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Constance Kamuriwo Mutunhu (right) at a function to hand over goodies in Kwekwe

Ruth Butaumocho : Gender Profile

Growing up in a family of 10 siblings Constance Kamuriwo Mutunhu nurtured the importance of hard work, sharing and lending a hand whenever the need arose at a very young age. She transported the same values into her adult life. She therefore did not fret when a huge responsibility of forming a charity organisation with like-minded individuals was thrown into her lap.More than 20 years after volunteering to be part of the steering committee mandated to set up Childline Zimbabwe, Constance, known to her colleagues and friends as Connie, feels she made the right decision.

She is the current chairperson of the board of trustees for Childline Zimbabwe.

“I never imagined myself getting involved in charity work but it has suddenly become my way of life,” she said.

Away from charity work, Connie runs her own consultancy company, CMA Consultancy Services, specialising in taxation and risk management, among other roles.

Boasting of a successful career, where she broke the glass ceiling by becoming one of the few black women to attain partnership in a high profile company, Ernest and Young, Connie believes that her success is more grounded in her involvement in the charity work that has helped her to appreciate the values of community work.

It is her involvement in charity work, where she would want her footprints to supersede the marks and track record she made in her professional life.

“I have straddled the globe in my professional assignments, but I have found fulfilment, joy and satisfaction in the work that I’m doing across including in my church, the Seventh Day Adventist,” she said.

For someone who spent the better part of her life dabbling in figures and algebra, while working as tax personnel, she never imagined herself getting involved in charity work.

“Sometime in 1997, I was invited by Dr Liz Rob, who was the President of Soroptimist International (Zimbabwe) to be part of the steering committee at the formation of Childline Zimbabwe.

“I was also a Soroptimist and at that time I was already a member of the then new SI Vabatsiri,” she recalled.

“And because I was the not heavily involved in charity work, I told myself that I would give my time for a while before calling it quits,”

Constance could not imagine how she would juggle her professional life where she had a high profile job as a tax consultant with Ernst and Young, and charity work.

With her mind setting on becoming a partner in the firm, she realized that her hands were full. But taking cue from her mother’s principles of hard work, a solid relationship with God and being content, she realised that she was ready to accomplish her new role.

“After the formation of Childline, where I was one of the founding members of the organisation, I realised that I actually enjoyed charity work.

“Just seeing the children happy and bringing sanity in their lives, made me realise I could do this for longer than I expected, without getting paid.”

When she eventually became a partner at Ernst and Young, her new professional disposition did not wilt the passion she had nurtured during her fulfilling interactions with children from diverse backgrounds.

With her new position, which meant more responsibilities in her work than before, Connie did not scale down her involvement in charity work, but actually took the opportunity to expand her sphere of influence while further pushing the agenda of the organisation right across.

“Becoming a partner in such a huge firm was a huge step forward and also a boost to my career. I had worked hard for it and I knew I had to excel.

“However, I could not neglect my responsibilities and participation in Childline, which had become part of me,” she stated.

For a good 10 years that she was with Ernst and Young, Connie successfully split her time between her work in direct taxation and international tax services and the Childline until she called it quits and joined Metropolitan Bank as one of the directors.

As her professional sphere grew, so did her participation in a number of charitable initiatives, spreading the tentacles to her church and the community.

Seized with the challenges that children, particularly in child headed families were facing in light of an upsurge of sexual abuse, Connie and her team resolved to look for more funding partners after realising that Childline, which initially was a community project, had become too big for the community.

“The initiative was met with enthusiasm from different organisations that were eager to support the initiatives by contributing in various forms,” she said.

Looking back at the journey she has walked with the organization, Connie feels it has been a worthwhile voyage. She contends however that the problem of child marriages threatens to derail efforts that stakeholders across Zimbabwe and the region has made towards the safety of children in communities.

“Child marriages present the greatest challenge to children right across. Their innocence is violated and their future to a better life is threatened.

“We recently lost a girl, who had been married off at an early age. That should not be allowed to continue, hence the massive awareness campaigns we have been holding to conscientise communities on the dangers of child marriages,” she said.

Apart from her involvement in Childline activities, Connie sits on several boards and is the current chairperson of Southern Africa Aids Trust, a South African-registered non-governmental organisation as well as SeedCo Zimbabwe.

A mother to two grownups, Connie has a business studies background with post-graduate diplomas in taxation from Zimbabwe and Australia.

She also has Master’s degree in Change Management and Leadership from Leeds, UK.