Chido on The Verve

“There is power in words. God’s words have power, so if I’m created in His image, then my words also have power.” Chido drops this wisdom at the beginning of our conversation when asked why she writes. She strives to create feeling through her words by making them relatable and by using her writing to make people connect with each other and with the world around them.

Chido Ranganayi is a young Zimbabwean studying Accounting and Finance in Swansea. While pursuing her studies, she also shares thought provoking and perceptive prose, poetry and sometimes spoken word (some of which has featured on ZBC). Using her Instagram and Weebly blog as her platforms, she posts pieces of her own thoughts and experiences that also speak to other young people within her reach.

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Quick Questions With Chido

Why do you post your work on Instagram and on your blog?

I use Instagram mostly for my poetry, because it’s easier to reach people from there. My blog however, is where I share my more personal posts.

Has being away from home affected your writing in any way?

Not necessarily because my writing has neither improved nor regressed because I’m away from home. My perspective has definitely shifted though.

What is your take on writing about the current situation in Zimbabwe?

I feel it’s necessary to speak out and create awareness because awareness is half the fight. It upsets me that some people are turning their backs on Christ. I also think about how using my voice and my small platform to speak out affects other people and myself. I pray about it and I always want to write from a place of true inspiration. I don’t want my voice to be empty.

“There’s too much bad in this world for you not to be good, and there’s too much good in the world for you not to be thankful. There’s too much to be thankful for, for you not to create opportunities for other people to be thankful too.”

You’ve also taken on other serious topics on mental health. Can you talk about why you delved into your latest blog post on anxiety?

I was going through a lot and I realised that while many people discuss their experiences in retrospect, I wanted to write about the anxiety I was dealing with in the moment. I wanted to write as I was going through my situation to help me deal with it and hopefully inspire someone else.

In the past, a lot of the older generations in Africa often misunderstood mental illness and simply ruled it off as being demonic for example, with little explanation as to their reason behind that conclusion. I can see how the enemy would take advantage of our struggles, but that's not to say every situation is demonic. I really wanted to make people dealing with it know that they are not alone and that I have felt some of what they have felt before. A lot of people assume I have it all in life but as every human, there are a lot of imperfections and struggles that they don’t see. This was my way of showing my humanity.

I believe it (anxiety) is necessary to be spoken about, but not glorified. I’ve learnt to acknowledge it and learn from it but not lean on it.

Have you ever received negative feedback on your posts from social media?

I have had people disagree with me and fortunately I have been raised to be open to different views and respect them. I have learnt that it’s ok to disagree and encourage dialogue.

As a result of the pressures of social media however, I have had to take myself away from Instagram sometimes to assess what writing poetry meant to me and I needed to make sure I was writing authentically and remaining true to myself.

What are your goals for your writing?

I am currently working on a book, a poetry anthology, that I want to get published before I turn 25. I also have ideas for writing non-fiction and fiction. Fortunately, I have a lot of support in my writing from back home because that’s where the people who have seen my journey in writing are. If I were to stay here in Swansea however, I would also have a lot of opportunities to publish.

My lifelong goal is to establish publishing houses in Zimbabwe and then later on in other parts of Africa to encourage local writing and so that we don’t always have to outsource.

What was the last book you read?

‘Becoming’ by Michelle Obama. I loved it!

What is your favourite book and who is your favourite author?

My favourite book is ‘Outliers’ by Malcom Gladwell and my favourite author right now is Dr Myles Munroe. I think he was so in tune with God, he’s written a lot of books that I want to read.

“You cannot unlearn self worth. Once you realise your infinite value on this earth, you can never change that mind.”