Viewing Zimbabwe's Financial Landscape: A Student’s Insight

As a student living in Zimbabwe, I have witnessed first-hand the profound financial struggles that have plagued our nation. The economic challenges we face have had a significant impact on various aspects of our lives, particularly in the realm of education.

From as early as primary school, I could already feel how strained our economy was. We used to have to huddle over a single math textbook in groups of twelve, trying to get through the complexities of long division. I also heard our struggles being discussed in my community and my home. As I continued to grow up and face the same constraints over simple resources, my realization that a good education would never just be handed to my generation on a silver plate made me work extra hard and fight to eventually qualify for a job that would provide for me and my family.

I can safely say, on behalf of most students in Zimbabwe, that having fun and acting our age sounds like a luxury. We've spent most of our time at school buried in books because it is our only solution out of collective poverty. We mature quickly because once you're old enough to understand the financial system at home, you make yourself available for any job that will lessen the load of financial bills. It makes for apt students who work incredibly hard and think outside the box. We are excellent critical thinkers, but at the cost of us forgetting how to really live and value things that are more important than money in our lives. The financial situation in our homes drives ambition in our young minds, but it is also a strong force that sparks depression because these same young minds have been forced to mature early and depend on themselves. We are recognized around the world as some of the smartest, most valuable students all around, but we also lost something that should have been precious to us, our value.