Friends Of Pakati

Something a bit different in this particular blog…

During a visit I made to Pakati and its neighbouring schools in 2022, as part of the celebrations for items Friends of Pakati donated, we were entertained by students from the various schools.

Today we are concentrating on the traditional dance which both Pakati and Mapanga Primary schools performed for us. It is a culturally significant dance which originates in the Murewa district of Zimbabwe, which is where Pakati is situated.

Before I post the two videos from Pakati and from Mapanga, here is a some information about the Jerusalem Dance:

In addition to the above, Mrs Maenzanise told me about the preparations Mapanga made in the lead up to our visit:

“As for the school children…we have a resource person who comes in the afternoon to train them on drum beat and how the dance is performed…children by nature are good at imitation…they can easily follow every movement very well…they can perform at assembly or any other day…

As for preparations…we invited a resource person from the local area…we prepared the crops and instruments especially the drums…its quite exciting to dance to the dance.”

The following information was also sent by Mrs Maenzanise:

*Costumes worn during Mbende / Jerusarema dancing*

The look is bold, colorful, and meant to highlight the fast hip, waist, and leg movements. Both men and women dress to show Zezuru identity and to make the dance visually strong.

*For Women*
1. *Skirt – _Zambia / Chipisi*_
   Short pleated skirt made from cloth, often bright colors. It flares out so the hip and waist shaking is very visible.
2. *Top – _Chitenge blouse*_
   Fitted blouse or wrap top, usually matching the skirt. Sometimes sleeveless.
3. *Headwrap – _Doek*_
   Colorful headscarf tied at the back.
4. *Beads and accessories*
   – Beaded belts around the waist to emphasize movement
   – Beaded necklaces, bangles, and anklets
   – _Magavhu_ – rattles tied around the ankles to add sound with the footwork
5. *Body paint*
   Sometimes traditional patterns are painted on arms/legs for performances/festivals.

*For Men*
1. *Shorts – _Chipisi*_
   Knee-length shorts or a wrap-around cloth. Allows for the crouching, kicking and “mole” movements.
2. *Top*
   Sleeveless vest or bare chest, often with a cloth sash across the shoulder/chest.
3. *Headgear*
   Headband or cloth tied around the head.
4. *Rattles – _Magavhu*_
   Tied below the knees and around the ankles so each stomp/kick makes sound.
5. *Wooden clappers*
   Some male dancers also hold clappers to keep rhythm.

*General performance notes*
– *Colors*: Bright reds, yellows, greens, and blues from chitenge fabric are common. They represent celebration and life.
– *Instruments worn*: The _magavhu_ ankle rattles are part of the costume because the sound is part of the dance.
– *No shoes*: Dancers usually perform barefoot to feel the ground and make the stomping clearer.

The whole outfit is designed for movement — nothing should restrict the fast hip rolls, waist shakes, and the men’s crouch-and-kick “mole” steps.

UNESCO notes that keeping the _authentic_ costume — chitenge, beads, rattles, no modern additions — is part of safeguarding the dance.

Also, I was talking to a friend of mine, a former Pakati student, as they had sent me some videos from a funeral of an elderly relative. As you will see below, the funeral was very much a celebration of the 91-year-olds life.

She was known among many other things,as being the ‘queen of the Jerusalem dance’, a well-known traditional dance that originates in the Murewa District of Zimbabwe.

The dance is used during many different occasions, including weddings, funerals, festivals and other significant events. Mrs Maenzanise also said “Our pupils dance a day before we close school…when the parents come and cheer and celebrate with their top ten excellent perfoming children in class…from ECD to grade 7, most recently on 5 Aug 2026…”

From my personal perspective, I found it fascinating, and felt honoured by the performances at both schools, as it was clear how much work they put into it & how culturally important it is to them all.

It is the school holidays in Zimbabwe right now, and at Pakati Primary school there are the usual activities going on…

Mr Mahachi, Head of the Primary school, sent me the images & information used in this blog post.

Every school holiday there are usually a handful of staff around, & they oversee the students who are coming in for holiday lessons.

