TERM 3 2025 NEWSLETTER

WRITTEN BY MERCY

The end of 2025 brought much joyful reflection to staff, students and project participants. We celebrated the end of a good year in which your donations helped us to undertake some great changes to both our properties.

As always, our A-Level students were immersed in exams from September to November and we are grateful to staff at partner schools for the incredible support they gave them. To top the year off, a promising rainy season seems to be on the horizon – a relief from the persistent drought over the past two years.

A-Level students

We are so pleased to report that the A-Level boarding house has had some essential work done. A new roof was put on the verandah in time for the rainy season. A new study desk was put in place as part of an ongoing project. The pantry and Mobile Lab storage rooms were both painted and re-organised. With the price of wood and building materials continuously rising in Zimbabwe, these projects were no small feat cost-wise. After the August holidays, our students came into a much-improved home! Exams began not long after the start of the term in September and finished mid-November. The team in Harare supported both Residential and Non-residential students through this pivotal time. For Residential students, there were complex school runs to make sure that each student arrived at their school on time and was collected on time. For Non-Residential students, there was support during Life Skills sessions as well as support and encouragement from staff on WhatsApp groups. We would also like to congratulate all A-Level students who won academic, sport and other prizes at their various Prize Giving Ceremonies.

A few of the A-Level students attended Leavers Dances/Proms at their schools. It was a joy to watch them unwind after a very involving term.

Our Annual Graduation was a well-attended, happy occasion as we celebrated the Class of 2025! Amongst the guests were parents, sponsors, donors, well wishers and past students and current students and their teachers. We heard rousing speeches from students taking us through their journey at Makomborero. Wise words of gratitude, love and hope were shared to students by Mrs Tambowoneyi, Mr Mahere and Mrs A. We wish the Class of 2025 all the very best for now and the future!

All A-Level students enjoyed a final camp filled with workshops, food and games. A big part of the camp was the much anticipated Christmas Party. Thanks to your donations, each student received a lovely Christmas gift! There was an incredible downpour that evening which seemed to complement the special stories and memories that students were sharing!

The following morning saw both staff and students undertake a community project at a primary school on the outskirts of Harare where they painted and restored blackboards. Blackboards are still very much in use particularly in rural schools in Zimbabwe. Restoring them increases visibility for the students and makes life a little easier for teachers. This annual community project is an essential part of the Makomborero calendar and we are grateful to donors and sponsors who make it possible.

University students

University students all around the world continue to make us proud with their progress in all areas of life. We would like to thank our incredible Alumni for fully sponsoring back packs, stationery and lunchboxes for the 16 incoming students who start their A-Level journey in 2026! It is humbling to watch students whose lives were changed by Makomborero make such a notable effort to change the lives of others.

Our University Residence opened in August and closed in December. We took advantage of the June/July holidays to freshen up the University Residence with a fresh coat of paint in the kitchen and a new cooker that serves our students a lot better! A new microwave now graces the newly painted kitchen. The kitchen now has 8 new chairs and a brand-new kettle. A cage has been added to the outside of the kitchen enhancing safety and providing a great space to store their donated bicycle. Furry friends, Koby and Floky are not complaining either, they’re enjoying their naps in the shade! We’ve also repaired and painted fascia boards all around the house. It’s wonderful to be able to serve the 20 current students in this way and to know that these improvements will serve other students for years to come.

This semester, students were extremely busy and most felt the pressure of writing exams as often as fortnightly in some cases.

They remained focused and positive during these challenging times and we are proud of them for that. They too closed out the semester with a braai and games. We have loved watching them grow into a family this semester and are proud of how the first year students  have settled in.

Class of 2024

Here is what the 13 students who made up the Class of 2024 are up to:

• 3 students are at the University of Zimbabwe
• 1 student is at university in South Africa
• 1 student is at university in India
• 5 students are at university in Turkey
• 3 students are on their Gap Year

Well done to all of them and we wish them well in what they are doing!

 

Other Projects

Mutsidzira – Selections are underway for the 2026 recepients and this project is set to run a little differently next year. We can’t wait to share more information with you.

Girl Child – 30 mentees walked through the year- long programme in 2025. Each mentee was given a back pack to start them off on their O-Level journey. Skills, wisdom and friends were all gained through the year and the goodbyes at the end of year lunch were as sad as always.

3 blankets were crocheted to donate to 3 teenage mums at a local hospital.

Ndeipi! – 16 budding small business owners were cebrated and awarded certificates at the beginning of December in recognition of their success during their entrepreneurship training.

Mobile Science Lab – 15 enthusiastic students aged 15-16 had first hand experience doing Biology and Physics practicals this term. In total, we had 42 students through the year who did practicals for the first time in a well-kitted lab. The term ended with the traditional lunch and football game. Physics vs Biology. Biology won…for the fsecond time!

Round Up

A heartfelt that you to all our sponsors and donors. You have really pulled us through 2025 and we are glad to see donations go up from 2024.

Thank you to our partner schools for walking alongside our students. Gateway High, Hellenic Academy, St Georges College, St Johns College and Watershed College. Thank you to all the staff at the government schools where our Non-Residential students attend.  Thank you to the government schools who partner with us for Girl Mentorship Programme and Mobile Science Lab.  Last but not least a very big thank you to our amazing staff for an incredible year!  What a fantastic team we have.

As we welcome 10 Residential and 6 Non-Residential students next year, we say ‘a massive thank you and a very successful 2026 to all of you!’

 

To all our government partner schools, particularly in this term where we went through our selection process, we would like to show our deepest gratitude. To Gateway High, Hellenic Academy, St Georges College, St Johns College and Watershed College – what an incredible privilege it is for us to have your continued partnership. To our sponsors and donors, you are the champions that keep Makomborero going with every single donation. Thank you all!