Change Student Lives through Education in Zimbabwe

In Zimbabwe the purple bloom of the Jacaranda trees heralds the beginning of exam time for students. It's third term and the busiest time in the school calendar. Our students will soon be undertaking their exams and we wish them the very best as they round off the final preparations. We are expectant of good results, as the students continue to shine at the Speech and Prize giving days of the different schools. 5 of the St George's boys won  awards recently , with Patrice scooping most of the subject prizes including best Upper sixth results. He had 3 trophies and certificates. Lincoln also recently attended an invitational Sports dinner at Hellenic . We are proud of their achievements and resolute focus despite the current situation in the country.

August holidays as has become tradition we have our Makomborero internal and external students camp. This year's attandance was very good with the students getting time to bond and and share ideas, study together during their time at the Resource centre. We held a community service day at a rural school on the outskirts of Harare. Grateful for a school we've now painted boards for 3 times over the last 9 years. An inspiring head who has run this school through two massive economic meltdowns! Unsung hero's rural teachers and heads! Inspiring stories of child headed homes and how the school supports those families. This was followed by a workshop in partnership with Maker Club where the students learnt to make simple robots and hydraulic gadgets. It has been 3years now since partnering with Maker Club and we are grateful for all the effort they put in training the students. During camp the students also got a chance to do an Art Therapy session with Dusty, lots of fun they had taping into their creative side and some discovering talents they never knew they had. The final day is always fun and games , and this year it was led by Sibongile, a very energetic  young lady who is passionate about working with the youth. We celebrated all the birthdays and student's achievements to some nice food, drinks and cake!

Our students continue to give back in their different communities and we are touched by their selflesness. Ngoni currently studying at Quest University in Canada hosted an entrepreneurial leadership seminar (Entrepreneurs Hub) at Seke 4 High School.This was for A level students and recent school leavers. Tanaka ran a community workshop for Highfield High 1 , teaching young pupils computer programming and robotics. It was great team effort he managed to engage some local organisations and other past Makomborero students. With the help of other former Makomborero students - Taku, Belinda, Roy and Kuda , Tatenda ran a community give back project in Epworth going by the name ACT ( Action for Community Transformation) The workshop was aimed at connecting the students to opportunities, equipping them with entrepreneurship skills, instilling team spirit, inspiring creativity as well as creating long lasting friendships with the students. We are grateful to Mastercard Foundation and African Leadership Academy for sponsoring these intiatives , making it possible for these young people to make a difference in their communities.

Makomborero students also continue to excel on different platforms. Tanaka, an external student at Seke One High, whose project of a Movable Greenhouse together with Davison won a trip to Tunisia to partcipate in the IFEST2 Festival in March 2020. Simba one of our Pioneer students was appointed Deputy Chief Pharmacist of the Parirenyatwa Group fo Hospitals managing 13 pharmacies. This year we had our 1st Medical School graduate at the University of Zimbabwe. Dr Lesleen graduated with an Honours in Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery Degree. We are very proud of her achievements and hard work and wish her the best as she starts her housemanship as a juniour doctor at Harare Hospital.

This term's Girl Mentorship programme started in Mabvuku and Mufakose. The girls finish off the year's sessions as they get into deeper topics such as reproductive and sexual health. They will also finish off their crotcheting project, a blanket which they will donate to a charity of their choice. This term we are not holding the Mobile Science lab , due to exam preparation but we take this time to review the curriculum and update the handouts. The 2020 Makomborero A- Level Scholarship recruitment process has started with application forms being distributed to various schools. This year will be our 10th recruitment process and as the scholarship programme gets more popular we have had enquiries and requests for forms from all corners of the country. This will be followed by a busy time when the actual testing process and interviews begin, right to the home visits when the schools close end of year. We are happy we were joined by Mercy in the Admin department at the Makomborero Office. Mercy will be working with Laura in the Operations department, she was also previously volunteering teaching English on Sundays at the Resource Centre. As the year draws to the end , we are looking forward to our annual graduation ceremony , as we bid farewell to the class of 2019.

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