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Hi everyone!

I have recently heard from Mr. Mahachi, Head of Pakati Primary school. He has sent me a lot of information & pictures, covering several stories. Today I will show quite a few photos from a trip for some students out to a particular part of Harare – the R G Mugabe International Airport.

The visit also takes in the Lion & Cheetah Park in Harare, and a children’s playground called ‘Tamba Tese’ (‘Play Together’).

The children & staff from Pakati Primary school were taken to Harare by coach from a local travel company, an experience they cleary enjoyed.

The main part of the trip was clearly the visit to the Harare International Airport, named aftee the former President of Zimbabwe, Robert G Mugabe.

Below are some of the photos of the staff & students, clearly having a good time, looking at aircraft & going on board

From Mr Mahachi recently:

‘Learners arrive at school between 0600 and 0630 hrs. The bus started its journey by 0630, and arrived in Harare at R G Mugabe Airport around 0900 hrs. Learners ate their braekfast whilst travelling and ate the lunch at Lion and Cheetah Park between 1300 and 1400hrs.

Lastly visted Tamba Tese after 1400 hrs. The bus started its journey to the school around 1700 hrs and arrived back at the school some minutes after 8pm as it was dropping some learners along the way. “

These are just a few of the students who benefit from the very generous donations given to Friends of Pakati over the last 6 years – Computers & laptops, football shirts, t-shirts etc. –  and just as important, cash donations & sales of merchandise. To help us continue to support the Pakati schools, please contact us via friendsofpakati@gmail.com

Follow us: X/Twitter, Facebook & Instagram using the tag @friendsofpakati & now also on Bluesky:

Please donate to us at either http://paypal.me/friendsofpakati or http://gofundme.com/friends-of-pakati

Coming next – the interview I recorded at Pakati Secondary school in October this year with teacher Mr Moses Chadenga – a great story!

Greetings all.

This particular blog is a direct follow up to the most recent podcast – https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/11/01/pakati-2024-podcast-3/ – the last in a series of 3 podcasts about before, during & after my visit to the school recently.

Mr Chizenya, Head of Pakati Seondary school, has been in touch this week with some wonderful news….

“Hello Mr Walker. We have started offering computer lessons to learners.”

An exchange between us – ” (Chris Walker): I can create a new blog to encourage people to donate towards the things we discussed – power, wifi, etc
(S T Chizenya): Good morning Mr Walker. I’m sure that will help a lot. In the meantime we are using a long cable to transfer electricity from a nearby house to the library/IT Suite. But For the past 2 days we have been delivering theory lessons because electricity has not been available in the afternoon.”

So as you can see, the Secondary school in particular is really in need of a good power supply right now. As discussed in the podcast, we need to raise US$500 to connect the ZESA supply to the school buildings as soon as we can.

With the limited power available, they were able to use one computer to demonstrate what can be done, but really they do need to be able to use all 10 we delivered this year, and the 5 we sent in 2019…please help by donating to:

http://www.gofundme.com/friends-of-pakati or

http://www.paypal.me/friendsofpakati

If you can’t donate, then please at least share this blig with your conacts on social media – Thank you so much!

Coming soon…

● Pakati Primary school: students go on a visit to Harare + more – pictures & information from the Head, Mr Mahachi

● Pakati Secondary school: video interview with Maths teacher Mr Chadenga

● Wi-fi: costs of installation & monthly payments at both schools

Hello there!

This 3rd podcast from my visit to Zimbabwe in October, and it asked the question – What next for Friends of Pakati and the two Pakati schools?

A number of issues arising from the visit are what I discuss with podcast host Bradley Mell – have a listen & let us know your thoughts…

We clearly have a lot of work to do…but we really need help with many aspects of that work. Please do get involved with us if you can., with ideas, suggestions for contacts, fundraising, spreading the word online – & anything else you can think of!

…and of course funds towards what is needed at the school http://www.gofundme.com/friends-of-pakati or http://www.paypal.me/friendsofpakati

Hello everyone!

Here is the second of 3 parts which make up the series about my visit to Pakati in early October this year.

Part 2 is about what happened during the visit, including the arrival of the IT we had shipped out to Zimbabwe. The interview is hosted by Bradley Mell talking to the Author.

The discussions cover some of what you can see in these 2 blog posts from Zimbabwe https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/10/10/at-pakati-in-2024/ and https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/10/13/delivered/

Part 3, folliwing in a few days, will talk about what happens next…the visit has raised a number of issues for Friends of Pakati & we discuss those issues in detail.

