I meet somebody and they say,
“Hey Tom what, what…” they are
bemused by the whole thing. Even
my daughter in South Africa, when
we go to a restaurant and you
know that South Africa is full of
Zimbabweans; they say, “Hello
Tom!”, that kind of thing, they find
it amusing but unfortunately it
hasn’t led them to really taking
acting seriously. (Laughs)
Hopefully that will change with
time.
GM.: So I see that you would
want your children to take up
acting?
Ben: Yes I would. I think that it’s a
good profession that requires
dedication, high levels of creativity;
it’s not easy to be someone else. So
I would like Tamuda to be an actor
because he’s the one that enjoys
that sort of thing. He loves the
drama.
GM.: How do you rate yourself
as a dad?
Ben: Phew! On a scale of 1 to 10, I
would put myself at 6 because I’m
still a work in progress. I would
like to spend my time with all of
my children. Yeah, that’s the key
thing to be there for them.
GM.: What wishes/hopes do you
have for your children?
They shouldn’t just pass through
like a breeze; they should be able
to leave something. They should
leave a legacy; you know Jasmine
Mahaka when she is ninety, young
people should still find her
relevant.
GM.: What advice would you
give to other dads out there?
Ben: I would say make time for
your children. If we are not there
spending time with kids it doesn’t
work, be there for them. That’s
very important.
Tommy Deuschle
(CEO Emerging Ideas&
C Media and Youth
Pastor at Celebration
Ministries
International)
He comes from one of the most
influential families in ministry in
Zimbabwe. With a father who is a
great teacher of kingdom dynamics;
a mother who sings and leads one
of Africa’s best choirs and of
course, a young pastor himself, it’s
easy to see that the apple did not
fall far from the tree as the ministry
is moving onto the next generation.
GM.: How did you react to the
news that you were going to be a
Ben: You know I hope that they
achieve their full potential and that father for the first time?
as parents we help them achieve
their full potential. I want them to Tommy: For the first time. I don’t
think that I felt ready of course. know
find true love because that’s
when you are just a husband and
important. And I want them to
be…, I want their lives to be
meaningful to society.
18
wife, you could be a little bit more
careless, do a little bit more travelling, the
house could be falling apart and you’re
okay. But when you know that you are
bringing in another life into the world,
you want to make sure that the life that
you are bringing them into is a secure one.
So it got me thinking responsibly.
GM.: What do you remember about the
day your son was born?
Tommy: The day he was born, I remember
my respect levels for my wife were times
by a 100 because of what she had to go
through, I was in the delivery room. And I
remember that first initial bond betwee