Spotlight on the UK Annual Event

WRITTEN BY MERCY

We are so excited to let you know that our UK Annual Supporters Event took place on Thursday 11^th of June! We are grateful to everyone who attended from all around the world. For those of you who could not make it, here is a round-up of the night.

Tunde

After all the sound checks and dry run through, the night finally began with a greeting and welcome from our UK Chairperson, Tunde. He commended the growth of Makomborero over the last decade – from the sole focus being an A-Level Scholarship Programme to branching out into the Mobile Science Lab, Ndeipi Small Business Training and Mutsidzira amongst others. Before handing over to co-founders Mark and Laura, he celebrated the support of all our donors and sponsors for their part in making Makomborero what it has become today. The encouragement from the short intro was clear, we can achieve great change by making small contributions at a time.

Mark and Laura

Ever heard of the term bakkie? It’s a term used in some parts of Southern Africa to refer to a pickup truck like the one recently purchased at Makomborero Zimbabwe, thanks to a generous donation! As they talked about their gratitude for this particular donation, Mark and Laura highlighted the ease this vehicle will bring to doing home visits during the A-Level Scholarship Selection Process. With great pride, they highlighted how alumni giving back to Makomborero has been truly beneficial to the Makomborero family! 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 laptops for the Makomborero Zimbabwe admin team. The team was who glad to finally let go of their old laptops that had served them well for many years. Another highlight was the addition of two beautiful dogs, Luna and Willow to the A-Level Boarding House. They also noted how much the donated musical instruments, marimba, hosho and mbira, are much loved in the house and that many students have gone on to join marimba bands at their own schools as a result. In the last year, a rainwater collection dam was put in place at the A-Level Boarding House necessitating the update of the solar system. A huge thank you goes out to Beit Trust for the grant that made this possible. Mark and Laura are hopeful that this new set up will help with the water issues that are persistent in Harare.

With admirable honesty and vulnerability, they also shared some of the hard things that they are having to deal with in Zimbabwe. Currently, they are faced with a daunting USD$10 000 exam fee bill. Electric faults and power cuts continue to prevail resulting in water running out at the A-Level boarding house at some point in recent months. Internet wires hit by a neighbour meant students at the A-Level boarding house were without internet access for days which was less than ideal. As with the situation all over the world, fuel costs have gone up. The team in Zimbabwe is having to be extremely careful with planning journeys to minimise fuel waste. Scholarships for residential students are full scholarships and Mark and Laura continue to be grateful to the schools and their staff for making this happen year in and year out. Makomborero does however, have to buy uniforms for residential students and these come at a huge cost.

To end their talk, Mark expressed how much he is looking forward to meeting the new cohort of students, the process to select these is already under way. Laura is looking forward to watching the growth of current students.

Mercy

We also heard from the Zimbabwe Operations Manager, Mercy, who started by reflecting on the relationships she has with students and alumni as well as her own growth. She reflected on the first ever Girl Child Programme she attended and how this helped her to see the important work that Makomborero does in teaching young girls about their rights and their value in society. She highlighted that she feels that the impact of Makomborero lies in seeing people as a whole, something she feels Makomborero does well. If donors could join her for a day, she would love for them to go around the country delivering application forms with the team – they would witness the shared passion for education between Makomborero Zimbabwe and the government schools they recruit form.

Trivia

No, despite our very unique Zimbabwean names, that’s not the name of a person. Thanks to UK Trustee, Solinda, we did actually have a short quiz of little-known facts about the Zimbabwean education. For example, did you know that only 1 in 10 Zimbabwean students can access tertiary education? It was good to learn this and other facts during the short break!

 

Ruvarashe, Tinotenda and Tinaye

Finally, it was time to hear from the students!

First up was Ruvarashe. She is currently a non-residential A-Level student studying at Mufakose 1. She has participated in both the Mobile Science Lab and the Girl Child Mentorship Programme. She highlighted how essential and practical the school pack she was given at the start of her A-Levels has been. A backpack, stationery and a solar lamp which she says lasts her up to 3 days. At Girl Child, she learnt to crochet, a skill that has taught her patience and is a potential source of income. She says to her, the impact of Makomborero has been more than grades. From being a self-admitted timid person, she has gained confidence, found passions such as writing and playing basketball, received her first pay and she is now mentoring others in the various communities she is involved in. It was inspiring to hear from Ruvarashe who is soon to become a Girl Child mentor and is working towards becoming a medical doctor.

