The ManicaPost
Luthando Mapepa
Chipinge Correspondent
IN a move aimed at helping local communities to document, store and preserve their history, a community-based archive has been set up at Mt Selinda High School in Chipinge District with the assistance of the National Archives of Zimbabwe (NAZ).
Speaking during the launch of the facility, NAZ deputy director responsible for public archives, research and library services Mrs Brenda Mavura said such projects are important as they serve as a memory banks of a people’s heritage and empower communities to tell their own stories.
She added that plans are on course to establish more community archives at district level in Manicaland Province and across the country.
“We are excited to be partnering the Chipinge community for this project. Community archives are important as they can be a rich source of history that collects and tells a people’s culture in various forms.
“So we have managed to establish seven such centres in communities across the country. Our target this year is to set up two more community archives in other provinces. This should be cascaded down to the village level. It is also important to focus on under-documented areas to ensure that they are properly archived and can be readily retrieved,” said Mrs Mavura.
Speaking during the same event Home Affairs and Cultural Heritage Deputy Minister, Honourable Ruth Mavungu Maboyi, highlighted the need to promote and preserve cultural heritage.
“Establishing community archives is one of the initiatives being undertaken by the Ministry through the Department of National Archives of Zimbabwe. We are happy that we are making significant progress in that regard. Community archives are an effective tool in preserving the institutional memory of the collective set of norms, values, beliefs, facts, concepts, experiences and knowledge held by a particular group of people,” said Deputy Minister Maboyi.
United Church of Christ in Zimbabwe (UCCZ) president Reverend John Matiza hailed Government for bringing a critical service to the community.
“As the responsible authority of Mt Selinda High School, we are delighted with this development. We are grateful for this project as we can now access documented information on our heritage at our doorstep. We will safeguard this community archive,” he said.
