looking forward to all the glitters that South Africa can offer. Unfortunately things are different that side, so sometimes I think that home is best.
After three days we arrived in Capetown. I was glad to meet up with my sister Patience, the first born in my family. It has been long since we were together, eight years apart from each other. When I was in Primary she was already in secondary school😃😃such a gap. In my family we are all five years apart from each other so you can tell that I enjoyed being a baby🙈🙈.
Above all I was happy to meet my three niece’s. These girls are the best in the world. We share same interest lol. They’re into acting, singing, modeling and designing. I always enjoy their company. So…Hello everybody meet my nieces. Before you read just give them a round of applause👏🏻👏🏻.They have been there for me since day one although we have our ups and downs🥰🥰🥰. The elder one is Audrey. She’s nine years old. She’s so hilarious, so multi talented. She’s an actress, singer, designer, comedian, so flexible she does ballet. Followed by Anna. She’s very welcoming, an actress, considerate, humorous, and kind. She’s only 5.
Last one is Chloe, she’s so energetic, flexible, shy, a singer and a fast learner. She’s only three, and I have been looking after her and her sisters in lockdown….I’m spending my time watching three year old Chloe doing some ballet moves. All along I didn’t notice that she’s that flexible. I think I should take her to ballet school😂😂.
Upon my arrival in Capetown, I started working for this company for baby goods. We were making those incredible baby carry cots, duvets and all sorts of baby things. That was a nice experience because I grew up loving sewing. I started sewing when I was only five. My parents were scared that I might hurt myself with a needle since I was still young. They didn’t want me to use the needle but as a kid with passion for sewing and I didn’t comply, so they eventually gave in😃😃😃😃.
After the baby company I worked as an ECD teacher at one of the Educare centres in Cape Ttown, it was a racially mixed school. It was a nice experience working with toddlers but very difficult for me. I was used to teaching adults, so teaching young kids was totally different. I love challenges but this one 😃😃😃unfortunately I couldn’t help it, it just wasn’t for me. 2018 after my failure on ECDs, I started working as a Nanny. I was taking care of two kids, a four year and a three year old. Almost same age with two of my nieces. Having my nieces pulling me from left, right and center made me qualify for the job as a Nanny😃😃. Well I worked there for 3 months but then I quit.
2019 I ventured into entrepreneurship. I started selling clothes and sneakers. I’m still doing it and I’m my own boss now. Working flexible time and having time for my script writing. Yes I’m still doing movie things big time🎬🎬
Last year I joined these guys for filming production. We shared the same sight. This was a pic after our meeting. We were only two Zimbabweans the rest were South Africans. I was happy to be member of this group because I saw it as an opportunity to come out in the spotlight in a foreign land. I was considered as a script writer so I was to edit our first script of which I did, but unfortunately things didn’t turn out as expected. Segregation was present and some were uncooperative.
Following on from some of my experiences at Macheke High school (as seen in Part 2), interaction didn’t end at school. I’m still meeting up with some Zimbabweans in Cape Town to have some fun. Its so relaxing you know spending the whole day with your patriots and speaking your Mother’s language (Shona). Socialising is so essential especially when you’re a script writer. You get the sense from people and have the ideas and stories to write about.
I met this lady Shahid. She’s into filming also and we are preparing a good project together here in Cape Town.
This is my page name for script writing. I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. You can like my page on Facebook and/or find out more.
So after all those experience in Cape Town I missed home. I had missed my parents, my young sister, brother and friends. I was so longing to see them. I had also missed fresh air from Zimbabwe. Here in Cape Town you can count trees that you can see on one hand. Its like a desert. We are breathing polluted air but such is life.
This is me in Masvingo Zimbabwe early last year. I was going home. Home sweet home. This was a best feeling ever. You know just to walk in the streets without fear of being robbed or shot. I was tasting freedom once again from our Motherland Zimbabwe🇿🇼🇿🇼🇿🇼
Meet me and my young sister Rejoice. She follows after me in my family. She completed her A level last year in 2019. She’s suppose to be in university this year but Corona virus had something stored for us 😃😃. I always miss my sister. She’s so intelligent and she’s a sporty person. She has an award for volleyball , she’s an athlete, she was a goalkeeper for Macheke high girls soccer team. I think she took some of the talents that was meant for me🤪🤪🤪. She can’t sing though😃😃😃.
