Mwana kuberekwa vaviri, mugota hamuchemi kacheche

Kune zvimwe zvinhu zviri pachena kuti zvaitwa kana kuti zvinoitwa nevaviri.

Conceiving a child requires two people, there are no cries of a baby in the bachelor quarters.

Some things cannot be done by one person alone but require a partnership.

The proverb uses the imagery of conception to highlight that it is not possible to have a child by one person. The term “kuberekwa” is not however confined to conception in our culture and can be used also to refer to the raising of the child. Coupled with the imagery of the bachelor’s quarter, it also means that children are not brought up in the bachelors quarters but in a home built by two people. By referring to the absence of children in the bachelor quarters, the message would also seem to mean that there is no child without a father which has the added teaching on paternal responsibility.

The proverb is meant to encourage partnership and mutual responsibility and accountability particularly in the family. It is applied particularly to parents to encourage them to work together for the cause of the family and rearing their children. Indirectly the proverb also encourages men to marry since there are no children in the bachelor quarters.