Helping the wonderful students of Pakati schools in Zimbabwe
Author: Friends Of Pakati
My name is Chris Walker, and between January 1989 and September 1991 I worked, through VSO (Voluntary Service Overseas), at Pakati Secondary School in Murehwa South district in Zimbabwe. I was a Maths teacher for 2 years, the Acting Head for the last 8 months there. I have also taught in Botswana & the UK, had 4 years working for VSO, and have been a Civil Servant in Bradford since 2005.
Hi everyone, welcome back to Friends of Pakati blog.
I was just talking to one of my colleagues at work recently. We were talking about what Friends of Pakati have been doing, & she was asking about the schools.
Her name is Alison, & she works on the same team as me in the Civil Service office, as do over 100 other staff.
Alison joined us a couple of years ago, having been a primary school teacher previously. It turns out she had a number of resources at home from her teaching career.
She gave me a bag….full.of books that could be useful for teachers at Pakati Primary school. I will see how soon we can get them out to the school.
It is mostly Maths & English books, which look like good additional resources to use alongside locally produced teaching materials.
On behalf of Pakati Primary School, a huge Thank You to Alison for her generosity!
I have just received some new images from Mr Mahachi, Headmaster of Pakati Primary school, recorded today, 9th September 2025. This is the first day of the 3rd & final term this year.
Headmaster Mr Mahachi welcomes Pakati Primary students back to school on the first day of term
According to Mr Mahachi… “Some pics were taken at an assembly, some in class, some whilst learners were eating porridge, some during briefing with staff members.” Below are a selection of those photos:
A big thank you to Mr Mahachi! He tells me more to cone from IT lessons soon, using the computers we sent over last year.
Greetings all, welcome back to Friends of Pakati for another blog.
Just a couple of weeks ago, I received the following from Mr Chizenya, Head of Pakati Secondary school, regarding the end of the winter term.
“Good afternoon, Mr Walker. We closed today for the August holiday. We had a great time today as we announced the learners who passed at least 5 subjects at each secondary school level. We appreciate these learners with notebooks, pens, and book covers. We hope that this initiative will help boost the school’s pass rate.”
Schools re-open again soon, and it is a very important term for the Grade 7 students at Pakati Primary school, as well as the Form 4’s at Pakati Secondary. They sit their end-of-year exams as they complete their studies at both schools.
On behalf of Friends of Pakati, I would like to wish every success with their exams, & hope they can be inspired by so many of our former students, several of whom have featured in out blogs over the past 7 years. GOOD LUCK!!!!
At the end of the football season in May this year, as part of the celebrations for Scunthorpe United’s promotion, and also the 125th anniversary of the clubs existence, several things happened.
One was an auction of memorabilia, including this item – an old-style football, inscribed with the previous club badge – known as ‘Unity’ – and the words 1899 SCUNTHORPE UNITED. It was signed by all of the promotion winning players.
Our friend & Trustee, Cuan Forrest, bid the highest for it, & promptly decided to donate it to Friends of Pakati!
After today’s first home game of the 2025/26 season (which Scunthorpe United won 3-1 against Woking FC) Cuan handed over the ball to me!
Cuan & Chris outside the Iron Bar with the commemorative football
We will arrange for it to be either auctioned or raffled in the near future.
The ceremony & reception were both held at Elsham Hall, just a few miles outside of Scunthorpe.
I felt honoured to be invited to the reception in the evening, & was able to talk to both bride & groom & number of the other guests, some of whom I already knew thanks to Brad & my support for Scunthorpe United FC.
Hi everyone! Well, we are at the halfway point of 2025, so it’s time for a review of this first 6 months of the year.
I have to admit it has been a bit up & down so far, but I can feel things are starting to change for the better. Friends of Pakati have had some important things going on in the background, which are just starting to come to fruition and almost teady to announce.
I did find something I hadn’t published at the time. Mr Chizenya sent it to me in March this year, with an explanation of the picture.
“☝️ Pakati Secondary School learners competed and won in the Modern Dance Category, at the recently held Cluster Annual Sports Science and Arts Festival (CASSAF). They qualified for the District Annual Sports Science and Arts Festival (DASSAF) to be held next term.”
