She is a wife, a mother and a full-time entrepreneur in her own right, but Root Back Foundation founder Thelma Maina is determined to make a difference in the lives of others.
Her inspiring journey led her to establish Root Back Foundation, a transformative initiative that aims to empower individuals and communities.
Maina said the idea to form the organisation was as a result of her personal experiences with a family member who had fallen with the wrong crowd.
“My motivation to start Root Back stemmed from a personal experience with my young sister who had fallen with the wrong crowd. The experience taught me that without the requisite and consistent nurturing and guidance, our young people can get lost.
Determined to assist my sister and prevent other children from going down a similar path, I then delved into research and discovered that some families unknowingly contribute to the negative behaviours of their children. Root Back is thus taking us to the drawing board and redefining how we should raise our families and communities dating back to our very foundational stages as a people,” Thelma said.
To achieve its goals, Root Back, is working with other progressive stakeholders to realign today’s generation to achieve morally upright behaviour and fight other vices like drug abuse as well as gender-based violence.
The organisation has recently partnered with International Wellness Centre in Ruwa, for comprehensive programme aimed at complementing government efforts in fighting drug abuse and other social vices.
The initiative also roped in Dendera musician Tryson Chimbetu who has successfully dealt with substance abuse challenges.
“Root Back is all about realigning today’s generation so that instead of vilifying them as a lost group, we redirect them towards the rights values and ethos that define who we are as a people,” she said.
“I believe that is the first step towards bringing this generation back.
“Yes, government is playing its part with ongoing outreach programmes aimed at instilling our values and culture.
“Even more important is the national fight against drug and substance abuse and we are happy to have roped in Tryson Chimbetu, a substance abuse survivor in our work.
“His story is inspiring and we hope it brings hope amongst the victims of substance abuse.”
While finding the right path towards personal growth and development is challenging Maina, said she was determined to make a difference in the lives of others.
“My personal experience with family members wasting away to general degeneration of society especially with this Ama2K narrative pushed me to establish Root Back Foundation, a transformative initiative that aims to empower individuals and communities,” she said.
“We want to be all encompassing so that we engage and rope in all the relevant stakeholders in child and community development.
“Our policy makes, parents, churches, schools and development organisations all have a role in realigning our generation towards the necessary good. We must all root back.”
Through Root Back, Maina intends to harness powerful tools to initiate transformation and uplift societal well-being.
“With a strong emphasis on parental involvement, Root Back seeks to provide guidance, support, and educational resources to families, enabling them to nurture positive values and behaviours in their children,” she said.
“We are bridging the gap between parents, teachers, and communities and we envision a future where individuals grow up with strong moral foundations and a sense of responsibility to their communities.”
Root Back is built upon the core values of culture, respect, and growth. We all come from culturally rooted families and a religion that cherishes African traditions hence the need to embrace God’s work and cultural values to positively impact communities.
Maina said her organisation has created a network of 23 young people whom they are working with towards wholesome empowerment.
“In Harare alone, we have created a network of 23 young people who we are working with so that we facilitate scholarships for further education. We are also working at facilitating employment opportunities so that they can undertake block release studies with local universities.
“We have also helped some of them into small scale retail where they are selling pesticides and drinks with mobile carts to ensure some income towards their dreams.”
