Change Student Lives through Education in Zimbabwe

The start of the year is always really busy but it is also an exciting time with the new students coming into the house.  It is always a tough term of adjustment for them but they have settled really well!  It is wonderful to see how the Upper Sixth students support the Lower Sixth through this transition. 

We were very sad to hear about the passing on of one of our new students mothers.  Roy has been very brave as he has tackled the adjustments of the new school and culture he was immersed in, as well as coming to terms with life without his mother.

We were thrilled to announce our A-level results for 2016 for both our internal and external students. We are proud of each one of these students. These results do not define who they are - we know their worth goes far beyond results!! Their individual journeys define who they are - they are fighters, their families have made huge sacrifices to get them to this point, they have huge dreams, they have hope, they have vision. The journey doesn't end here - we wait with baited breath to see what is next?!!!

Summary of results:

External students - writing Zimsec examinations - the highest grade is an A
12 A’s
7 B’s
1 D

Internal A-level results - writing Cambridge International examinations (CIE)
4A*’s
14 A’s
7 B’s

Our Upper Sixth wrote their Science Olympiad exam on 2 March. We anxiously await results which come out in May.

We have enjoyed some wonderful Life Skills evenings at the Resource Centre on Wednesday evenings this term.  Working through some big life issues together, playing games and getting to know our new students better.  These evenings are so important in the bonding process of our students!  One of these evenings they surprised me with a birthday cake, which made me cry!  The financial sacrifice for many of them, giving something many of them have never received themselves.  I felt very humbled and honoured.

This year we have decided that it is important that each of our External Students receive a Solar light from us to help them study at night.  Particularly, as many of them study by candle light.  We love that Makomborero can help in such a practical way.

Taku in Upper Sixth at Gateway got an Honours at the Eisteddfod singing a traditional Zulu love song - Nomvula.  It was a beautiful version of the song and we were very proud of him.

One of our external students Ngoni is helping students in his community and impacting lives through education.  We love seeing our students blossom and this year have really committed to including our external students in more and more things that we offer to our Internal students.  We want to get to know them better!

Academic Colours this term

Belinda in Upper Sixth at Gateway received Full colours in Academics Academic Commendation in Chemistry and Maths.

Donald in Lower Sixth at Hellenic Academy received Full Academic colours for his outstanding O’level results.

Roy in Lower Sixth at Hellenic Academy received Half Academic Colours for his brilliant O’level results.

Volunteers

Tawanda approached Makomborero last year to ask if he could teach our students, voluntarily on a Saturday, Marimbas.  We were very excited at the prospect of this and our students have loved their weekly lessons.  It is wonderful to see them enjoy an instrument that is so part of Zimbabwean culture.

Alison came in on a Sunday afternoon and ran a fantastic session this afternoon on essay writing for university applications and help students to learn how to tell their stories. We look forward to more time with her this next term. It was wonderful to have our internal and external students at the Resource Centre.

UK Trustee Visit

We had a lovely two days with Sarah Hennessey, a U.K trustee. She was game for anything we through at her, immersing herself in Makomborero Zimbabwe life for the two days she was passing through Harare. She was a huge encouragement and joy to be around.  Thank you for the amazing chess boards for the Resource Centre too! The students are loving them!

Staff Update

We had some wonderful family news – Rumbi our

Part-time fundraiser had a little boy in January called Unashe!  Congratulations to her and her family!

We were also sad to say good bye to our long standing gardener Shepherd but have welcomed a new member of staff called Robson to fill his shoes and he is settling in well.

Mobile Science Laboratory

The Mobile Science Lab is progressing well!  A big thank you to Lazarus, Sikho, Yeukai and David for volunteering 3 days a week to finish writing our science laboratory curriculum. So wonderful having past Makomborero students give back in such a tangible way.  We hope to launch our Saturday lessons in May.

Fundraising

We sent an appeal out on Facebook for new batteries for our Resource Centre invertor, which runs our lights and charges a few devices when there is no electricity.  Someone very kindly donate 2 batteries! The beginning of the year always has huge expenses for us - school fees, uniforms, leadership development camps for the students, university fees. We are incredibly grateful when someone plugs the gap for us with an unexpected expense. Thank you, thank you!

We are also thrilled to welcome Sandvik on board as another local Zimbabwean sponsor.  They are giving funding specifically to our UZ Grant scheme and we are thrilled with this partnership.

So as we head into Term 2 we look forward to updating you on the rest of the year!

Links:

• Take a look at our Blog posts so far this year.

