The Colour of My Voice by Bongani Ncube

I was raped. In the morning I was raped
He came and took what was mine
He came and my destiny was unshaped
He told me it would all work out fine

My land he came and made it his own
My religion went out to the dogs
My language I was made to disown
I was made to worship two nailed logs

He said my ancestors were far from real
That his God was the one I should see
So in front of his altar I was made to kneel
And worship Gods new mother, Mary

My ancestors were thrown to the pigs
Along with the tongue of our mothers
A new song I was now made to sing
In the tongue of his white fathers

Nothing I had was sacred anymore
Nothing I owned could I call mine
Everything I knew went out the door
And still he said it would all be fine

And to my shame I allowed him to do it
His song I sang, mine but just a memory
Into his new world I tried so hard to fit
I tried so hard to change my history

Yes I was raped that morning so long ago
Right to the very depths of my soul
And now regarding myself in the rivers flow
I see that I am no longer whole

Image Title: Piéta Madonnna 
By :              Michelangelo 
Source:       The Vatican Collection

Poem is a copyright of © Bongani Ncube . Bongani is a computer scientist, seasoned writer, observer, critique, educator and talented poet who is pursuing studies in Paris, France. He has featured in many respectable publications, most notably Mail and Guardian and has left his mark as a global changemaker. For more of his insightful 'Echoes of his voice' log onto Bongani's Echoes Of My Voice

The BinItByo Massive CBD Clean Up Campaign Report

The BinItByo Massive CBD Clean Up campaign Report

BY: Ernest Mackina (BinItByo Committee member)

BinItByo: Who Was There?

The BinItByo Massive CBD cleanup campaign was conducted on the 1^st of June and it witnessed a high attendance as participants clocked well into the thousands from the corporate world, high schools and tertiary institutions. This landmark event was turned into a resounding success as it also was attended by sponsors such as CBZ, FoodExpress, ZiFM Stereo,Spar Bonsa, Edgars and Lobels. Active groups such as The Rotaract chapters of Matopos and Belmont, Nust Alumni also graced the event with their presence. It was conducted under the motto “My City, My Pride” and was headed by the BinItByo committee in association with the Proudly Zimbabwean group.

1,2,3 BinIt!!!

The event was kick-started at seven am in the morning by the BinItByo committee headed by chairperson Thembi Zulu as the team and its assistants set up at the city hall. By ten am, registration of participants had gathered pace with Miss Earth Zimbabwe 2012, Dimitra Markou welcoming notable people in attendance.

Getting the crowd involved

After a nifty traditional dance was done by a group of school children, official proceedings took off and the Mayor highlighted in his speech the strides that the city had made in keeping the city clean since 2008. This was then followed by the arrival and introduction of Minister of Environment and Natural Resources Honourable Francis Nhema who delivered a crowd provoking and involving speech that got individuals leading the crowd into song and dance aimed at raising awareness of the anti-litter campaign. The minister thanked Bulawayo For keeping the city the cleanest in the nation. 

The Anti-Litter Petition

The minister then officially opened the “Anti-Litter Petition”, and paved way for over a thousand signatures that were penned on the petition sheet. Team Leaders were then stationed in front of everyone in attendance and these team leaders went about with their teams to clean up the city by picking up litter such as paper, cans, Styrofoam containers and biodegradable material such as fruit peelings and placing them into separated bin bags. This clean up was done by demarcating the city into 95 blocks and dispatching a team leader who was in charge of a battalion of litter pickers. Each group was armed with separate bin bags which were labeled and coloured differently for different types of litter, breathing masks, bin bags and latex gloves. Litter was collected in different bags according to litter type, namely; bio-degradable, plastic, paper and metal. The significance of this was to introduce a culture of recycling which was echoed by members of the BinItByo committee.

Mission Accomplished: City kept clean

At the end of it all, each group then went back to the city hall, which was central to the event and the litter collected was gathered there and collected by BCC refuse trucks

You can join the BinItByo initiative by liking their Facebook page on the link http://www.facebook.com/BinItByo and following them on twitter under the handle @BinItByo and under the hash tag #BinItByo.