“Tragedy…
not the violence by the bad people but the silence by good people.”- Martin
Luther King
Growing up and studying in the Brethren
in Christ Church run Matopo Mission Schools where the values of faith, love, serving
and peace were instilled, I found myself gravitating towards the less common
issues in my country, such as peace building and intentional volunteerism. This
also saw me losing a strong keen interest in sports where I excelled; meaning
my mid-teen dreams of being a sportsperson or, at worst, a sports journalist,
disappeared. I believe working for peace and development is not a job but an
outright calling from God. My name is Wesley Bisset Ncube, I was born to a
middle-class family in Zimbabwe’s second largest city called Bulawayo. My
desire to serve saw me tailoring my tertiary studies to community development
and peace issues as well as project monitoring and evaluation. I’ve worked with
Scripture Union Zimbabwe and World Vision Zimbabwe. As I was finishing my
studies, whilst working for MCC Zimbabwe’s partner agency: Brethren in Christ — Compassionate and Development Services (BIC-CDS), I applied
for the MCC IVEP Program with the help of my local church: Entumbane Brethren
in Christ Church.
I was placed at the Centre for
Newcomers in Calgary, Canada, for a year. This opened my scope and vision for a
peace-loving world. The IVEP experience remains an important turning point of
my career and life. Serving immigrants from war-torn countries like
Afghanistan, Iran and Ethiopia opened my eyes to what the state of the world
is, and that it would take not the silence, but the actions of good people to
heal our land. Joining a team of people who serve tirelessly for relief, development
and peace in the name of Christ at MCC feels like joining a people who refuse
to watch our beloved universe go extinct, a people who are ready to heed the
call for peace. As the new interim SOOP and Summerbridge coordinator at MCC
Canada, I desire to serve purposefully and tirelessly, to learn much and help
the organization reach its desired goals. “Ngiyabonga” (Ndebele word for
Thank You).
