My name is Petronella Munyaradzi Munhenzva. I am an author, research consultant and speaker. I have spent the last few years of my life studying. In 2017, I graduated with Honours from the University of Zimbabwe. In 2019, I graduated with MSc from the University of Zimbabwe and in 2021, I graduated with MPhil from Oxford University.
Recently I published my first book: “From Gokwe To Oxford: The Girl Who Dared To Dream.”
The book chronicles my journey: Growing up in Gokwe, Nembudzia, a very small town in rural Zimbabwe (this is me being generous in my description). I learnt at some of the country’s worst schools without books, desks or adequate infrastructure. Despite all this I made it to Oxford University.
I have started working on the sequel to the book with working title, “My Encounter with Blackness in Oxford and No I am not Woke.” In this book I explore my life in this place of my dreams. How did a girl who spent three-quarters of her life in rural Zimbabwe adjust and settle into the culture of Oxford? I explore issues of race, different experiences and world views in the classroom, finding a hairdresser, finding a church, contemplating the world’s biggest challenges from a different vantage point.
Next to my everyday job, I am a coordinator for the Africa Working Group with Young Scholars Initiative. I founded the Munyaradzi Education Foundation, an organization established to support children growing up in rural Africa.
I am the CEO and Founder of APETZiM; a Zimbabwean women led research firm. In my free time I enjoy reading, playing chess, watching sermons, and feeding my curiosity on how the world is evolving.
Petronella Munhenzva 