The first half of 2025 has really been a story about both Friends of Pakati and its links with Scunthorpe United FC, plus with our own regular donor. These have come together in the development of a board of Trustees as we apply for formal charity status here in the UK.
Below are the links to the key posts so far this year. Firstly, about finances:
From that day, we met someone who is keen to help us progress in our desire to be a registered charity, and access more funds to help Pakati schools – a Mr Cuan Forrest:
I thought it would be a good idea for Friends of Pakati to give a brief look at each of the five prospective trustees. We are also looking at adding potential reserve trustees should we need to change any of the original members or decide to add additional trustees to help us progress.
The current list of potential trustees is as follows:
Sharlom Chaitika, Cuan Forest, Bradley Mell, Bothwell Riside, & the author, Chris Walker. All will be familiar to regular readers & followers of Friends of Pakati. Here are their brief biographies & a photo:
Sharlom Chaitika
Born and raised in Zimbabwe, Sharlom Rumbidzai Chaitika is a Specialist Biomedical Scientist with expertise in Biochemistry, Haematology, and Transfusion. Alongside her professional career, she is deeply committed to improving the lives of young children, particularly those from underprivileged communities.
Sharlom brings her passion for education and healthcare to her role as a dedicated board member of Friends of Pakati, where she also contributes as a regular donor. Her efforts focus on supporting orphans and vulnerable children, championing access to quality education and healthcare as tools for long-term empowerment.
In addition to her work with Friends of Pakati, Sharlom serves as an ambassador for Challenge Ministries UK, where she supports fundraising efforts and initiatives benefiting communities in Eswatini. She is also the founder of the non-profit organisation Created4Purpose, which aims to develop and support schools and healthcare facilities in rural Zimbabwe.
Sharlom’s unwavering commitment to uplifting children through education and health continues to shape her work across all her roles, driven by a firm belief in creating lasting change in communities most in need
2. Cuan Forrest
Cuan Forrest is the Managing Director of Ellipse Energy, a Leicester-based company he founded driven by a passion to eradicate fuel poverty by helping communities reduce carbon emissions and develop sustainable energy sources throughout the UK.
What sets the company apart is its ethical approach, working with clients that include local authorities, social housing providers, and charities across the UK. The company is at the heart of creating more energy-efficient, comfortable, and sustainable environments for all its clients.
The company has received several national and regional awards in recognition of the work it has done in the communities it serves.
Cuan is a former winner of the Institute of Directors East Midlands Director of the Year award in the small business category.
Born in Salisbury, Harare, his connection to Zimbabwe led to his involvement with Friends of Pakati. It is an honor and privilege for him to serve as a Trustee of the charity, which has already completed important projects for the enhancement and benefit of Pakati schools.
He looks forward to continuing this work by helping increase awareness of Friends of Pakati and driving forward its fundraising objectives for future projects alongside his fellow trustees and other stakeholders.
3. Bradley Mell
Brad Mell is a writer, producer and theatre maker based in North Lincolnshire. He has worked with organisations such as the National Youth Theatre, the National Student Drama Festival, HOME Theatre Manchester and 2021 Visual Arts Centre Scunthorpe.
He was the original host and one of the co-creators of the successful Iron Bru Podcast. As of 2025 he produces and hosts the interview based podcast Artron Energy.
In 2022 Brad first started working with Friends of Pakati, owing to a shared passion with founder Chris for Scunthorpe United. This was initially offering digital assistance, but he has since gone on to produce the Friends of Pakati podcast and produce a number of live fundraising events.
On becoming a trustee Brad says: ‘I’m incredibly honoured to be entrusted with this role and, having seen the plans, am really looking forward to working with my fellow trustees on projects that I know will provide significant and long lasting benefits to the students at the Pakati schools.’
4. Bothwell Riside
Mr. Bothwell Riside Principal – Primary Years, Southbridge International School Cambodia
Mr. Bothwell Riside is an accomplished school administrator, educator, and educational technology enthusiast currently serving as the Principal for the Primary Years at Southbridge International School Cambodia. With a solid foundation in Mathematics and Computer Science teaching, he brings a strong academic and technical background to his leadership role, promoting excellence in both pedagogy and digital integration.