Greetings everyone! Here is the first podcast for a while, and it is also the first of a 3-part series.

In this podcast, our host Bradley Mell interviews the Author about his recent visit to both Pakati schools in Zimbabwe. Part 1 is about the run-up to the visit, Part 2 is about what happened during the visit, and Part 3 is about what happens next..

Here is Part 1…

This podcast can be listened to alongside several of our previous blogs, as we went into some detail about how we acquired the computers & how we got them shipped out.

There are many photos in those previous blogs, & some links are in this particular post https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/10/06/first-post-from-zimbabwe-2024/

Part 2 will be released in a few more days…

Greetings all! It will come as no surprise to those who know me, that as well as the amazing visits to Pakati schools, I have travelled widely over many years of trips to Zimbabwe, and I will publish here a mixture of pictures old & new.

I guess the hardest thing is to decide exactly where to start! I have chosen this – back from my early days in the country. I visited the place which gives the country its name:

Great Zimbabwe

maDzimbabwe means ‘stone houses’, and there is a wonderful example of such structures just a few kilometres outside of the town of Masvingo. Founded in the 11th century, it was home to a thriving culture.

Mutare

The main city in the heart of the Eastern Highlands, it is set in a valley, and the approach from Harare via Christmas Pass gives a spectacular view.

The city has a small but interesting museum, housing among many other things, a collection of vintage vehicles.

Mutare is also the gateway to areas such as the Chimanimami mountains (below), Vumba – including the Marindi Falls (also below), and also to Nyanga further North (more on this further down).

Wildlife

Zimbabwe is famous for its wildlife, and the pictures below are from various places at various times. Some from Cecil Kop Game reserve in Mutare, some from Imire Game Park near Marondera, some from Hwange National Park, and one from the Zambezi river.

Victoria Falls

One of the true wonders of the world, Victoria Falls, on the Zambezi River which is a part of the border with Zambia, is genuinely awesome to view from any angle, especially from the air…

Sky Walk & Zip Line – Mtarazi Falls, Nyanga

This year I visited the Mtarazi Falls in Nyanga, where in the last few years, they have added the Sky walk – 2 bridges high above the falls – where you can walk across & back, look down to the Honde Valley below on one side, and watch the falls cascade over 750m on tbe other…

….the Zip line is not for the faint hearted! Below is someone who went on the Zipline & was filmed doing it…rather her than me😎

So there is an awful lot to see & do in & around Zimbabwe, all you need is a sense of adventure!

Coming soon…

● At least 3 new podcasts with our host Bradley Mell & the Author

● An interview with one of the teachers at Pakati Secondary school

● New blog about the plans for the future of Friends of Pakati

● More about the recent visit to both Pakati schools & reactions

Keep following & keep sharing – Thank You!

Hi everyone, here is the second post about this year’s trip to Pakati schools. It follows up from https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/10/10/at-pakati-in-2024/

So what happened was this. We knew the IT goods were delayed, as reported on Tuesday while our handover event happened. I planned to return a week later to see if they had arrived during my planned holiday.

The goods were to be delivered to our friend Vari Mayez of VaTonatsa Foundation. Apparently she received a phone call early on Wednesday morning, telling her they arrived late on Tuesday!

So she went to pay the US$200 duty, and called me to see if I could go with her back to Pakati – as my plan for Wednesday had been cancelled the night becore, I said Yes of course! So off we went in her vehicle (see above picture) & drove there with everything loaded in the back.

On arrival, we were greeted by the Head of Pakati Secondary school, Mr Chizenya and other staff members.

They quickly organised to have the goods taken to the IT suite – formerly a classroom where I had taught Form 4 students – to be checked over.

Several of the staff came & helped us open every box to see what they contained….

…pretty soon the boxes were all open & the goods laid out on the tables…

…..some of the students came to see what we had brought for them…

…along with a delighted Mr Mahachi, Head of Pakati Primary school.

Mr Magabaza then set up one of the PCs to check all was ok, and it appeared that was the case👍

Success!

Friends of Pakati woul like to thank the following organisations for all their help in getting all the goods from North East Lincolnshire all the way to Pakati:

If you would like to help us contiune our wirk, please donate to http://paypal.me/friendsofpakati or http://gofundme.com/friends-of-pakati

THANK YOU!

Greetings everyone! I am writing this post soon after revisiting Pakati Schools, doing exactly what Friends of Pakati was originally set up in 2019 to do – deliver computers to both Pakati schools, Primary & Secondary.

