By Tendai Makaripe
A HARARE woman is seeking to register a trust to fund the education of 81 vulnerable children who have dropped out of school or risk leaving because their families cannot afford it, with support expected to begin next year.
Vimbai Faith Mberi Mativenga, music director at Rydale Ridge Seventh-day Adventist Church, is processing the registration of Young EduTech Trust, which she hopes will mobilise resources for disadvantaged children’s education.
“If all the registration processes are completed, we hope to start assisting them next year,” she said.
Mativenga identified the children with Community Childcare Worker Nommater Madiye during household visits in communities around the church.
Madiye said they include orphans and children from child-headed and single-parent homes.
Mativenga said poverty, family instability and parental drug abuse had disrupted their schooling.
“Some of these children dropped out of school at primary level, while others were already in secondary school. They face different challenges, and all of them need assistance,” she said.
Of the 81 children, 61 recently attended a music and prayer programme at the church held under the theme You Are Loved, You Are Valued, You Matter.
They received hampers and messages of encouragement.
Speaking on the sidelines, a 14-year-old girl said her education ended in Grade Six when her parents died.
“My parents died within a short period of each other, and I now live with my grandparents,” she said. “They are elderly and can no longer work to pay for my education. The little they get goes towards our basic survival.”
A boy at the programme asked what his future held without schooling.
“It pains me every morning when I see children my age going to school. I wonder what will become of me and how I will make it in life,” he said. “People always talk about the importance of education and how it empowers people. But what will empower me?”
Their stories reflect a wider problem.
Section 75 of Zimbabwe’s Constitution guarantees the right to basic state-funded education, and the Education Act provides for compulsory basic education, yet costs keep some children out of class.
In national consultations on education in 2024, UNICEF found that 44% of participating children identified school costs as a burden on families.
Mativenga said she invited the children to the programme because they needed encouragement too.
“Normally, our music and prayer days target church members, but we decided to include vulnerable children from the community because they also need the same encouragement we give one another in church,” she said.
Madiye said communities should take practical steps to help.
“We need people who can identify challenges in their communities and take practical steps to improve people’s lives,” she said.
Guest speaker Pastor Fortunate Chipunza urged parents and guardians to keep seeking help.
“You have done a commendable thing by coming forward and acknowledging the challenges you are facing. Always remember that God loves everyone, including those whom society looks down upon,” he said. “We also love you, we value you, and we treasure you.”
