Rutendo Gwatodzo is a culture and change management strategist, HR consultant and the author of two published books – Born to Fight and Breaking the Silence. She is also a columnist for The Sunday Mail and a transformational/motivational speaker.
In addition to being a mother of three, Rutendo and her husband of 18 years are foster parents.
“I love serving in the society and in the body of Christ,” Rutendo told The Weight She Carries.
We wanted to learn more about this dynamic woman and her sphere of influence, so we asked her to tell us about her various ventures.
Tell us more about MRTG Trust Fund.
MRTG Trust is an organisation that aims to transform people’s lives through assisting orphans and the underprivileged with educational support and influencing them to fight and rise from setbacks and continue moving forward. It was established in 2014. Our mantra is “victory is certain” because we strongly believe that your background doesn’t determine your destiny. Anyone can rise from poverty to affluence. My husband, Munyaradzi Gwatidzo, and I are the founders of MRTG Trust. Munyaradzi grew up an orphan, and I grew up underprivileged.
Tell us about your book Born To Fight.
It is my first book, which I published in 2020. In 2021, it was approved by the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education as a humanities book for secondary schools, and it is recommended for tertiary institutions as well.
Born to Fight is a narrative that spans across childhood to adulthood, village life to city life, success and failures, poverty and affluence, friendship and deception. The book unpacked my life story in a very inspiring way, yet it is educative and entertaining at the same time to equip readers with weapons of knowledge on how to fight the battles of life.
I wrote the book at a time when I was going through a lot of challenges in life, and I was on the verge of giving up on many things. I had so many questions which I could not answer. Born and bred as a Christian, I was experiencing a lot of things which I thought were not supposed to happen to children of God. I played the basic roles in church that most devoted Christians do, and I thought God would take them into account and not let me go through certain things. I thought of giving up on Christianity, but before doing it, I decided to communicate with God one last time. As I was in prayer, the message I got from the Holy Spirit became a book.
This is the same message I aim to drive through to everyone – that in as much as we are destined to win, we are born to fight because the victory will not come on a silver platter. If we look at the process of humankind, the reason why people pass their congratulatory messages after a child is born is becausethe birthing process is a battle on its own. Some mothers die during the process of giving birth or some children die. The worst cases are when both mother and child fail to make it.
The battles continue as the child grows up. The crawling, walking, running stages come with bruises, pain and tears. The next stage is going to school. From the first grade all the way to the tertiary level, it’s all a matter of fighting in order to qualify for the next level. The struggle and the fighting continues up to the corporate world where one keeps fighting for relevance, competitive advantage, growth and expansion.
When it comes to our social life, one has to fight as well to find and maintain good relationships. In general, the struggle is real and will continue to be real, but victory is certain when winning strategies are applied.
What was your motive for writing the book?
With this book, I aim to alert people that life is a battlefield, and you need to realize it, accept it and position yourself for victory. Good things do not come on a silver platter. The struggle is real and it is unrealistic to think that life can be smooth all the time without challenges or conflict at some point. However, we do not need to fear challenges because with winning strategies, it is possible to live a victorious life. In as much as we are born to fight, we are destined to win.
What is your second book Breaking the Silence about, and does it relate in your life in any way?
While there are common battles we all have to face in life, there are also uncommon troubles that take us all by surprise. They are sudden, and they are strange in every way. They do not have a readily available remedy on how to solve them. They are new, they are different, and they are what I call “this kind.”
The story behind this book is an account of how I had to deal with a “this kind” of trouble. For me, it came in the shape of COVID-19, but I now realize that “this kind” comes to us all at least once in our lives, and it applies to many different circumstances.
A “this kind” problem usually:
- Presents or reveals itself suddenly.
- Plunges you into a leadership role or increased leadership responsibility.
- Involves an issue everyone is aware of, but no one wants to talk about.
- Is considered too difficult to solve. The usual sources and strategies for escape are of no use.
- Creates a situation or circumstance that backs you into a corner.
- Has no predictable or foreseeable end date.
- Changes lifestyle, and you may lose status quo.
- Comes along with naming, blaming, condemning, pointing fingers and judging from society.
- Can really mess up your mental state.
Sadly, many of the people who go through a “this kind” of challenge tend to put things under the carpet. Examples of “this kind” are discovering that your child has been abused by a teacher or a relative, your spouse is cheating and has another family, the child you took care of and loved for years is not yours, insider sabotage at your company from a trusted and loyal employee, or the sudden death of a loved one.
You may feel defeated before you have even begun. The questions that plague you are: Where do you go for help? How do you overcome? How do you find the light in overwhelming darkness? What we went through as a family is not something that I wish on anyone. It is for this reason that I will not be silent about “this kind.”
What do you love the most about yourself, and how does it impact your work?
I love my mindset. The fact that I have viewed the life that we are living in as a battlefield. This makes me view things from a different angle and to strategise accordingly. I am a columnist in The Sunday Mail, and I did not think I would make it as it was demanding in terms of time. I needed to invest extra hours.
I love myself even more as I am positively impacting other people. This is because of the feedback I get through the articles I write as a columnist. For instance, one person was about to commit suicide and as they read my article on depression, they had second thoughts and changed their mind. Another individual read my article on anger management and changed their behaviour towards their loved one during a disagreement which was probably going to become a mess. This feedback keeps me going as I am able to share my experiences and change the world. I also love working with people through consultancy work, serving in church and team leading.
What is your advice to other women who want to be influential in the community and business?
- Your background or current circumstances do not determine your destiny. Remove your focus from where you are and focus on where you want to be.
- Train your eyes to see what is good. In most cases, every phase of life comes with lifetime lessons though the situation might not be pleasing. Grab as many lessons you can and move on.
- Do what you are passionate about. Money follows passion. When you do what you are passionate about, there is usually positivity, energy and motivation that comes from within you, and it keeps you going. With passion, you keep driving until you probably get surprised by the mountains you would have climbed and the impact you would have made.
- Influence is a result of impact. Continue to transform lives positively and influence will follow you.
Rutendo’s Social Media Handles
Facebook: RutendoGwatidzo_Official
LinkedIn: Rutendo Gwatidzo
Twitter: @RGwatidzo
Instagram: @rutendo_gwatidzo