The extra lessons were held a couple of days a week during the holidays, & were for the Grade 7 students as they were to sit their final Primary school exams in September.

As well as the lessons, the students had some additional duties, including some cleaning around the school

The school gardens also needed some attention, so the students brought water from the borehole & watertank, to make sure the plants were well hydrated.

The school has had a play area constructed recently, according to Mr Mahachi “…Newly constructed ECD (Early Childhood Development) play center using locally available materials.”

When the students go back to school in early-mid September, we should have some footage of the schools’ youngest children playing on the new equipment.

It is great to see the school always trying their best to improve the learning environment for all  their students, from ECD up to Grade 7.

If you enjoyed this post, please help us to help both Pakati schools to get the power supply connected, to help them provide the improved standard of education they deserve.

Please donate generously to http://paypal.me/friendsofpakati or http://gofundme.com/Friends-of-pakati or contact us via email friendsofpakati@gmail.com

Thank you👏👏

Welcome to this important new podcast, all about our sponsorship deal with Scunthorpe United FC.

We did talk about it previously here on the blog: https://friendsofpakati.com/2026/06/26/the-iron-v-friends-of-pakati-when-two-passions-collide/ but thought it would be good to understand a but more about how it came about.

As usual, our Podcast host is Bradley Mell along with myself, and our special guest is another of our Trustees-in-waiting, Cuan Forrest – the man behind the deal – who has featured on the blog several times, but first introduced here: https://friendsofpakati.com/2025/04/13/out-of-the-shadows-meet-cuan-forrest/

Part of the sponsorship deal is also that we have an advertising banner on display…

…which we covered here: https://friendsofpakati.com/2026/08/06/stadium-advert-part-2-delivered/

So to give more background to it all, please listen & enjoy this podcast!

To help support our work, please donate via the following: http://gofundme.com/Friends-of-pakati or http://paypal.me/friendsofpakati

If you are able to give a larger amount, or want to ask about regular support or sponsorship of our podcasts, please email friendsofpakati@gmail.com

Thank you!

I sometimes struggle to create new blog posts. It often feels like I have already said things in previous posts, or that I really don’t have much to say right now. That’s how I am feeling right now…but strangely enough, it is often in these moments that some kind of inspiration mysteriously appears. Although this blog is going to be a little unusual, I do have a few things to discuss with you.

On social media, I have a presence mostly on Facebook, and on Twitter/X. I have a personal presence for my football stuff on both, and a separate account for Friends of Pakati also on both. I have a number of followers for FoP on Twitter/X and it is on this articular forum I have come across someone who is interested in what we do.

I DM’d him, & am now in contact following a post he made looking back at his own schooldays. I will talk a bit about him & quote from some of his posts on here. This is what he looked like in what is now Grade 2…

I will just use his Twitter/X name on mere for now, you can find him @KingJayZim and that picture above caught my eye, along with some of the accompanying text, for example:

“..Growing Up Coloured in Rhodesia: The Little Boy in the Photograph”

“…let’s step outside that classroom for a moment and look at the society that little boy was growing up in. Because I was growing up in a country where something as ordinary as choosing a primary school could depend on the colour of your skin. I was Coloured.

That was the term used for people of mixed race in Rhodesia and South Africa, and in the context in which I grew up, it was the accepted description of our community

We weren’t Black. We weren’t white. And being coloured came with its own peculiar place in the racial structure of Rhodesian society.

Our choices were limited.”

He goes on to describe getting to school by bus, about moving areas & schools because he was ‘coloured’, and to eulogise about his experiences at Ardbennie, a government school, and all the staff who worked there.

Some of the things he talked about reminded me of my own school journey, at Priory Lane Infants & Juniors in Ashby, Scunthorpe (see image below as the schools is now). Raising money for school projects, annual events like Harvest Festival, bringing food to the school for them to donate to worthy causes, tree planting, sports events including staff v students (particularly at secondary school), etc.

