Change Student Lives through Education in Zimbabwe

Though busy, this term has been a great one! We felt that students and all projects really got into their stride despite us structuring the term slightly differently. We had a wonderful visit from UK trustee, Nicola and her husband Nick.Both enjoyed visiting our boarding houses and catching up with staff. Weather wise, Zimbabwe experienced a fairly warm winter which followed on from a drought, the effects of which are evident particularly amongst our students and their families. Our A-Level students have coped well with a term of exams, intense sport and cultural activities, we are proud of all the effort they put in. Our local university students are currently on holiday after a long semester that kept them busy with frequent exams. As always, we owe the success of this term to staff, volunteers, donors and supporters.

Our Testing Process has moved dates!

We are very excited to have been able to move our A-Level Scholarship testing process from September-December months to May-August months. The testing process is a huge undertaking and we were a little apprehensive about the impact moving dates would have. We had just over 700 applicants this year, the most we’ve ever had. As we reflect, we are glad to know that more people are now aware of the scholarship but we are also very much aware of the growing need in our country. At the time of writing this, we have completed our first round of testing at which over 200 applicants were tested and we are about to have 50 students take part in the second round. Past Makomborero students volunteer at both rounds and get to interact with the applicants. We are very happy to report that the whole process has gone well so far!

A-Level students – Residential and Non-Residential

Well done to all our A-Level students for pacing themselves through this term, managing school work, exams, clubs and sport. Particularly Lower Sixth residential students who have adapted well to their new schools and life in the boarding house. We had the incredible privielege of hosting Pomona, Swathmore and Williams Universities from the USA at our Boarding house in May.  They were able to share about funding and the application process to all our students and encourage them in the University applications.  What an honour to have them for a few hours.

We celebrated the following students for their achievements this term:

* Tirivashe and Proud won first place as a team with other St George's College students in the Convent Based Books interschools quiz and received certificates.

* Emmanuel won Best Board 1 prize at an interschools chess tournament.

* Sithabile won a bronze medal in volleyball at the Arundel School Tournament

* Jeoffrey obtained a certificate in Psychology as part of his studies at Hellenic Academy.

* Natasha received a Certificate of Commendation at Watershed College

University Students

Our Alumni gathered together with Mr and Mrs A at the annual Makomborero Alumni Get-together. It was a fantastic event with lots of fun, games and laughter. Students from 2017 to 2024 were represented! Once again, we are excited to have celebrated a few graduations of past students who studied both in and out of Zimbabwe. At least 20 students from Class of 2022 and Class of 2023 will be going off to university this year, with the majority enrolling into local Zimbabwean universities.We are routing for them for the journey they are about to embark on and wish them the very best! Our University Residence continues to serve University of Zimbabwe students well and we are excited to be welcoming seven new students into the house in August. The house itself has recently undergone renovations to help accommodate the steadily growing number of students. Bathrooms have been converted to shower cubicles, a new 5000 litre water tank has been added and two new solar geysers connected. We are grateful to donors and sponsors for making this essential work possible.

Other Projects

Mutsidzira -We continue to champion our 2023 winners Noel and Morrison. Noel is doing well with his honey project which funds education materials for children in Chitungwiza and Morrison who has paused his Biogas project over the semester break and is looking to pick it up again in September. The Mutsidzira judges are going through the final stages of selecting the 2024 projects. We have three contenders with unique and exciting projects and we look forward to telling you more in the next newsletter.

Girl Child – Our 31 mentees have settled very well into the year long proogramme and we are so proud of them for their consistency in attending and their willingness to learn. The term ended with a wonderful lunch where Mrs A held a Q and A session with the girls. Their questions highlighted some heartbreaking struggles. They also highlighted how essential this mentorship programme is, the safe space it gives  these girls and the difference it’s making.Thanks to an amazing local Zimbabwean donor each mentee walked away with 3kg of lentils to share with family.

Ndeipi! – It was a great term for Ndeipi who held two sessions this term. All of the participants managed to make a profit from their USD$1 that they were given at the beginning of the year and they presented how they did so to the group in a very inspiring session. They have also had the opportunity to practice their business pitches in front of each other and learnt some valuable lessons from this.

Mobile Science Lab – The Mobile Science Lab went very well again this term. Three schools from the high density areas of Harare selected a total of 15 students to attend the programme. The attendance was just under 100% which we are very pleased about. Students benefited from both Biology and Physics practicals and left some great reviews about how the practical lessons had enhanced their learning experiences at their schools.

Round Up

We are often overwhelmed by the kindness of individuals and companies who donate to us, often filling great need at just the right time. This term was no different. We had a donation of matresses and pillows from a UK donor for our A-Level boarding house. Past students continue to donate chickens, rice and treats to current students. We have also had a wonderful few donations of prom dresses towards our proms at the end of the year! We are currently distributing donated lentils and epap across all our projects – the effects of a severe drought are beginning to be felt by many and food security for some of our families is becoming harder – this is a welcome addition to their diets. These are just a few examples of how you continue to change lives of Makomborero students. Not forgetting those who make regular financial contributions.

Thank you to all our partner schools for yet another successful term as well as to all sponsors, donors and supporters!

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2024 has started well with us welcoming 15 new students who were each awarded a Makomborero A-Level Scholarship. 9 of these students were awarded Residential Scholarships and 6 of them Non-residential Scholarships.

