By Staff Reporter
Tsitsi Masiyiwa and Strive Masiyiwa have opened a window into their three-decade journey in philanthropy, releasing a new book that captures both the evolution of their work and the philosophy driving it forward.
Through the Higherlife Foundation, the couple has published “And Still We Rise”, a reflection on how a response to Zimbabwe’s HIV/AIDS crisis grew into a continental force for social investment.
In a statement announcing the release, the Foundation said the book “explores how African-led, long-term investment in people, rather than short-term aid, is shaping the continent’s development future.”
Voices within the book and the statement emphasise that the journey was never premeditated.
“We became philanthropists not by design but by doing,” said Tsitsi Masiyiwa, chairperson of Higherlife Foundation.
“This book is our attempt to be honest about what that means, the failures as well as the breakthroughs, and to show what becomes possible when you commit to a community for the long term.” she said
The publication brings together perspectives from across the continent, with contributors reflecting on the broader meaning of philanthropy.
Angeline Murimirwa, who wrote the foreword, said the stories go beyond individual success.
“The stories you are about to read are more than individual success stories,”
“They are a testament to what is possible when philanthropy moves beyond charity to genuine investment in human potential.”
The Foundation itself traces its origins to 1996, when the Masiyiwas intervened at the height of Zimbabwe’s HIV/AIDS crisis.
According to the statement, “when Zimbabwe’s HIV/AIDS crisis left hundreds of thousands of children without parents or the means to continue their education, Tsitsi and Strive Masiyiwa did not wait for others; they decided to take action using available resources.”
Nearly 30 years later, that intervention has scaled significantly. The Foundation notes that it has awarded close to 500,000 scholarships and expanded into health, education, rural transformation and livelihoods across multiple countries.
Higherlife president and CEO Tanya Masiyiwa underscored the enduring strategy behind the work:
“Only through continued investment in health and education can we create an environment that will help this generation capture the opportunities of tomorrow.”
As captured in both the book and the statement, the Masiyiwas’ approach signals a shift from charity to sustained development, one rooted in African leadership and long-term commitment.
With “And Still We Rise”, their message is clear: after three decades of philanthropy, the work is not only enduring it is still evolving, and still rising.