One thing where his experience differed from me was this:

“…it was my final year at the school…& so that little boy sitting behind the desk in that photograph eventually became Head Boy.”

However, my own version of this was much later, in that I got appointed to Acting Head of Pakati school after two years…

@KingJay goes on to talk about his Secondary school, and its shortcomings, such as not having proper lab facilities for science lessons. Maths & English were very strong, but…

“…History was another story altogether. As I grew older and became less brainwashed I began questioning some of what we had been taught….I remember learning more about the Afrikaaner Voortrekkers in South Africa than I felt we learned about the history immediately around us. I didn’t question it then.

Much later I began to realise that education isn’t only about what you are taught…it’s also about what you are not taught”

Pakati Secondary school, where I taught between 1989 & 1991 can be considered as a fairly typical rural African school, and as such suffered/suffers from a lack of resources compared to other schools. In Zimbabwe, the rural schools have very little funding apart from the fees paid by parents, whereas Government schools are better equipped as a rule. Then at the top are the extremely well funded Private schools, some of which are better than International schools.

The bottom line for me is I would like to see Pakati schools have the scales tilted more in their favour, by improved funding to support a better learning environment all round. Improvements for students, staff, administrators & the local community. For example:

• classroom environments – floors, walls, ceilings, doors, windows, desks, chairs, black or whiteboards, access to textbooks, writing materials, use of IT becoming commonplace ( as the curriculum actually demands), access to the internet, steady electrical supply for lighting & IT
• Staffroom & Admin block improved to a similar standard of the classrooms
• Teachers accommodation also improved to a similar standard – teacher retention has long been a problem for the more rural schools
• Teaching materials need improving & being brought up to date, along with relevant upskilling for staff particularly in the use of IT in all subjects
• Transport links are also an issue for teachers in rural schools
• Better local community links, through use of school facilities by families of students, such as IT classes for non-students.
• Facilities in other local community settings, such as the nearby business centres such as Chigwada and Jacobo townships.

All the above show the importance of getting a good, steady supply of electricity to the classrooms, through ZESA and with solar power as a good back-up supply.

To complete the ZESA connection is I am lead to believe likely to caos around US$1000 per school, so $2000 in total. At current exchange rates that means we need approximately £1600 in total.

Our current total in our bank account stands at £283.55, so we have a lot to raise in the coming weeks.

If you can help, or know someone who might be supportive of our work, please use either of the following methods of payment;

http://www.paypal.me/friendsofpalati and/or http://www.gofundme/Friends-of-pakati

Thank you!

Well I am delighted to finally share with you all the news that our advert is finally up in the Attis Arena/Glanford Park stadium, home of Scunthorpe United FC!

As part of the deal which was struck with the club, when we sponsored the shirt-sleeve for this coming season, we were entitled to have a banner in the stadium in a prominent position, where many inside it could see it clearly.

We were given a number of local printers to contact, and after some deliberation we chose one called FreshPrint, not least because it could be done at short notice and at a competitive price.

I went round to their premises, where the owner Simon and I discussed the requirements & design.

At the club, we were shown the location for our advert, which was among those which are placed along the top part of the Mortz Stand. Previously, it was occupied by a company called Wheelie Clean.

Just recently, Simon brought round the finished banner to the stadium…

Soon afterwards, the club had their chosen contractors come to erect the banner into its new place, with Friends of Pakati now proudly in place, on display for the whole of the 2026/27 season.

Job done!

Thank you to Simon at FreshPrint, and Glyn Sparks, Head of Partnerships at Scunthorpe United, plus the contractors who put the banner up.

As we are still fundraising for something specific right now, please click on the link https://friendsofpakati.com/2026/07/30/the-reasons-we-are-fundraising/ to find out more, and how to donate.👏👏👏

Hi everyone!

Today we are reporting on our stall at the United by Steel Gala at Glanford Park, Scunthorpe United FC’s home ground. The pictures show our stall being put up, being run during the day, and some of the winners at the stall.

The event was a collaboration between Scunthorpe United and the front-of-shirt sponsor British Steel, bringing back the celebration of the town’s major employer after a number of years.

