Articles by Keane Matenga

I moved to Bengaluru six months ago to start a fellowship programme. This was my first visit to Asia. I was fortunate my housing was sorted by my host organisation. Most expatriates and students who come to Bengaluru are not as lucky as they have to look for accommodation on their own. For first timers finding reasonable, quality accommodation in a good neighbourhood can be quite a challenge. Ideally, the area should be friendly, the neighbours should be good, it should be free from noise and bare necessities should be accessible. Most expats posted to Bengaluru will have a relocation…

As I was walking into the office on Thursday 21st December to bid farewell to colleagues I was feeling a huge mixture of emotions. I was hugely proud and happy to be heading to a new Zimbabwe but sad that my six months in Bengaluru had come to an end. Bengaluru has been one hell of a journey, one that I am so pleased I had the confidence to do (I can feel tears in my eyes as I write this). There is no exaggeration when I say the past six months have been life-changing. Since arriving in Bengaluru I…

I couldn’t sleep. I followed most news channels and am part of several WhatsApp groups, none of which has anything to do with politics; yet all were a flurry of news — real or fake. Family members on the ground were less sure of what was happening, while those in the diaspora were supplying the information. It was surreal. President Robert Mugabe, who had been in power for 37 years, was under house arrest. The military said they had taken over the country but it was not a coup. While the uncertainty was unsettling, there was reason to hope. I…

I am part of the Idex Global Fellowship Programme.The programme seeks to help social intrapreneurs from across the world secure the best possible start to their careers. I would like to share some of my experiences on the programme and explain why I think relationship-building is the one key quality every future leader needs. The Idex Global Fellowship Programme is, in my view, one of the most exciting opportunities of its kind in the world – but it is also one of the most challenging. I joined the Idex straight from Zimbabwe in July 2017; with no previous international work…

Two months ago, my life changed as I began my first ever overseas work experience. On 1 July 2017, I stepped off a plane at Bengaluru Kempegowda International Airport. I’d never been to Asia, let alone India before. I had no idea what I was getting myself into. However, over the past 2 months, I've learned and  experienced so much, that I'd like to share a few of my thoughts and reflections on 2 months in India.   The African perception of India is so far off. For example, it's not all massive cities with skyscrapers or rice paddies with…

I’ve gotten quite a bit of exposure to living with the time zone difference and dealing with Indian traffic. My hometown Harare, Zimbabwe is in Central Africa (CAT) time zone. Bengaluru, India is on India Standard Time (IST), currently 3½ hours ahead of CAT.When in Harare my complaint is that during the winter I have to get  out of the bed at 5:00 am for our work typically starts at 7:00 am. Here I have no problem as work starts at 9:00 am. Now I have ample time to get to the office. Indian Traffic Traffic in India is very…

I’m currently on a six month Idex Fellowship in Bengaluru, India . I will be writing this blog as I go along and then periodically post my progress. This is my first trip to India, and my only other experience abroad was when I visited Mozambique back in 2013 for a day. Idex is partnered with several Indian social enterprises to provide placements for fellows. For the next six months, I’m working with Oorvani Foundation,a not for profit community media organization based in Bengaluru. It has different initiatives such as Citizen Matters (an online community news platform), Open City and…