Alumni Profile

Name: Blessings Vungano

Scholarship: High school Scholarship (o & A Levels)

Award Year: 2011

Graduated: 2014

Employment: Ernst Young

Coming from an average family of three children, I am the first born and my other two siblings are pursuing their studies at different institutes which are costly. The cost of living has not been any easy as my mother is a civil servant and my father is not formally employed, all that just adding up to the already hard economic environment that we as a country are in. When The African Dream Foundation paid for my school fees they did not give a hand to me alone, but that was it was a celebration of the whole family for a part of life was eased.

“Inspired to lead, aspiring to lead” was the theme of the African Dream Leadership Forum I was graced to attend from the 7th to the 9th of April at Rainbow Towers Harare. It was a lifetime experience whereby the gap between the current leaders and we the future leaders was bridged. With the aspiration of being a Chartered Accountant I was highly inspired by Dr Shingi Munyeza, the former African Sun CEO who took the same path that I am taking right now with Ernst and Young, not forgetting the unique experiences of how other prominent business people made it to the top. More so our mentors that we had played a crucial role in enlightening me about a lot of aspects in life as they shared their experiences.

Now that l was inspired to lead application came next as I vowed to apply all that was planted in me during the three days. As I shared my experiences with my peers at school they got so much inspiration on the possibility of being great ladies one day. I remember how l constantly referred to the experiences and teachings of the forum when someone came seeking advice. To influence further in the community we did an environmental project at Triashill Primary School which left the students positive about their responsibility in being friends of the friend.  The forum was an empowerment to increase my sphere of influence.

Today l write with so much gratitude and owe to The African Dream Foundation for their unwavering support in the past year. As I sat for my final exams I excelled with 15points in my combination of Mathematics, Accounting and Business Studies. On the 5th of January 2015 I began a new chapter at EY as an articled clerk, which is the vision I always had since 2011. In the next 7 years I will write a similar script sharing lifetime experiences having qualified as a Chartered Accountant.