I myself can remember going to Appleby Frodingham Steel Gala’s in the late 1960’s and early 1970’s, very much a family friendly event aimed at steelworkers families.

Friends of Pakati has attended several similar events previously, including Open Days and Community Days at the club, and have always had great support from the club itself, and great generosity from the fans every time.

On the day this time, we ran a number of activities, as a means of raising funds for us, such as Tombola, Raffle, Guess the name of the Teddy Bear, Guess the numer of Seets in a Jar, and a Lucky Dip.

Throughout the day we had a number of people helping out, including in no particular order, Harley Glossop, Alison Redhead, Charlotte Cowgill, Cuan Forrest & Hannah Redhead, so a huge THANK YOU to them all👏👏👏👏

During the event as well as people donating funds & playing the games to win prizes, there were some donating goods, both to raise funds but also for us to send out to the two Pakati schools.

We had a steady flow of visitors throughout the event, which for us ran from 10am to 3pm, with over an hour both setting up & taking down. 

Lots of people were already aware of Friends of Pakati, but we had a good number of others finding out about us for the first time.

To have raised another £192 at the end of the day was a great result for us, showing us yet again the amazing generosity of Iron fans, as we have reported after a previous event: https://friendsofpakati.com/2026/03/15/iron-fans-prove-their-generosity-again/

Its always good to see people happy with their winnings!

We had a few items left from the Tombola, including the 3 games pictured below, as well as some books for younger children donated by the McClements family of Iron fans,.

These are being added to other items already donated at the most recent Community Day.

All in all, another successful event for us, so a big thank you to both Scunthorpe United – especially to Devon Riley, Glyn Sparks and James Moody – and to British Steel – especially Lisa Coulson – for organising the day.

Friends of Pakati are honoured to be the sponsor of the Iron’s shirt sleeve for this 2026/27 season!

Welcome to Friends of Pakati whether it your first visit or not!

We are actively fundraising to support the two Pakati schools in Zimbabwe – Primary and Secondary – and right now we need help to raise US$2000 (£1600 approx) to be able to complete the full electrification of both schools.

In the near future there are other projects we want to focus on, including access to wifi/internet to support the learning environment for all Pakati students.

We are also developing longer term plans, including the possibility of a kind of scholarship and/or hardship fund for students from poorer backgrounds, to be arranged in conjunction with local community figures and the two Schools’ administrations.

The deivery of IT equipment to both Pakati schools has the potential to be transformative to the students who pass through the schools, and for the community as a whole.

Please help us by donating to either http://paypal.me/friendsofpakati or http://gofundme.com/Freinds-of-pakati

Also please visit our stall on Sunday August 2nd at the United by Steel Gala at Glanfird Park, the home of Scunthorpe United FC. There will be several activities going on & chances to win prizes on the day!

Our friend & fellow Iron fan, member of the Iron Hour Podcast team, Gareth Holden has once again made us a ahort video about the above event, so please take note of what he has to say:

Thank you all – look out for more content on here in the coming days!

As you will probably already know, Friends of Pakati will be having a stall at the upcoming United by Steel Gala. It is being held at the home of Scunhorpe United, and is a joint venture between the club and its main shirt spinsor, British Steel. We mentioned the Gala recently:

https://friendsofpakati.com/2026/07/04/united-by-steel-gala-we-have-a-stall/

Also on the same day – August 2nd – is the Iron Aid match between Legends of the Iron and Legends of Manchester United, kicking off at 4pm. This is organised by Nor Lait Promotions

It’s going to be a long, busy but ultimately enjoyable day!

We are already busy organising what will happen on our stall that day, and you can be sure there will be several activities going on at the same time.

There will be chances to win a variety of different prizes (see pics above from Community Day in March) from these activities…and as it is a key fundraiser for us, please do bring plenty of cash with you!

What do we need?