Me and my little brother. The only boy in my family. I hope you all know what he means to everyone. An Apple of my parent’s eyes😁😁😁. He’s so shy but I hope it will all end because one day I would love to have a daughter in-law. Ooh I forgot to tell you his name. His name is Nimold and he’s 11 years old. He’s doing he’s 6th grade in one of the private schools in Marondera, Zimbabwe. Well as siblings we have our ups and downs as this little chap thought that since he’s a boy he can hit me. Well, its not bad to dream but that will never happen or should I say not now lol. I love my brother
Being home is always good especially at our farm. We have a lot of cattle, sheep and goats. I used to herd the cattle when I was growing up. I didn’t like it one bit. That was the worst thing I did whilst growing up. My young ones are lucky because we now have a helper. I’m so jealous. I mean they should experience what I experienced too😒😒😒lol
My parents are still practising commercial farming. They grow cash crops such as tobacco and sweet potatoes. They used to grow sweet potatoes in Chadenga village just like everyone in Murehwa. Here in Macheke people don’t grow sweet potatoes but my parents do and by the look of it you can see that the soil is so rich for the sweet potatoes. My father was proud of his crops thats why he has a picture snapped right in the middle of his sweet potatoes😃😃😃 he’s not kinda person who can just take pictures.
Welcome to the cowgirl side of me. See I grew up around this gun. I love it and I always have a moment with it and of course without my father’s knowledge. Despite the fact that he taught me to hold and fire it, he doesn’t want me to have it. He knows me very well 😃😃I don’t blame him. See I grew up wanting to be a soldier but unfortunately I didn’t qualify, so yeah I used to go to Agricultural shows when I was in Zimbabwe. There I could visit the Zimbabwe Defense Forces tents and have a look on one or two machine guns. I love guns but not the firing part.
So here I am now, in Cape Town. Still pursuing my dreams in the filming industry. I hope one day I will write something about Murehwa people’s social life and have it aired. But what is it like being under lockdown? I have talked about my neices, but that is not everything…
Well this corona virus is doing numbers on me. First day of the lockdown I went for an appointment at the hospital, but unfortunately I didnt make it to the hospital, I got stuck in town. There were no taxis in town and police roadblocks were every where. I spent the whole day sitting at a Shell garage in fear of the police. Unfortunately it was their food cafe😄😄😄 so every five minutes a police car would pull up for them to buy food. Some were questioning me like what I was doing in town when I’m supposed to be indoors. You can imagine the fear I had, given that I’m a foreigner breaching the presidential order. That was my last day going outside. As you can see on my picture above, the streets are deserted. People are so scared and they’re obeying the rules.
Anyway I can go on and on talking about my life. I will come back sharing more of my experience on South Africa. Hope you won’t laugh at me🙈🙈🙈. For now help me thank Mr Walker for what he has done to recognise our area and Pakati schools. Pakati is in a remote rural area, so having Mr Walker putting it in the spotlight is a blessing. I wanna thank him for the good stuff he is doing for Pakati schools, donating computers, sports jerseys and all the things Friends of Pakati are trying to do for both scools. I want to encourage other people to assist Pakati schools through this project, or in whatever way they can too. I have learned so much from him. I think as a society we should give back also to the society that groomed us. Thanks Mr Walker and goodbye guys. Hasta LA VISTA. See you next time.😘😘😘”
Here at Friends of Pakati, we are so grateful to Pauline for sharing her amazing and inspring 3-part story with us! We hope you, our readers, enjoyed it all. This is yet another story showing how people can come from a difficult background such as hers, yet still succeed in life. I know there are more stories yet to be told…is yours one of them? Let us know please…
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