Our Team

Gerald holds a medical degree from the University of Zimbabwe. He brings vast knowledge and experience gained through his expansive work in various roles in Zimbabwe, South Africa  and Australia. These include, among others, head of Accident and Emergency Department at Parirenyatwa Group of Hospitals, senior medical officer for the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia, and Senior Clinical Lecturer at the University of Sydney’s School of Rural Health in Dubbo. Since attaining his medical degree, Gerald has continued to engage in continuing medical education with notable  universities in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. He is passionate about developing his country of origin and wants to see young people gain the necessary skills and experience to contribute to the development of their country.  By increasing access to tertiary education to young people from socio-economically disadvantaged backgrounds, Gerald believes that they will be empowered  to improve the standard of living of their families and communities.

Marcia was born and raised in Zimbabwe. She holds a PhD in Marketing and brings with her vast academic experience acquired from her research and teaching roles in Australia and USA. In addition to teaching and research, she also mentors and advises students from minority backgrounds and first-generation university students. Marcia believes in the power of collaborating and sharing life experiences with students from minority backgrounds, and how this helps to shape their success at university and later in their professional lives. Marcia also believes deeply in the power of higher education to support young Zimbabwean leaders, who are aspiring to break the cycle of multi-generational poverty in their families and communities. Having managed to advance her higher education through various awards and scholarships, Marcia would also like to see bright young minds being afforded the same financial opportunities that she was fortunate enough to have.

Vimbainashe was born in Zimbabwe and migrated to Australia at age of 8yrs. She attended her primary and secondary education at Macquarie Anglican Grammar School in Dubbo where she was the school captain in her final year of school. She  is currently undertaking her Bachelor of Law and Bachelor of Commerce degrees at the University of Wollongong and hopes to practice as a commercial lawyer upon graduating. As a community leader in the residential community  of the University of Wollongong, she is tasked with facilitating social engagement and building positive relationships within her residence. Because of her experience growing up in Zimbabwe and Australia, Vimbainashe is passionate about making education widely available and increasing opportunities to empower oneself.

Rowland is a seasoned Chartered Accountant with financial management experience gained through executive level exposure in organisations spanning from banking, insurance, asset management, manufacturing among others. A member of both the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Zimbabwe (ICAZ) and Australia and New Zealand (CAANZ), he completed his articles of clerkship with KPMG.
Rowland is currently practising as a Public Accountant in Australia advising both SMEs and SBEs, entities which contribute immensely to economic development and employment with the appropriate level of support. He enjoys nurturing and mentoring these entities to achieve their full potential and hopes to have some success stories from the sponsored candidates as they embark on their life after tertiary education. Outside of accounting, Rowland is an ardent cattle farmer.

Pethidia was born, bred and educated in Zimbabwe. She now calls Australia home where she lives with her family.  She is passionate about the education of disadvantaged communities especially women.  She strongly believes the African Proverb that says, “If you educate a woman, you educate a village.”
She is a practising medical practitioner who graduated from the University of Zimbabwe. She holds a fellowship of Royal Australian College of General Practitioners and a Master’s Degree in Public Health and Tropical Medicine from James Cook University. She is a family physician who has worked in various roles in general practice including Aboriginal Medical Services and the Royal Flying Doctor Service of Australia. She runs a remote outreach clinic where she specialises in women`s health.
 

Versatile economic and social development practitioner supported by over 10 years’ commercial banking experience, over three years’ business consultancy experience and over 15 years as a development practitioner. Mbeki is currently a Business and Financial Services Advisor for the Opportunities for Youth Employment being implemented by SNV Zimbabwe. His specific areas of expertise range from design, development and testing of financial and non-financial services adapted to youth needs, using human-centric design approaches, to financial innovation to promote youth inclusion and empowerment. He has worked on financial inclusion for the past 13 years in interventions aimed at supporting financial institutions in developing, pilot testing and rolling out credit and savings products for smallholder farmers, youth and youth enterprises. He has been involved in developing digital finance solutions, promoting agent banking, credit scoring and mobile money and its link to financial inclusion. His role also involves establishing viable commercially driven market linkages between youth enterprises and various private sector players within agriculture value chains, energy and green enterprises.
Mbeki is a holder of a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Studies, a Master’s degree in Business Management, a diploma in Bank Credit Management, a Microenterprise Development Certificate and a Finhold Certificate in Bank Credit Management.

Godswill holds an Honours Degree in Mining Engineering, attained at the University of Zimbabwe. Over the past 21 years of his mining experience, he has worked in different mining companies in various capacities ranging from operations leadership, mine planning and mine design, both in Zimbabwe and Australia where he moved to with his family in 2011.
Mentoring and counselling, Godswill believes, come naturally for him, and throughout his life experience, he has had many proteges both formally and informally. “The good thing is that they will always remember, because sometimes I forget, having seen many through. It then becomes such a precious testimony”
Godswill believes in the power of education to make the world a better place, through linking of people with similar intentions of making a positive difference.

Tate is a Chartered Accountant based in Australia. She was born in Harare, Zimbabwe where she completed her primary education before proceeding to an Anglican boarding school for girls for her secondary education. Tate completed her undergraduate BCom degree at University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa, before moving to Australia to study for Master of Professional Accounting at Macquarie University in Sydney. She currently works for an accounting firm in Sydney.
Tate has a desire to see young people achieve their dreams. In particular, she is passionate about empowering the girl child to become autonomous and be able to determine their destiny. This is against a cultural background of women not afforded the same opportunities as men or allowed to make decisions that affect their lives.

Vongai is an experienced clinical social worker based in Darwin, Australia. She was born and grew up in the townships of Zimbabwe.  She attained her Bachelor of Clinical Social work degree from University of Cape Town and a Masters of Social Work from University of Western Cape in South Africa. Vongai worked as a social worker in South Africa before migrating to Australia 8years ago.
In her current role, Vongai mentors social work students as well as newly qualified social workers. “For me, being a mentor is a learning opportunity as we can both share ideas and knowledge, and it gives me the opportunity to self-reflect on my profession. I hope that I will be able to make a positive impact on someone’s life and career”
Vongai is passionate about promoting social justice and advocating for vulnerable individuals.

Dr Kudakwashe Chani is a public health physician with over 25 years of experience spanning clinical and public health program management. He has worked in several countries in southern Africa, Australia and the Pacific. Dr Chani has held senior executive positions in government, non-governmental organisations and private healthcare consulting. He holds a medical degree from the University of Zimbabwe, Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of South Africa (UNISA)  and Master of Business Administration from Regent Business School in South Africa. Dr Chani is currently pursuing a PhD in public health with the Australian National University. He is passionate about helping others to fulfill their purposes in life.

Tatenda is chartered accountant with over 10 years of experience working in finance, mainly in the aerospace engineering sector in the United Kingdom. She holds an undergraduate degree in Business Studies. Her hobbies include netball, canoeing, travelling, reading, gardening and watching documentaries.
Tatenda hopes to bring the skills that she gained through education, employment and life experience, to the students supported by the charity. “I am honoured to be part of Simba reDzidzo mentorship team as it’s a charity that is making a real impact to students in Zimbabwe.”

Tanaka is a clinical pharmacist based in the United Kingdom. She holds a Master’s degree in Pharmacy from University of Nottingham. In her is current role working with NHS, Tanaka also mentors trainee pharmacists during their internship year. 
Tanaka enjoys using her skills and knowledge to help others. She believes in lending an ear and being another pair of eyes to help the next generation of pharmacists fulfil their potential.