Physical Health Zimbabwe Project #26946

Build 2 Classrooms for 400 Children in Zimbabwe

by Community Foundation for the Western Region of Zimbabwe

Project Report | Sep 12, 2017
Progress on Vision of a new School

By Stewart Mantula | Project Leader

Grade 7 pupils hoping to do form 1 next year

A young and intelligent grade seven pupil of Mangwe District – is ready for life and geared to further her education through enrolling at the nearest secondary school next year. She has dreams of becoming a doctor one day or even a professor and also contribute to the development of her community. Perhaps one day she will be an honourable person travelling from continent to continent like all the famous people she has read about in the newspapers. This enthusiasm and passion for education is quickly washed away by the daunting idea of having to walk 20km a day to the nearest secondary school. For these young children, the idea of pursuing further education comes with risks such as rape, kidnapping and unwanted pregnancies.

Approximately four hundred children from four villages in Mangwe District, Matabeleland South Province are faced with similar challenges. With the knowledge that education provides the getaway to a better life, community members from these four villages have begun the process of building a school – Mpukane Secondary School - for their children using locally available resources. With most of the community members unable to meaningfully contribute to the cause and external support seeming not forthcoming, progress has been slow.

Encouraged by the communities’ determination and enthusiasm, Community Foundation for the Western Region of Zimbabwe (CFWRZ) sought to provide external support through soliciting funds using the Global Giving platform. The construction of the school is expected to achieve the following outcomes:

Reduction in the school dropout rate
Reduction in the risks e.g. rape, encountered by the children on their long walks to school
Improved pass rate
Improved social behaviour amongst young people

This report details progress that has been made in the construction of Mapukane Secondary School. It gives a detailed breakdown of the funds received so far and how they have been utilised. The report also outlines efforts which have been made to mobilise more resources for the school.

In the last reporting period in June 2017, the project Build 2 Classrooms for 400 Children in Zimbabwe (#26946) had received funding amounting to US$2 412, 00 from 17 donors and this was used to purchase 230 bags of cement. As at 1 September, 2017 this project received an additional US$106, 47 from two donors. This brings the total of the amount received to US$2 526, 41. A total amount of US$37 474, 00 is still required for the completion of the project.

Efforts have been made to match the funds that were raised on the Global Giving platform. Proposal was developed and sent to various donor institutions including embassies such as the Japanese and Australian embassies in a bid to source more funds for the project on behalf of the community. However, we are still anticipating some responses from the donors. CFWRZ continues to engage multiple potential donors and benefactors with the aim of acquiring more funding for the project.

Communities remain motivated and are enthusiastic that this project will be a success. These communities are appealing for your continued support and believe that even though it may take some time before they finally realise their dream but with the support of the world they will reach greater heights. It is only through external support that this dream will become a reality.

Links:

Permalink

Jun 13, 2017
Vision of a new school in Mangwe District takes form

By Stewart Mantula | Project Leader

Community members at a planning meeting

Education plays a pivotal role in promoting development worldwide. With an uneducated population, communities and even nations at large collapse with the masses swimming in a pool of vast poverty. The hope to escape the clutches of poverty is the factor pushing over 400 children from four remote villages of Mangwe district to walk about 20km every day to attain a basic education. These dire conditions prompted Community Foundation for the Western Region of Zimbabwe to solicit funds to support the community in constructing Mapukane Secondary School.

The following report is a narrative on the progress made in our efforts in pooling resources to support the Dukwe community in constructing a new school in the vicinity. With the aid of generous donors across the globe, this vision is slowly taking shape. During the Global Giving Accelerator in March 2017 to date, the project Build 2 Classrooms for 400 Children in Zimbabwe (#26946) has received a substantial amount totalling US$2 412,00 from 17 Donors which has been set aside for the purchase of 230 bags of cement. This means therefore that we still need to raise US$37 588, 00 as the total project cost amounts to US$40 000, 00.

Communities have continued pooling together locally available materials such as river sand, quarry stone and moulding of bricks. The Foundation has approached some embassies locally such as Japanese and Australian Small Grants Facilities and we are awaiting feedback due end of June. We are anticipating to have mobilised a substantial amount of resources by end of August to enable us to begin the project.

Mapukane Secondary School will benefit 400 children of Mangwe District in the marginalised Matabeleland South Province. The project does not end only with building a school but it is expected to gratify other faculties in the lives of these children as well as the community at large. The following are some of the outcomes expected after the construction of Mapukane secondary School:

Reduction in the school dropout rate

Reduction in the risks e.g. rape, encountered by the children on their long walks to schoo

Improved pass rate

Improved social behaviour amongst young people

Failure to reach the target now does not necessarily mean that the project has reached a dead end. The vision of the community can still be fulfilled with the continued support of the public. Education is fundamental as it gives young people the baseline skills to survive as adults in the near future. Construction of Mapukane school will open doors for these young people and give them a head start to life.As the late former South African President Nelson Mandela once stated, “there is no keener revelation of a society’s soul than the way in which it treats its children”, the Foundation is therefore appealing for continued support to make the lives of these children a whole lot easier.

Links:

Permalink

‹ 1 2 3 4

About Project Reports

Project reports on GlobalGiving are posted directly to globalgiving.org by Project Leaders as they are completed, generally every 3-4 months. To protect the integrity of these documents, GlobalGiving does not alter them; therefore you may find some language or formatting issues.

If you donate to this project or have donated to this project, you can receive an email when this project posts a report. You can also subscribe for reports without donating.