Welcome back to Friends of Pakati, for our latest podcast! This time we talk to an unsung hero for us, Scunthorpe United’s General Manager, James Moody!
James Moody, often referred to as “Mr. Scunthorpe United“
James has given Friends of Pakati significant help, support & advice over the years when we have asked for it, for which we are immensely grateful.
In his capacity as GM he is an extraordinarily busy man, but has always made time for us – including this and other Iron fan podcasts – as part of his positive approach to fan engagement.
3 key staff at the club celebrating promotion for the Iron back to the National Leaguelast season (2024/25). L.to R:Glyn Sparks, James Moody & Jake Pullan
For me personally, it was a pleasure talking to James about his life & his links to Scunthorpe United, reminiscing about when I first took my son Daniel to games back in 2014, & recalling the support Friends of Pakati have had from the club & so many of its fans since we started in 2019.
James enjoykng a well-earned rest!
To come soon
• Part 3 of the series about Power to Pakati Secondary school
Thank you for joining us here at Friends of Pakati!
Today we are following on from a previous blog – https://friendsofpakati.com/2025/10/17/part-1-of-3-the-need-for-power/ – about getting electricity from the nearby ZESA supply (which provides power to the teachers houses) to the Administration Block at Pakati Secondary School. The Admin block is already linked to the school Library & IT Suite, but the solar power is not sufficient to keep the computers.
Vari Mayez of VaTonatsa Foundation presenting a gift to the Author at Pakati in 2024
Following a review of our finances, I responded to the message from Mr Chizenya by agreeing to Friends of Pakati paying for the full cost of the connection, US$500.00 as quoted in the past.
The money was sent to Vari Mayez in Harare, who was able to collect the funds…
…and then deposit it into the school bank account.
An invoice was provided to the school, and I produced a ‘Letter of Intention to Donate’ which the District Administration in Murewa accepted.
This came recently from Mr Chizenya regarding progress:
“I’d like to update you on the progress regarding the connection of the Admin block.
I went to ZESA on Monday and was given some forms, which I completed and submitted today. ZESA came to school today and inspected the wiring. We are now waiting for their response regarding what they observed during the inspection. They will then provide us with a bill of quantities so that the connection can be done.
So far, we have used $200 for purchasing materials, and $100 will be paid to the electrician. The remaining $200 will go to ZESA, depending on their charges.”
As you can see above, progress is being made. Mr Chizenya reports that the relevant wiring is now done.
As soon as the connection us finalised ww shall confirm the details, & Mr Chizenya will send pictures as the school’s IT lessons can return!
This week we have the story of former Pakati student called Jena Dennias Makebhe…
…who hails from Chinhoyi village, close to Pakati Primary school.
He attended both Pakati schools, completing his Secondary Education in 1998.
Here is what he had to say when I asked him about the boreholes:
“Hello Mr Walker, my name is Dennias Makebhe, I studied at Pakati Primary and Secondary and graduated in 1998, our home is one kilometer from the school.
In 2024, the Headmaster of Pakati Primary Mr Mahachi and his committee and Councilor Manyama Joakem Musindo sought me out regarding the problem of water at the school. We agreed that I would supply water to the school. In July, I drilled a primary borehole of 90 meters and gave them a tank stand and a 5000 liter water drum. All other installations they had before.
I saw that it was impossible to install the primary borehole only, so I installed the secondary one again after consulting with the committee, Head Mr. Chizenya and our local councilor Mr. Musindo, then we installed an 80 meter borehole. At the secondary level, I gave them everything up to 99.90% until they have water in the school.
As a child in ward 14 and I am a middle school child, I found it important to give in when it comes to water, I don’t have a donor or someone who helped me financially, my pocket money did all this
I am hoping to do more projects depending on my income
Thank you”
Borehole in preparation at Pakati Primary SchoolNew water tank & tap at Pakati Secondary school
A huge thank you to Mr Makebhe!
I am creating a new blog out soon, with contributions from the Heads of both Pakati schools on this wonderful development for them both.
Today’s blog is the first of a 3-part feature on the story of getting a regular electricity supply to the Administration Block at Pakati Secondary school.
Below are the photos & information provided to me by the school Head, Mr Chizenya, starting with the following message:
“We are facing some setbacks in transferring electricity temporarily to our library. We actually need a 3 core electric cable and not a solar power cable. Unfortunately we have a cable for solar power and so when we tried, the computers did not power up. However at the moment we are not able to purchase a 3 core cable because at the moment we need to meet public examinations expenses and as you know only a few people do pay levies this term. I know it’s frustrating that you donated the computers but they are not yet working. However, we are planning to prioritize the connection of ZESA electricity to the admin block next term, we are going to budget for that.”
