END OF TERM 2

WRITTEN BY MERCY

A busy and productive term!
What a wonderful term we’ve had! There have been some notable achievements from students, some wonderful improvements to our properties, special visits and a change to our testing process that totally paid off! We are grateful to all our sponsors, donors and supporters for all the input that made this term a success.

A-Level students – Residential and Non-residential
All our A-Level students are emerging out of a cold term full of exams and we are proud of them for managing their busy schedules. Sports, camps and extra-curricular activities continued throughout the term despite exam pressures.

Residential students had some thought-provoking Life Skills sessions led by Mrs A and Non-Residential students met regularly for fun sessions with Mr Mahz and the Makomborero alumni. All students benefitted greatly from group therapy sessions!

Well done to all our students for all their achievements. A special mention goes to Ngoni who represented Zimbabwe on a global stage at the Science Fair in China. He won the UNISOC Innovation Award for his exceptional performance in individual and group challenges. You can read more about his experiences on our website makomborero.info

Recruiting A-Level Scholarship Students for 2026

Recruiting students for the 2027 A-Level scholarships has been one of the highlights of this term! The team visited 60 schools in and around the outskirts of Harare as well as a few schools in the rural areas. Over 600 forms were distributed and Makomborero was privileged to have been able to donate 2950 pens and 590 exercise books to each school. We received more than 700 application forms, and our team of staff and volunteers took on the task of reading each one and selecting just over 250 students to go through to the 1st round of testing. After changing our recruitment process from the end of the year to the middle of the year, we celebrated another first this year!

Our 1^st round of testing was held in one day as opposed to the usual two days. It was not without its logistical challenges, but it paid off and it was wonderful to have all the students together on the same day and it meant staff could have a well-deserved rest on the Sunday. 50 students made it through to the 2^nd round of testing which was held over 3 days. 18 students were selected for the final round of home visits. Mr and Mrs A and team were welcomed into 16 homes where they had the pleasure of meeting potential students and their families. Thank you to donors, staff and volunteers who made this 4-month project possible. Thank you to Hellenic Academy who provide an excellent venue for us to host our first two rounds of testing. We look forward to introducing the 2027 A-Level Scholarship students to you.

 

University Students and Alumni

Our local Zimbabwean university students continue to do well despite the pressure of regular exams. They have just returned from their break to begin a new semester and a new year. We are sharing the excitement of 9 students who have started undergraduate programmes at local universities this year! Our University Residence in Harare has welcomed 8 of these students from the Class of 2025 and before. They are settling well into their new second home.

As always, we have appreciated staying in touch with Makomborero university students studying outside of Zimbabwe. The team receives many calls and messages about the highs and lows these students face and it is a privilege to be able to celebrate with and support them!

The Alumni have done a wonderful job of mentoring current students both individually and in groups. We are also grateful for their input into Life Skills sessions and their donations, which make a huge difference to current students! Two alumni who have recently qualified as doctors have opened a GP practice and they have offered free services to Makomborero Zimbabwe students. Other alumni got together to fund raise for much-needed laptops for the Makomborero Zimbabwe admin team.

Congratulations to the 7 University of Zimbabwe students who graduated in August this year. We are proud of them for all their hard work and the journeys that they have bravely walked to this point!

 

The UK Annual Event

We held our annual UK Annual Event in June. This year, the event was entirely online. It was an insightful evening put together by the UK Trustees. We heard from some of the team in Zimbabwe including Mark and Laura who updated all on the year gone by. From new dogs to alumni achievements to incredible donations to rising fuel costs in Zimbabwe, it was an informative and uplifting round-up.

We also heard from 3 students at 3 different stages in their journey with Makomborero. Ruvarashe, a non-residential student who is currently in Upper Sixth and has previously gone through the Makomborero Girl Child Programme as well as the Mobile Science Lab. Tinotenda, a current Cyber Security student studying at the University of Zimbabwe and Tinaye, a Pharmaceutical Sciences graduate who has not long entered the working space in a totally different direction. Not only did these three speak of how education had changed their lives for the better, they spoke of the bravery, courage and mentoring that their Makomborero journeys had given them. More details on this event can be found on our website makomborero.info

 

A  special visit from our  UK chairperson

We would like to say a huge thank you to our UK Chairperson, Tunde who visited Makomborero  Zimbabwe at the busiest time of the year and completely threw himself into anything and everything that needed to be done. For the week, he sorted stationery in the office, helped to lay out beds for the out-of-town students at the 1^st round of the Testing Process and shared some wise words with the Residential students. He says his highlight was to interact with both current and past students.

Improvements to our properties

Thank you for all your donations, we have managed to do the following over the last few months:

• An upgrade to our solar system at the A-Level Boarding House to cater for our new reservoir as well as other needs around the property
• The building of a new pantry at the A-Level Boarding house to allow for the proper storage of our upgraded solar system batteries
• Roofing re-done – boys rooms at the A-Level Boarding House
• Two more water tanks at the A-Level boarding house to allow for the purchasing of emergency water as we wait for the reservoir to fill up
• The replacement of ceilings on part of the UZ residence
• Re-painting of the study room, lounge and one of the bedrooms at the University Residence
• Installation of basketball hoops at the University Residence

 

Other Projects

Mutsidzira
All three Mutsidzira participants are doing well with their projects and learning a lot about what it means to run a profitable business.

Girl Child
Winter months are challenging for attendance, and we experienced this at one of the schools. However, high attendance was maintained at the other two schools. Mentees continued to have fun and thought-provoking Life Skills sessions, more library books have been read and the blanket squares are very nearly finished, ready to be put together. An end of term lunch, each mentee received a hygiene pack and and painted a t-shirt to take home.

Ndeipi!
Our participants are now running projects and sharing knowledge with each other at meetings. They are still learning how to balance daily life with running projects and are doing very well!

Mobile Science Lab
The Mobile Science Lab saw its final session for the term a few days ago! There was high attendance maintained throughout. It was amazing to watch the 15 students turn their theoretical knowledge into practical knowledge with the help of teachers Nyasha and Shawn who are Makomborero alumni. They designed and made 3D models and each student took a model away with them. There will be a new intake in September which will be our final one for the year.

A final thank you

We continue to be grateful for our ongoing partnerships with government schools. Our recruitment process will be impossible without their kindness and our joint passion for education.

To Gateway High, Hellenic Academy, St Georges College, St Johns College and Watershed College – you do so much more than give scholarships, you are an integral part of the village that raises well-rounded Makomborero students.

 

To our sponsors and donors, you have come through for Makomborero time and time again. As you champion our students, we champion you! Thank you all!