“Children are the world’s most valuable resource and its best hope for the future”.—John Fitzgerald Kennedy

She is only 14 years old and lost both her parents at a tender age. She has weathered financial and social difficulties to score 12 points at Advanced Level when most of her peers are still doing Form Two. To top it all, Maud did her ‘O’ and ‘A’ Levels through self-study at home as she could not afford the required fees to attend formal school!

 

 

She has, in the process, set new records as the youngest student to enrol at a university in Africa and will be studying towards a Bachelor of Accountancy Honours Degree at the University of Zimbabwe. Such is the story of Maud Chifamba who recently received a scholarship from the Zimbabwe Revenue Authority (ZIMRA), valued at over $9,993.00 and will cover the four years of her study.

Maud becomes the latest beneficiary from the ZIMRA Charity Fund, which was set up to raise funds for the less privileged members of society. The funds that ZIMRA donates are not from the revenue that it collects because all funds are remitted into the Consolidated Revenue Fund. The Charity Fund is sustained by contributions from members of staff as well as from the corporate world.

ZIMRA introduced a system to instil discipline amongst members of staff in 2001 where members of staff were fined for undesirable behaviour such as being late for meetings or having phones ringing during such meetings, and this gave birth to a fund to support the less fortunate in society. This fund later received support from the corporate world after the introduction of the annual Charity Ball in 2004 where organisations buy tables to attend the fundraising event.

So far, the fund has benefitted several selected homes and individuals as part of ZIMRA’s belief that you have not lived until you have done something for someone who can never repay you. ZIMRA believes that the best way to assist is not by giving fish but by teaching one how to fish and giving him/her all the resources that will make fishing a viable project.

ZIMRA CARES AND SHARES… The whizz-kid, Maud Chifamba (second from left) smiles after receiving the sponsorship cheque from the ZIMRA Commissioner General, Mr Gershem T. Pasi (extreme right) while the University of Zimbabwe (UZ) Vice Chancellor, Professor Levy Nyagura (centre),  UZ Dean of Student Affairs, Dr Munyaradzi Madambi (extreme left) and members of ZIMRA management look on

G.T. Pasi

ZIMRA Commissioner General

Paying taxes builds and dignifies Zimbabwe