• Summary of major expenses Jan 2017 to Apr 2017 (XLSX)

2016 ended with a very busy few months.  During the 3rd term of the year the students all write their final examinations and the term can feel quite pressured and stressful for them but we were so proud of how they all managed their time and found ways to aleviate stress.

The Resource Centre continues to be a huge place of refuge and an incredible working enviroment.  We are seeing even past Makomborero students spending time at the Resource Centre, making use of the facilities and resources available to them.  This warms our hearts as this is how we always envisioned the house to be used.  We have also grown a huge vegetable garden which provides most of our vegetable needs and as this new year progresses we hope to see this expand and see the students get involved in the growing of the house veggies.  The swimming pool that came with the house seemed like such an unneccesary luxury but during the very hot months at the end of the year it was such a great source of fun and relaxation for the students.  With only a handful of them knowing how to swim it was wonderful to see them teaching each other how to swim and for many of them this was the highlight of their stressful exam period.  The property has really helped us to feel more of a family and the students are learning the deep need for relaxation and time for head space - this is a luxury for them as they live such different lives with their families.  Lives focused on survival and often very cramped and over crowded.

The schools that our students attend all had their annual Prize Givings and it is always very special to witness our students hard work being recognised.  Special mention goes to Belinda who was made a Prefect at Gateway this year.  This is such an incredible accomplishment for our students - who often find their first year so overwhelming with the cultural adjustments they have to make.  She is a brave, courageous and passionate leader and we are so proud of her.

We ended our year with a very moving Graduation for our outgoing Makomborero students.  Saying good bye is always hard and this year group were true brothers and sisters, who were such a joy to have around.  What a wonderful celebration of all they have accomplished in two years and we now look forward with expectation for the future that lies before them.  We also ended the year with a fun Christmas party with all staff and students.  There are videos that cover both these events which are beautiful to watch - see links below.

Our recruitment process started at the beginning of December and like every year it is incredibly challenging and sad but also fills us with such pride for the remarkable families who do everything in their power to educate their children, even when they live in abject poverty.  We heard such inspiring stories that filled your heart with huge respect but also reduced us to tears often.  After testing, interviews, subject workshops and home visits we made our final very difficult decision and it was a joy and honour to welcome 8 new students into the house over January.  You can meet them on our website. It is wonderful to see the whole Makomborero family come together during this time - present and past students helping throughout the testing process.

Two more scholarships that came through during December - Takudzwa received a full scholarship to study Engineering at Lafayette College in USA and we are so proud of him.  He has found a family in Makomborero and we are so glad he is part of us and we know he will fly.  HUGE congratulations to Roy Mugobi, one of our external students, for being accepted into Harvard on a full scholarship. We are thrilled. Thank you to USAP (Education Matters) for helping him along the way this last year, to obtaining this scholarship! Roy you have lots to be proud of - you had many challenges to over come on your educational journey and you should be proud of the journey you have made so far! The future is bright for all our families and we watch with great expectation as their lives unfold after Makomborero!  We sew seeds and then watch them grow over the years!

We are in the process of finalising our new external students for this year - not an easy process when we met such inspiring, intellegent, passionate students during our recruiting process.

Our University Students completed their 1st Semester at the end of the year and start their 2nd Semester this year.  They are all flourishing and we find it a privilege to watch them mature, grow up and become passionate yound adults in the fields they are studying.  This for us is one of the greatest joys.  To begin to see our students reach their potential.  We have our first Graduates this year from Makomborero and there is much to celebrate.  We also have enjoyed visits from many students from outside the country on full scholarships.  We love having them in our lives for a few days while they reconnect with their families.

We continue to have people visiting from outside the country and local Zimbabweans imputting into our students lives with evening seminars and sessions that bring a breadth to what we do and we so appreciate this!  We see the value of broadening our students views!

The new year always brings exciting new things and we are thrilled that our students are being taught Marimbas this year and they are enjoying the joy of learning a local Zimbabwean instrument.  One of the students texted me after the first lesson and said he could not believe how privileged he is.  Thank you Tawanda for volunteering your time for this.

We also kick off our life skills sessions with enthusiasm and I love these sessions with the students, time to get to know them, see them stretch mentally, see them grow, see light bulb moments - it is a huge honour.  We are still trying to finalise our English lessons this year and how they will work.

The Resource Centre has needed a little bit of maintenance done the last few months, using the money we raised through Global Giving for this.  We have seen 4 solar water heaters fitted, converted the outside kitchen into a boys shower block, new mattresses, blankets and pillows and many other little things around the property that have made it much more tailor made for us.

September to January are big expense months for us.  A break down of these expenses can be found attached to this report.

Links:

• Graduation 2016
• Christmas Party 2016
• The work of Makomborero

• Expenses (DOCX)