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Matimba, educationist par excellence

Crisford Chogugudza Veteran social worker and educationist Violent Matimba passed away on November 30, 2020 in the United Kingdom. She was 76 and is survived by four children and 6 grandchildren. Matimba died of natural causes, not COVID-19-related. Matimba was born Violet Masuku on June 3, 1944 in Esigodini, south of the City of Kings, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. She received her early education at Mabhikwa Primary School in Lupane, Matabeleland North.  Matimba received her undergraduate degree in social work from the University of Zimbabwe in 1987 and master’s degree from Harvard University in 1991, respectively. Matimba started her university teaching career at the School of Social, University of Zimbabwe (UZ) in 1992. She later emigrated to the UK where she worked in various London Boroughs and Department of Children’s Services in the UK until her retirement in 2014. While in UK, Matimba helped scores of Zimbabwe social workers relocate to the UK to practice in the early 2000s. According to her Australian-based son Nhlanganiso John Matimba, she also established and developed the curriculum and taught at South East Essex College Department of Social Work during her time in the UK. At a time of her death, Matimba was reviewing social work publications on a part time basis. She had a passion for teaching social work and practice, promoting children and women’s rights; she liked gospel music and was an ardent church goer. Those who know Matimba well say: “She was amazing and had a formidable intellect.’’ In her, they saw a visionary, a woman with a disciplined mind ready to instil wisdom into many. Matimba’s passing is undoubtedly a great loss to the social work fraternity in Zimbabwe and the UK. She was an excellent academic and lecturer who was very popular with her students at School of Social Work of the University of Zimbabwe, where she spent considerable time as a lecturer and warden at Montrose Hostel in Harare. Matimba contributed immensely towards the curriculum development and teaching standards at the School of Social Work where she taught both undergraduate and postgraduate students. Matimba’s expert knowledge of social work education and practice was an inspiration to many. Having a Harvard educated lecturer in the mould of Matimba was a blessing to many students at the University of Zimbabwe. She engendered a true love of social work through her innovative ways of teaching and her high standards and expectations. In her, high standards, details and focus mattered. A former student described her as ‘“irreplaceable and an inspirational lecturer’’, who was a force for good. The imprints of Matimba’s contributions to social work education and practice will endure and resonate more profoundly with the passing of time. Most importantly, her generosity, wisdom and sense of humour made such a huge difference to those who knew her. Matimba was so much more than an academic and an intellectual. She was a great human being with a magnanimous heart. Her loss has left a gaping hole in the hearts of all who knew her, and she

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