In 2023 Pakati Secondary successfully converted a regular classroom into a library.
The library has shelves for reading materials and the ICT section.
Mr Walker and the Friends of Pakati donated 4 desktop computers in 2019 and 11 in 2024, and so in all, the library has 15 sets of desktop computers.
The library is connected to the Administration block.
The school’s admin block and the visible cable above connects the library and one classroom to the admin block.
The Administration block’s current source of electricity is solar.The Administration block’s current source of electricity is solar.
However, the solar system is now old and no longer efficient. In 2020, Mr Walker and the friends of Pakati donated new batteries, 2 new solar panels, and an invetor. Although efficiency was improved, this did not last long because the system is old and requires refurbishing.
Fortunately, the administration block is currently being connected to ZESA electricity. However, due to financial constraints, we are struggling to complete the project
The meter box is incomplete.
The Administration block is not yet connected to the nearby pole.
With the current state of affairs, we are not able to use computers because the solar system is not working well, and we are failing to complete ZESA project. We require $500 USD for the completion of ZESA project.”
IT in use at Pakati Primary school
So, as a result of all the above, I looked at the financial situation & how much money was in the bank account, plus I discussed it with key supporters to see what could be done.
Part 2 is what happened next – organising the transfer of funds, donations, getting the money to the school, and authorisation by the District Administration in Murewa.
This is the first on an upcoming series about what is ongoing at Pakati Secondary school. Pictures & information have been provided by the school Head, Mr Chizenya.
Today’s blog is about the new security measures being put in place by the school, as shown in the photos below:
This gate is by the main entrance to the school
Mr Chizenya messaged me last week as follows: ‘IHello Mr Walker. We are in the process of fencing staff quarters and classroom premises.
We wanted to improve the security of the school and, at the same time, beautify the school’s appearance. Last year, at an Extraordinary General Meeting in October, we presented the idea and budget to the parents. The parents supported the idea, and it was agreed that they would contribute an amount per learner each towards fencing. In January 2025, the parents started paying, and by September 2025, we had raised a significant sum, enough to fence the northern and eastern sides of the staff quarters and classroom premises. We are now encouraging those who have not yet paid to do so, and we hope that the parents will continue to pay so that we can complete the project.
This shows the fencing that goes around the back of some of the staff accommodation
The two sides were fenced at the beginning of this term. We hope that the entire project will be completed by December,
The fence here also extends around the back of the staff houses, with the classroom blocks clearly visible
So we hope to increase the funds in order to complete the project, and we are optimistic that the project will succeed.’
Coming soon!
We have some great news coming out in the next couple of days, regarding funds being donated for a powerful project…
New guests are being lined up for our series of podcasts
Discussions ae taking place about potential future developments, such as promotion, merchandise & online presence
This week we will be looking at a couple of videos sent to me by Mr Mahachi (Head of Pakati Primary school) recently, showing students learning about IT on the computers we sent out in October 2024.
In addition, I have a photo from Mr Chizenya (Head of Pakati Secondary school) also sent to me recently.
Finally, we are having to report a change to our line-up of trustees.
So we begin with the Primary school.
Here are two videos recorded during recent lessons. It is wonderful to see the computers we donated courtesy of Tronox are neing used regularly!
From Mr Chizenya at Pakati Secondary school: “This morning, form 4 learners decided to do a presentation on the importance of traditional foods of Zimbabwe…..
….. Using a chart as a teaching aid, they stated different indigenous foods and their importance to health”
Lastly, our Trustees.
During the process we are going through to get Friends of Pakati registered as a charity officially, we discovered that our nominated Trustees need to be resident in the UK. Unfortunately, that means our long-term friend & former student of both Pakati schools, Bothwell Riside, will not be able to be a Trustee. However, he remains one of our key supporters & consultants and will continue to support our efforts.
Lorraine (left) as a student at Pakati Secondary school in 1991Lorraine as our Representative at Pakati 2022
As a result, we have another former student of Pakati Secondary school to take his place, someone who you may be familiar with – Lorraine Mapuranga.
Lorraine has been involved with Friends of Pakati since April 2019 when she first came across our work. She has represented us at the schools several times while she still lived in Africa. She has since moved to the UK, where she works as a Health Care Assistant. Welcome on board Lorraine!
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.
As you can see above, progress is being made. Mr Chizenya reports that the relevant wiring is now done.
