In October 2010 Environment Africa partnered with Ndimakule Primary School to adopt the Green Schools programme. The school is located approximately 45km from Victoria Falls in a rural area within the Hwange District of Zimbabwe.
The school currently consists of eight classrooms, which accommodate 375 pupils, 111 of whom are orphans and vulnerable children, and 10 teachers. When Environment Africa visited the school in October it was in a state of immense disrepair, not a single window had glass, there were holes in the roofs and floors, the blackboards painted on the walls had long worn out and all the doors were either damaged or missing. Not a single educational resource was to be seen, no text books, exercise books, stationery etc.
In the space of four months, significant positive changes can be seen at Ndimakule Primary. Through effective utilization of funds collected by children of a school in Wimbledon in the UK, the Study Preparatory School, there have been significant positive changes at Ndimakule Primary.
A group of local youth volunteers from Environment Africa, together with pupils and local community carried out classroom renovations including painting and, fixing doors, floors, windows. A nutrition garden of 20 meters by 30 meters has been cultivated where maize, onions, leaf vegetables and tomatoes are grown with the aim of generating income for the school and also keeping school grounds green as well as providing added nutrition to the pupils of the school.
The creation of an orchard where the school has planted a variety of fruit trees ranging from citrus fruits to indigenous fruits and other medicinal and multi purpose trees like Moringa olifera and Jatropha. School authorities together with some members of the local community and students were trained in vegetable production, conservation techniques such as mulching, general landscaping and designing and use of non-chemicals to control pests.
In the Chakari District the Green Schools programme has partnered with the Ministry of Education, the Rural District Council and other relevant departments together with Rotary International through the Rotary Club of Hunyani and is currently working with 30 schools in a water and nutrition programme where wells and nutrition gardens have been established.
The programme is now operating in most provinces throughout the country and more partners have become involved such as a Greek organization, Sixbillions. However, there is still so much more to be done and Environment Africa would like to encourage more organisations and individuals to get involved in supporting schools in Africa.
The Green Schools Programme is also part of the newly-launched Green Zambezi Alliance and one of the key partners within the Alliance is Happy Readers. Happy Readers has produced two sets of wonderful early childhood reader books that have been adapted for the local environment for grade 1 and grade 2. You can sponsor a set of books for a school today and make a difference.
Support for schools in Africa is greatly needed and there are several ways that you can be part of the solution and help schools in Africa. Some of the ways include: organize a fundraiser at your school and raise funds for a water well and nutrition garden for a school at a cost of 3500; buy a set or several sets of Happy Reader Books for either grade 1 or grade 2 at a cost of 35 per set (each set includes nine books plus a teachers set).
Be a part of the solution today and send your contribution to Tree Africa, a UK Charity that is linked to Environment Africa, and supports schools in Africa. www.treeafrica.org email: info@environmentafrica.org
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