A former student of the Pakati schools in Zimbabwe, Mr. Riside is a proud and passionate member of the Friends of Pakati initiative, actively supporting educational development in his home community. Before relocating to Southeast Asia, he taught at several of Zimbabwe’s most prestigious schools, earning a reputation for academic rigor and innovation.
Mr. Riside is known for his visionary approach to school leadership, with a particular focus on integrating technology meaningfully into learning and administration. He combines his expertise as a political analyst and educator to bring a global, critical perspective to the evolving landscape of international education. Driven by a belief in equity, empowerment, and lifelong learning, he continues to inspire both staff and students to reach their highest potential.
5. Chris Walker
Founder, Friends of Pakati
Chris Walker was born & raised in Scunthorpe, Lincolnshire, and has been a supporter of its local football club since childhood, Scunthorpe United (The Iron).
Chris has been a Civil Servant for the last 20 years Bradford, West Yorkshire. Prior to that, his principal career was in teaching, having taught in Zimbabwe (via VSO), Botswana (via the British Council), and in the UK.
Having revisited Zimbabwe in 2018, Chris returned to Pakati Secondary school to see how things were. It was this trip that inspired the setting up of Friends of Pakati.
Chris has wanted to become registered as a Charity for some time, and is am delighted that there is now a team of Trustees in place to make it happen.
The future for Friends of Pakati looks bright, so that should bring further development to both Pakati schools &, by extension, the local community.
This week, a small group of us held an online meeting to discuss a number of things regarding the future of Friends of Pakati.
Those taking part were Cuan Forrest, plus two of his associates Emma Armstrong & Bina Sitaram, along with Bradley Mell, Sharlom Chitika & myself.
Bina (left) & Cuan (centre) with Bina’s daughter Jessica (right)
The main things we talked about were: Charity Status, Trustees, immediate plans, fundraising, & future potential projects.
We agreed a procees for getting that official Charity status, likely to be in the next couple of months, all being well.
These are the prospective Trustees: Sharlom Chaitika, Cuan Forrest, Bradley Mell, Bothwell Riside & Chris Walker. We will also need some reserve Trustees who can interchange as & when required.
Following discussions with the Heads of the two Pakati schools – Mr Mahachi (Primary, above) & Mr Chizenya (Secondary, below) – we have some idea of the priorities of both schools for us to focus on when raising funds.
Here are the main items the two schools said they would like to have, and we are waiting for a full list of quotes for each item accordingly. We posted this on our Friends of Pakati WhatsApp group chat –
“Hi all, following contact with the two Pakati school Heads, below are their priorities as sent to me yesterday:
Mr Mahachi, Pakati Primary priorities are as follows
IT suite
new classroom
Renovation of teachers house and classroom
Solar power upgrade
Mr Chizenya, Staff members and SDC members agreed that Pakati Secondary priorities are as follows;
Water
New toilets for learners
Renovation of teachers houses
Renovation of classrooms
Solar power upgrade
So far, we have a quote for surveying & for drilling a borehole, at $350 and $1800 respectively.”
Pakati Primary, open air classroom, photo taken in 2022
The benefit of getting the Charity status is we can then apply for grants, some of which are substantial, which will allow us to do more for the schools and local community. It also will boost our ability to fundraise towards our targets, & get to apply for Gift Aid too.
One of the potential fundrausing ideas has come from our newest partner, Cuan Forrest (above). Following the recent success of our beloved Scunthorpe United in gaining promotion last weekend, Cuan was involved in part of the celebrations (including 125th Anniversary of the club), & has a ball signed by the squad. He is donating it to Friends of Pakati to help raise funds. This will be organised very soon.
That’s all for this post, but we have more to announce in the coming days!
As developments happen behind the scenes here at Friends of Pakati, an interesting question has come up.
For some years now, we have had a number of items of merchandise for sale. They have been t-shirts, mugs, coasters, key rings, and pin badges.
We feel it is time for some newer items to offer for sale to raise funds for us in the future…so my question to you, our readers, followers & supporters, is – what would you like to see us offer? Different items? New designs? Something unusual, perhaps? What if anything do you like from our current range?
Please do let us know your thoughts, ideas and suggestions.
