Merry Christmas

Term 3 Update – December 2024

We are nearly at the end of 2024 and we are so grateful. The term has not looked how it normally does as we took a small risk and moved our Testing Process from September –December to May-August. We are really happy that the risk seems to have paid off and we have had a slower paced end of 3rd term in comparison to past years. We also had much to celebrate this year. Students have done well both in the classroom and in their extracurricular activities. Our A-Level students have resumed English lessons at weekends thanks to 3 lovely volunteer teachers. We are pleased with the impact our projects have made both to individuals and their communities.

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The final term of the year is relentless with exams and we are proud of all our A-Level students for their hard work. Our university students continue to have exams regularly. They too have done well this semester.

Visitors from over the waters
At the beginning of the term, we were privileged to have students and teachers who visited Makomborero Zimbabwe all the way from Finland. They held some fantastic workshops with our A-Level students and spent lots of time getting to know each other. Our students’ highlights were learning a little about the Finnish culture, going for a hike , visiting an arts and crafts centre as well as going to the theatre. They left us with an amazing donation of clothes, stationery and a 3D printer, all of which will make a huge difference to our students! This is our third collaboration over the past 15 years and we are so humbled and grateful to Anna and her team.
We also had the pleasure of hosting representatives from Brown University and Vanderbilt University for a relaxed yet informative chat at the A-Level boarding house. It was a great opportunity for students to engage, learn about their future options, and get a feel for university life. We are incredibly grateful for their time.

 

A-Level students
We have said an emotional goodbye to the class of 2024. We enjoyed seeing them dressed up for their Leavers Dances and we are glad they enjoyed their final goodbyes with their classmates. We managed to line up a few events to celebrate them and to see them off to their next chapter. The annual graduation was a wonderful mix of some students relating to guests what their journeys before and during Makomborero were like, and staff speaking hope and encouragement into their lives. Next stop was the Christmas party and annual camp. A fun time of food, games and Laughter. On the last day, staff and students travelled to a rural school in the outskirts of Harare to paint blackboards as a way of giving back to the community. This has become an essential part of our calendar and we are grateful to you our donors for making this possible.
We are so proud of how our A-Level students have grown in their personal journeys and it was a pleasure to watch them being celebrated at prize giving ceremonies, proms, end of year lunches and other occasions.

 

University students
Our university students all around the world have done well this semester. From the 27 students of the Class of 2023, 1 is in America, 3 are in universities in Africa, 9 are at the University of Zimbabwe, 1 is at the Harare Institute of Technology, 1 is at Midlands State University, 1 is at Chinhoyi Universtity of Technology and 11 have taken a gap year. We are privileged to be able to celebrate in their highs and be available when things don’t go according to plan. Our University Residence is thriving and abuzz with 19 University of Zimbabwe students. Last term’s renovations have brought a new lease of life in the house!
The house has increased massively in its functionality. Through the generosity of our sponsors and donors, we’ve recently been able to offer students a morning run to campus on the Makomborero combi. A very welcome development particularly in these hot summer months!
Thanks to a local Zimbabwean donor both our University and A-Level students get a cake on their birthdays and that has added much joy to both houses.

 

Other Projects

Mutsidzira – 3 projects have been selected for 2024. Tafadzwa’s project will be making draught stoppers, Takudzwa’s project will be selling arts and crafts and Marshall and Dadiso run events to empower young people.

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Girl Child – We saw 31 young mentees graduate from our programme this year. The goodbyes were sad as always but the friendships gained were worth the celebrations! They learnt skills that will serve them for a lifetime and grew in confidence and knowledge. 3 blankets were crocheted to donate to 3 teenage mums at a local hospital.  At the final lunch, we sent each girl away with lentils and epap on a stomach full of hot dogs and ice-cream.

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Ndeipi! – 21 budding small business owners have been given certificates at the beginning of December in recognition of their success during their entrepreneurship training. This group was incredible! We had a baker, a tailor, vendors, a cell phone maker and a few who reared and sold chickens.

Mobile Science Lab – This term, we had 14 wonderful students aged 15 who had first hand experience doing Biology and Physics practicals. In total, we had 44 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. Physics won…again!

Round Up

We are so grateful to you our donors and sponsors for helping us achieve another successful year at Makomborero! We are expecting 10 Residential and 9 Non-Residential students to join the Makomborero family in 2025. We are also welcoming St Johns College as a partner school from 2025. Though we have seen a decline in our sponsorship in 2024, we are hoping that in 2025 we will see this change again. We are grateful for those of you who have been faithful in your giving. These words will always ring true: ‘We simply cannot do without you’.

 

We would also like to thank our partner schools, both private and government for helping us educate young Zimbabweans. Thank you to volunteers and staff for all efforts in 2024. Here is to 2025!

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