Jairos Jiri
Encyclopedia
Jairos Jiri was born in 1921 in the Mutenyami Village in Bikita
, Masvingo
,close to Chitsanga Primary School. He was a philanthropist.In the early day of his childhood he had a dream of helping the disabled people. He started creating facilities in the 1940s for disadvantaged and disabled people in Rhodesia
/Zimbabwe
, using Christian principles of charity, patience and non-judgmental tolerance. The Jairos Jiri Association
was founded in Bulawayo
in 1950. The art centre outlet for the association quickly achieved prominence and by the 1960s was a prime source of curios for tourists. These items were made by disabled people and included tiles and tiled tables and wall plaques, carvings, pottery, painted artworks and sculptures. His rehabilitation centre in Bulawayo also fostered music and dance. By 1974 the centres had expanded and diversified to include homes for the disabled, and legal representation was gained locally and in the United Kingdom. Jairos Jiri centres and his philosophy are still a major resource for community action and charity in Zimbabwe. Jairos Jiri had 18 children in total and was divorced three times. He lived with his last wife Ethel Jiri and their six daughters: Patience, Precious, Primrose, Priscilla, Penelope and Pamela who was 11 days old when he died in 1982. Ethel Jiri died from throat cancer and was buried alongside her husband in Bikita - Mutenyami village. Jairos Jiri was accorded a national hero's status in 1982 but his brother Ziwumbwa refused as he wanted him to be buried in the village. Jairos was buried in the Mutenyami Village in Bikita and the burial was attended by prominent people including the then Prime Minister
of Zimbabwe
Cde Robert Gabriel Mugabe.
Bikita
Bikita is a district in the Masvingo Province of Zimbabwe. It is located about 80 km east of Masvingo. Its name probably is derived from the Shona word Dikita which means antbear, which describes the shape of a nearby hill. The district was previously known as Denga which means up in the clouds and...
, Masvingo
Masvingo
Masvingo is a town in south-eastern Zimbabwe and the capital of Masvingo Province. The town is close to Great Zimbabwe, the national monument from which the country takes its name.- History :...
,close to Chitsanga Primary School. He was a philanthropist.In the early day of his childhood he had a dream of helping the disabled people. He started creating facilities in the 1940s for disadvantaged and disabled people in Rhodesia
Rhodesia
Rhodesia , officially the Republic of Rhodesia from 1970, was an unrecognised state located in southern Africa that existed between 1965 and 1979 following its Unilateral Declaration of Independence from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965...
/Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
, using Christian principles of charity, patience and non-judgmental tolerance. The Jairos Jiri Association
Jairos Jiri Association
A philanthropic organisation set up in 1950 in Bulawayo, Rhodesia to support and train disadvantaged people. The founder, Jairos Jiri, using Christian principles, wanted to help individuals who previously had been marginalized and rejected...
was founded in Bulawayo
Bulawayo
Bulawayo is the second largest city in Zimbabwe after the capital Harare, with an estimated population in 2010 of 2,000,000. It is located in Matabeleland, 439 km southwest of Harare, and is now treated as a separate provincial area from Matabeleland...
in 1950. The art centre outlet for the association quickly achieved prominence and by the 1960s was a prime source of curios for tourists. These items were made by disabled people and included tiles and tiled tables and wall plaques, carvings, pottery, painted artworks and sculptures. His rehabilitation centre in Bulawayo also fostered music and dance. By 1974 the centres had expanded and diversified to include homes for the disabled, and legal representation was gained locally and in the United Kingdom. Jairos Jiri centres and his philosophy are still a major resource for community action and charity in Zimbabwe. Jairos Jiri had 18 children in total and was divorced three times. He lived with his last wife Ethel Jiri and their six daughters: Patience, Precious, Primrose, Priscilla, Penelope and Pamela who was 11 days old when he died in 1982. Ethel Jiri died from throat cancer and was buried alongside her husband in Bikita - Mutenyami village. Jairos Jiri was accorded a national hero's status in 1982 but his brother Ziwumbwa refused as he wanted him to be buried in the village. Jairos was buried in the Mutenyami Village in Bikita and the burial was attended by prominent people including the then Prime Minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe is a landlocked country located in the southern part of the African continent, between the Zambezi and Limpopo rivers. It is bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the southwest, Zambia and a tip of Namibia to the northwest and Mozambique to the east. Zimbabwe has three...
Cde Robert Gabriel Mugabe.