This year, we also welcomed Watershed College as one of our partner schools. They have given full scholarships to two of our Non-Residential students. We are thrilled to be able to work with Watershed and see 2 more students access top class education!  Thank you!  All our A-Level students have done an amazing job at adapting to their new environments. It’s been a term of many achievements both in and out of the classroom. 

A-Level students – Residential and Non-Residential

Residential Lower Sixth students started the year with a few weeks of orientation both at the boarding house and at their schools. Lots of them got involved in sport and staff were up and down ensuring they had the equipment they required. As ever, we are grateful that we were able to send them for medical checks sponsored by a local Zimbabwean doctor.

Both Residential and Non-Residential students would have had eye tests by the beginning of the second term and these too are sponsored by a local Zimbabwean optician.

All students were provided with stationery, backpacks, lunchboxes and water bottles. Non-Residential students were given study lamps which will prove essential as some areas can go for 24hrs without power. They were also given tablets pre-loaded with a study app that was created by a past Makomborero student which will give them access to past exam papers and study materials that include videos.

Group Therapy sessions were held bi-weekly for all A-level students throughout the term. These are life-changing for our students and we are so grateful to donors and sponsors who enable us to continue to provide these. Mrs A continues to hold Life Skills sessions for residential students while Mrs Chikowore co-ordinates Life Skills sessions for Non – Residential students. All students have had a Dental Hygiene talk this term and were given toothbrushes and toothpaste.

 

Examination Results for 2023

Congratulations to all our students for the incredible results they produced!

Our 10 A-Level Cambridge students had a collective result of:

9A* 8A 16B 2C 1D

Our 9 AS Level Cambridge students had a collective result of:

25A 6B 2C 2D

Our 18 A-Level ZIMSEC students had a collective result of:

51A 7B 2C

Our 15 Lower Sixth O-Level ZIMSEC students had a collective result of: 147A 24B 2C

Special Mention goes to:

Vitalis, outgoing Upper Sixth student who was at Gateway High School, achieved 3A* 1B at A-Level (Cambridge)

Luckmore, Ruvimbo, Ruvarashe, Jordan and Brandon; outgoing Upper Sixth students achieved 4A at A-Level (ZIMSEC)

Tirivashe, incoming Lower Sixth student from St Faiths High School, achieved 15A 1B at ZIMSEC O-Level

Proud, incoming Lower Sixth student from Marist Boys Nyanga High School, achieved 13A and 2B at ZIMSEC O-Level

Natasha, incoming Lower Sixth student from Goromonzi High School, achieved 13A at ZIMSEC O-Level

 

Tablet Distribution

Thank you to generous donors for the 6 tablets that we have been able to purchase for our Non-Residential students.  They have been loaded with the Makomborero App – which contains videos, past papers and lots of other learning material pertaining to most of their A-level subjects.  The device does not need internet to utilise this app and we are so grateful for the incredible support this tablet and app are to our students as they continue to study in Government schools that are struggling to provide adequately for their educational needs.  We are so proud that this a homegrown app written by a past Makomborero student. 

 

Class of 2023 

The class of 2023 made us so proud! It has not been easy for them to study and achieve the results that they did. They faced daily power cuts, water shortages and in some schools, front led teaching was not always available. They are all currently applying for university places both locally and outside of Zimbabwe. We acknowledge the mental stress this waiting time can put on students and we are grateful for the connections we continue to have with them.

For now, some of our students have managed to get gap year internships and other voluntary posts. We are pleased to have 7 of the 2023 students currently volunteering at our Girl Child Mentorship Programme.

 

University Students

Our local university students had a well-deserved break over Christmas. We currently have 18 students staying at the University Residence. We are expecting more during the August university intake. These students continue to be extremely busy writing exams as regularly as every 2 weeks. 

We are grateful to sponsors and donors who have made it possible to pay their fees and give out stipends this semester.

 

Other Projects

Mutsidzira – Our two Mutsidzira grant winners from 2023 continue to do well. Noel’s honey selling business has managed to buy stationery for 14 primary school children and Morrison’s biogas project is now up and running despite a rocky start.  His Biogas will feed gas to our University Student Residence.  Saving Makomborero lots of money!

Ndeipi! - Ndeipi! has started off with an encouraging 27 participants. Each participant was given $USD1 to start a business. We can’t wait to catch up with them in the second term to see what innovative ideas they would have come up with.

Girl Child – We have 31 girls as part of the programme this year from 3 schools. They are wonderful, joyful young ladies who are eager to learn and though our journey has been short so far, we have already seen massive amounts of growth!

Mobile Science Lab – The chance to have hands on experience in a well-kitted lab would have been far out of reach for some of these students. As a team we felt we had to go the extra mile and make a donation of school trousers to some of the students as the need was hard to ignore. It was an amazing term for Mobile lab with a fantastic end of term games and lunch.

 

Round Up

There is a wonderful atmosphere of newness at Makomborero during the first term! Not only have we welcomed new students, we have also welcomed two new Gap Year students, Delight and Leslie who have become a wonderful part of our team. Both were 2023 Non-Residential students.

Amongst all the busyness and ups of the new year, we are sadly facing a drought this year which will affect water supplies at both our properties and will have a further effect on our already suffering economy. We are gearing up for this and hoping to input structures to preserve water on a bigger scale.

We would like to end by thanking you all – sponsors, donors, Gateway High, Hellenic Academy, St Georges College and Watershed College for partnering with us. Thank you to government school heads and teachers for your tenacity! Thank you our sponsors and donors for all you give!

Thank you all for making it possible for us to begin this year with hope!