Next up was current University of Zimbabwe student, Tinotenda. He describes his journey with Makomborero so far as pivotal. During his A-Levels at St Georges, he won an award and was encouraged to keep dreaming; this stuck with him. He currently stays at the Makomborero University Residence and is most grateful for the free accommodation, free transport to lectures and stipends when they are available. From taking toys apart to having his own company, Tinotenda expressed high hopes for the nation of Zimbabwe in the Cyber Security space. It was encouraging to hear from Tinotenda, and we could not help but join him as he marvelled at his growth while at Makomborero.

Tinaye wrapped up the one-to-one chats. She is an alumnus who has now joined the workforce post a Pharmaceutical Chemistry degree. A big sister to current and past students, Tinaye took us on a journey from her A-Levels at Gateway High to her current work in Human Resources and Recruitment – a surprising move that she feels shows how Makomborero taught her to be open, pivot when necessary and try new things. Between graduating and her current job, she worked at Makomborero twice and it was lovely to hear how much interaction she still has with the students she helped mentor in that time and how much value she places in this for her own journey. Tinaye’s words were bursting with mature perspective and a reminder to take on those on the outskirts and make them feel loved.

By the time staff and students sat around the table together, all wrapped up in fleeces, there was no doubt that Zimbabwe was experiencing a truly chilly winter night. The final chat explored topics such as the meaning of community, discovery-based learning and the role of mentors in students’ lives. We got a glimpse of the realities our students/alumni face when one of them said whenever they want to give up, they think of their brother that needs to be looked after and it motivates them to keep goinf.

UK trustee Jacquelyn then spoke about working more on the existing Mutsidzira programme. In the near future, Mutsidzira will be putting moree work into developing students’ entrepreneurial skills. The programme will be an additional education programme run by volunteers. We cannot wait to share more information with you on this!

When UK Chairperson Tunde came on to say a final thank you, everyone had been challenged, inspired and motivated! A big thank you to the UK trustees for putting on such a wonderful event after months of work and preparation. Another big thank you to the Zimbabwe team for sharing their journeys so graciously. Thank you to Mark and Laura for keeping this well-oiled machine that is Makomborero going despite the very obvious challenges they face! The biggest thank you goes to all our sponsors, donors and supporters! We hope the night showed you just how much your dedication means to the entire Makomborero family!

IN OTHER NEWS…

Makomborero projects continue to go well with high attendance at the Mobile Science Lab from 3 inner city school. At Girl Child Mentorship, all mentees have learnt to crochet, and each mentee has read at least two books. Attendance is a little low, but this is to be expected in the winter months. Ndeipi continues to hear great success stories of small businesses that are doing well and making a profit. Residential A-Level students had a short break at the half-way mark of the term and their back to face exams and keep staff on their toes with numerous extra-curricular engagements. The Alumni Team and Mr Mahz have done a great job of bring non-residential students together with 2 successful meet-ups this June. Our local university students are all done for the semester and the year with medical students putting in an extra few weeks after the rest have closed. We are looking forward to having them back sometime in August/September.

ALUMNI LOOKING AFTER CURRENT STUDENTS

Our residential students received warm, cosy house socks from a past Makomborero student who is currently on their gap year. A wonderful, thoughtful and practical gift that received instant smiles! A big thank you to them!

 

A-LEVEL SCHOLARSHIP PROGRAMME

The deadline for submitting application forms for the 2027 A-Level Scholarship Programme has now passed. Our Zimbabwe office team has started receiving completed forms. Mr Johnwell is once again going in and around the outskirts of Harare to collect completed forms. The team in Zimbabwe is geared up for a few weeks of the selection process. We wish all applicants and team the very best!

 

FINALLY…

There have been so many successes in this month! Whether it’s growth, tangible results, the ability to give or the grace to receive, it all counts. We leave you with this quote from Booker T Washington; ‘Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which one has overcome.’

Mercy, on behalf of Mark and Laura Albertyn and the whole Makomborero team