Midlands State University (MSU) Surveying and Geomatics 4th year student Kumbirai Matingo clinched a Private Sector Youth Inclusive award in the Outstanding Services and Achievements category at the 4th African Youth Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs) Summit held from 9 to 11 March 2022 in Addis Ababa Ethiopia.
The awards appreciated efforts of young men and women involved in initiatives and projects that promote SDGs and youth inclusiveness in Africa during the COVID-19 pandemic era.
Award recipient and MSU Surveying & Geomatics student Kumbirai Matingo is the founder and leader of a team of recent graduates and current students in the field of Surveying and Geomatics.
Matingo founded African Surveyors Connect, an organization that spearheads initiatives that promotes SDGs in Africa under the COVID-19 Hub for Zimbabwe Initiative.
Kumbirai Matingo believes that awards such as these help encourage youths to place their hands on the deck and find local sustainable solutions to the problems that Africans face.
“I am super excited to have been awarded this accolade which in many ways is a true indication that my efforts have been recognized on a regional level and also that there is a need to keep working to achieve SDG 3 which promotes good health and wellbeing.
“The major aim is working tirelessly to improve healthcare services by means of providing digital health strategies through the power of location intelligence.
“This award has served as motivation even to the people that I now work with who are fired up to keep bringing innovative solutions that will empower Africa even after the COVID-19 pandemic that we are currently facing,” he said.
The 4th African Youth SDGs Summit was supported by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), OXFAM, Youth Advocates Ghana, AKO-Foundation, and the United Nations Development Programme among other development partners.
The Summit helped young people from all corners of Africa improve their knowledge, facilitated collaborations and promoted the use of innovative minds to create sustainable solutions to problems facing African people during and after the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Summit ran under the theme: Youth Resilience in COVID-19 era; Pathways to accelerate actions towards achieving SDGs.
It covered issues such as climate action as an investment opportunity, making use of local resources to come up sustainable solutions for local communities and encouraged youths to create vibrant conversations around the inclusion of people with disabilities in the initiatives set to promote SDGs.
Kumbirai Matingo is currently working with other MSU companions namely, Thelma Moyo (alumni), Letwin Pondo (current student) and Joseph Jongwe, a University of Zimbabwe alumni in other related initiatives that are conducted through the African Surveyors Connect.