Woman builds school for girls in Nyanga

“These things are breaking my heart. Maybe when people are educated these problems would be reduced,” she said in a recent interview.

Through sheer hard work and determination, Borerwe has gone from a teenager who hid her schoolbooks from her father, who opposed her education, to running a foundation that enrols 360 school girls at her private Dream Model School about 60 km west of Nyanga town.

The school, complete with boarding facilities, will cater for the primary school girls with two classes in each of grades one to seven. Hers is a story about the power of one woman to change not only her own future but the future many girls. With help from domestic and international donations Borerwe has built a new school, which has 14 trained teachers and a headmaster.

Studied in secret

The Dream Model School will be officially opened next January. “Everything is ready and my school will start to operate in 2015. I chose Nyanga because this is where I come from. I have made it a girl’s primary school only as I want to bring education to girls. I have realised that there are still some families that are keeping their girls out of school, so they struggle to get decent learning,” she said.

In common with many girls in poor communities, Borerwe own father did not want to educate her because she was a girl. “When I completed my primary school, my father forbade me to continue, preferring the boys to complete their education ahead of me. He wanted me to get married,” she said.

With her mother’s help she studied in secret, hiding her school uniform and books at a friend’s house. This went on for a while until she was in form two. Then a day of reckoning came.

Mother beaten

“I was preparing to go to school for the ZJC examination (Zimbabwe Junior Certificate). My father came home early and questioned where I was going. When he discovered I had been secretly going to school, he was livid and slapped my cheek. A showdown ensued with my father beating my mother,” she said.

Her mother remained defiant and told Borerwe to go to school. “I just ran from the house and went to the school and did my exams. I was worried about my father beating my mother. I didn’t know what was happening in my home,” she said.

Eventually her father agreed to let her continue her education. She pursued her studies, graduated from high school and got a master’s degree in Law at the University of Zimbabwe. She now owns a law firm in Harare.

Stiff resistance

Borerwe said she faced stiff resistance from community elders when she first mooted the idea of the school. She began lobbying families in the area to send their children to school – but the reception was not always great.

Local elders asked her family to move, saying they were not a good influence. But eventually the community began to support her, realising that her idea was important.

“The community is made up largely of labourers and people who are non-skilled workers. So Borerwe had an uphill battle to convince them why education is important to begin with,” said the local councillor Samuel Kangwa.

“I am happy that the community now understands why it is important to educate the girl child. All girls in this community will now be going to school there,” he said.

The headmaster of the school, Joseph Karimatsenga, said enrolment of pupils would begin soon. We will be looking at a mixture of pupils from the local community and some outsiders. There are some disadvantaged but brilliant pupils who will be at the school as they will be assisted by certain sponsors while others will pay school fees.”

He said the fee structure was yet to be decided by the school board at the end of year where they will hold a special meeting. There will be day school options for local students. “We will have space for the local community who will not be able to pay boarding and tuition fees,” he added.

Things have changed

Parents welcomed the idea and said it would go a long way in empowering their daughters. “There are few schools in our community and other schools are very far away. This school will help our children acquire education on their doorstep. We want to thank Mai Borerwe for a job well done,” said Anatolia Mukungatu, who is a parent.

Another parent, Agness Duma, said: “I grew up uneducated. My father did not sent me to school insisting that I should be married. But now things have changed I want my daughters to be civilised and not be like me, I am illiterate.”

But Borerwe said: “Some people do not like what I’m doing. Especially males, who are saying why have l chosen the girls only, but there’s a way to convey the message to these kinds of people.” Her next dream is to build a university.