I arrived at Pakati on Monday 7th October bringing some of the items promised – namely the Friends of Pakati t-shirts and an extension cable with USB ports for each school.

At that time, we did not yet have the donated computers, as they were stuck in Addis Ababa (Ethiopia) at the airport awaiting transfer to Harare.

However, due to limited time available, we decided to go ahead with the Handover ceremony at Pakati Secondary school on the Tuesday afternoon, in agreememt with the Heads of both schools. Below are the details & pictures from the event.

I arrived at the Secondary school late in the afternoon on the Monday, so I just took the time to discuss the plans for the next day with Mr Chizenya, school Head, and catch up with him & some colleagues about issues of things like power, wi-fi, sports, lessons, etc.

On the Tuesday morning I gave the t-shirts to the Heads to try on, & gave some out to their staff too  in preparation for the afternoon event.

Mr Mahachi took me to the room currently being used for their handful of computers donated in 2019.

This is in sharp contrast to the converted classroom at the Secondary school, which has been transformed into an IT Suite & library, thanks to some external funding.

The afternoon event began at 2pm, attended by a good number of people, including the following:

Ward 14 Councillor Mr Njenje, plus Councillor frlm Ward 25, Nicholas representing the local MP ‘s Office, Security/Police representing the Presidents Office, Village Heads, Vari Mayez of VaTonatsa Foundation, Heads of both Pakati schools & their staffs, both School Development Committees local parents, & Mrs Maenzanise, Head of nearby Mapanga Primary school, and the students of both Pakati schools…as well as the Author!

So there were various speeches by the local political representatives & local dignatories, along with entertainment by students of both Pakati schools…

Then we came to the Handover. As the donated computers had yet arrived in Harare, we had to improvise…we decided to use one of the previous computers from 2019 as representing the new machines, plus a pleasant surprise for me😁. Here is how that went:

As usual, after the handover ended there were many demands for photos…here below are several of the best ones!

So the day wrapped up around 4.15pm, after mamy photos, discussions, laughs & smiles…and I thought that was it for this trip.

Find out in the next blog what happenend next!

Greetings everyone, from a nice warm Harare!

Tomorrow I am returning to Pakati for the first time since 2022, and very much looking forward to it! The welcome I have had from the community each time has been both wonderful & humbling.

As you can see from recent posts https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/08/18/great-news-2/ https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/09/01/follow-up-to-great-news/ https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/09/05/an-afternoon-in-north-east-lincolnshire/ https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/09/10/making-progress/ & https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/09/28/on-their-way/ we have managed to get to where we are now thanks to a number of wonderful people & organisations.

So ‘Thank You’ to the following: at Tronox – Sarah, Mike, Alice & Triston. At Coedma Freight Int Ltd – Cordelia. At Scunthorpe United – the Board, staff & too many fans to mention!

Even though we may not get the IT delivered at the school as we hoped by this Tuesday, we know they will arrive not long after.

I will endeavor to return to the school if I can before returning home to take more pictures showing the handover & set-up of the items once deluvered. If not, then a representative of Friends if Pakati will do the honours.

Thankfully we do have some other items to deliver, and they are already packed to go to.the schools tomorrow.

So, in the meantime, I took another trip to Domboshawa caves…

Much more to come in the next few days!

Hi everyone!

Great to be able to report that Friends of Pakati have, for the third time, been able to use Coedma Air Freight Int Ltd to transport our goods to Zimbabwe.

They are a Leicester-based shipping company, run by Zimbabweans, & they have an office at Harare International Airport.

Back in 2019 we used them for our first instalment of donated computers & sports gear.

2019 – at Coedma offices in Leicester

Tbis year we are sending more goods, & they are already in transit. We believe they will arrive in Harare around the same date as I do.

Vari Mayez, the founder of our partner organisation VaTonatsa Foundation, has agreed to give our goods a temporary home as they will be delivered to her by Coedma. We will jointly arrange to get them to Pakati on the Monday 7th October as that is when Friends of Pakati are arriving at the schools.

This year’s donations are now in transit to Harare

I am able to track progress every day. All being well the goods should arrive around Thursday/Friday next week.

It is an exciting time for Friends of Pakati right now, with the goods on their way, and the prospect of further co-operation with the donors Tronox. We are looking forward to visiting the two Pakati schools again, & hope we can continue to support them.

You will hear more from us in the next 3 weeks as we tell the tale of our trip to Zimbabwe & Pakati in more detail, backed by more pictures, short videos, interviews & stories. Can’t wait!