Donations

There are three types of donations we are looking for:

•  Money donations – cash, bank transfer, or via http://paypal.me/friendsofpakati or http://gofundme.com/Freinds-of-pakati

•  Donations of IT equipment, plus clothes, toys & books for children up to aged 18 years to send to Pakati schools

•  Donations of things we can sell, raffle, auction, or give as prizes on the day of the Gala

Please do get in contact with us:

Twitter, Facebook & Instagram – @friendsofpakati

Twitter – @guiuan03

Email – friendsofpakati@gmail.com

Or speak to me if you see me at the football ground.

Community Day stall in March 2026 raised nearly £700 a good amount for us – something we would love to surpass this time.

THANK YOU SO MUCH👏👏👏

Part of the sponsorship deal Friends of Pakati has with Scunthorpe United includes not just our badge on the sleeve….

…..but also a banner/advert in the stadium, to be seen during every home game & and by any visitors to the club during the season.

For us, it will mean a lot more exposure, and hopefully more interest, more website visitors/views & ultimately, more funds raised.

It will go at the location circled in red in the picture above

With help from a friend of our podcast host Brad Mell, we have had a few options, seen below…

…and lastly,

The general feeling is that this last one is the likely design we will go with, or something similar. We have now agreed a deal with a local printing firm, Fresh Print, & by the middle of next week the banner will be ready to be mounted in the stadium. It should be done before the pre-season friendly with Chesterfield FC on 31st July.

The company we are using is a Scunthorpe based outfit called FreshPrint – for more information about them and the process, please see Part 2 of this story, to be published when the banner is up at the stadium.

Partnership with the Iron – coming soon!

We are also going to explore and explain the new developing partnership with the football club, and what it means for both parties. We will go into more detail of what we can do together for our mutual benefit. There will be a major blog to come out in the next few weeks, and at least one podcast alongside it.

Just recently I have moved back to my home town of Scunthorpe. I got asked today how long I had been away – only then did it strike me that it had been 50 years!

So where have I been? What was I doing? And of course, what made me return? I believe someone is hoping to document my story in some detail, but that is likely to be dominated by Pakati then & now. But for now, this is just a brief outline from when I left Scunthorpe in 1976, through to my return in 2026.

My first job was working for a national bank, starting in August 1976, they posted me to their branch in Grimsby, 30-odd miles down the road from Scunthorpe. I still spent most weekends at my parents for those 2 years, but the job led me to my next destination – Sheffield – through friends I made on holiday.

6 years in Sheffield took me from age 21 through to 27 in 1984, working on and off in an accounts office, a photo laboratory, a shop & two pubs, before a housemate suggested I should try teaching…

…so I moved to Bradford in September 1984, where I completed 4 years of teacher training at Bradford College. As the course ended, I applied to VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas), and at the end of 1988 I was preparing for what was to become the most significant move of my life – being posted to a small, rural secondary school in Zimbabwe called Pakati. That took me through to August 1991 at the age of 34.

When I left Zimbabwe in 1991, I went straight to Leeds University to study for an MA in Development Studies, where I lived for 12 months. After this I moved back to Bradford, where I worked until May 1995…

…then I got another teaching job, via the British Council, at Mater Spei College in Francistown, Botswana, until the end of 1997 when I returned to the UK, back to Bradford.

I taught on supply in & around Bradford until the end of the school year in July 2000. I then worked as the North of England Regional Representative for VSO, until the end of 2004. I returned to teaching until July 2005, after which I became a Civil Servant for the next 20 years. I lived in Bradford throughout this time, until 2023 when I moved to Leeds.

Finally, having been increasingly involved in Friends of Pakati, & with ever deepening ties to Scunthorpe United, especially a number of fans who have become very close friends, I decided to move back home to Scunthorpe, making it much easier to get to games!

Great to be back home!

Coming soon here on Friends of Pakati:

• Build up to the United by Steel Gala – August 2

• Funds needed to complete ZESA connections

• Podcast guests being lined up

• Shirt sponsorship – more details & what it means

To help us at Friends of Pakati to support both schools learning environment, please donate to either http://paypal.me/friendsofpakati or http://gofundme.com/Freinds-of-pakati

Thank you👍