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Carl Maswoswa Youth Interactive Reporter

Midlands State University’s Misheck Jaravaza recently launched his debut novel titled “Road to The Ghetto” at SOS Children’s Village in Harare.

Jaravaza is a 22-year-old thought leader, thinker, prolific writer, and author with a poetry anthology titled “The Virtuous Demon” and other poems to his name.

He has won several writing, debate, and public speaking competitions.

He is currently pursuing a degree in Public Management and Governance at Midlands State University.

He first made headlines in 2017 when he emerged as the winner in the Kasoma Africa national youth essay writing competition which was conducted in partnership with our sister newspaper The Sunday Mail.

The competition sought to encourage young people to write stories showing the beauty of Africa and his story titled “Sweet comes from Sweat My Boy” captured the hearts of the adjudication panel.

In the book, the ghetto is portrayed as a hub of different stories, ideas, thoughts, and identities.

The road which leads to this hub is riddled with people trying to make a living and fighting to see the next day and drugged by religious indoctrination.

The religion in which these ghetto men and women are drugged in gives life to the Marxist adage that religion is the opium of the poor.

The road subsequently shapes identities and also gives a visitor a bird’s eye of how brave men have endured the thorns in the ghetto.

Jaravaza who lived under the care of foster parents said he had grown up as a demotivated character until he had a new teacher in Grade 5 who motivated him to dream big.

“Mrs. Chikwanha instilled hope in me despite the devastating moments of my early life.

“It is at this stage that I believe that the right mentorship lessens the burden of life for young people who have experienced life like mine or even worse.

“Shakespeare would say I cried when I had no shoes but stopped when I saw a person without legs”

Jaravaza’s book also addresses mental issues by cautioning young people not to commit suicide,

“People have often thought of committing suicide as the end game when they were chased out of a place, they called home…It is the oil and hope for a better tomorrow that should keep us going”.

“Road to the Ghetto” was published with the assistance of top publishing expert Mr Fungai Sox who is the managing partner of Harare communications company Tisu Mazwi.

Jaravaza added that poetry shaped his writing and that for him living each day is a poetic moment and it is only those who put it on paper who are the richest on the planet.