Greetings everyone! Here is the first podcast for a while, and it is also the first of a 3-part series.
Computers being boxed up by Tronox
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.
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.
The Author driving around the Eastern Highlands area of Zimbabwe, 2024
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.
One part of a series of structures in the Great Zimbabwe compound
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.
Paet of the Christmas Pass road winding through the hills as uou approach Mutare
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…
Just a bit above the footbridge, with the clouds in the background, you can see two wires….
….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
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:
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.
Mr Mahachi, Head of Pakati Primary school, tries on a Friends of Pakati t-shirt at school!
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.
I felt a bit like a celebrity at the Prinary school
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:
Back on the road to Pakati…stuck behibd publuc transport!
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.
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.
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.
Friends of Pakati t-shirts
So, in the meantime, I took another trip to Domboshawa caves…
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 transitto Harare
I am able to track progress every day. All being well the goods should arrive around Thursday/Friday next week.
Friends of Pakati on our previous visit in 2022
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!
Here below is why we are doing what we do – the students of Pakati Primary, who are also future students of the Secondary school.
The IT suite at Pakati Secondary school has been ready for some time, now we are preparing to send more computers out there, so they can start to have formal IT lessons.
So, thanks to Sarah Dent who set this donation in motion – she spoke with us recently about it here: https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/09/13/new-podcast-sarah-dent/ – and now herself & her colleagues at Tronox have done us a great service by organising the transport of the goods to our shippers, Coedma Freight International Ltd in Leicester.
Triston, an apprentice IT technician, loading the van with our donated goods from Tronox
They arrived safely at Coedma, and are being prepared for the next part of their journey by air.
So next, fundraising….
We started out with £763 in our bank account. The estimate for shipping the goods was higher than anticipated, due to the weight of the goods at over 240kg. It came to around £2700. So, almost £2000 short…I put in £500, two others have added another £200. Next, a couple if smaller donations totalling £30, followed by another £200, and £100, brought our figure up to almost £1800 – leaving us a little over £900 short!
Who we are trying to help…
That is a huge leap forward for us, and we are extremely grateful to all who donate, no matter how small or large the amount. We genuinely appreciate every penny. If you or anyone you know would like to donate further, the links are at the top of the page.
Sarah at Tronox has very kindly published this on their internal newsletter:
Great stuff Sarah!
Friends of Pakati is hoping we can work together with Tronox again in the future, it may develop into a longer term partnership, who knows?
Pakati Secondary school staff in 1989 (most of them..)
More to come in the next few weeks, as we track the goods to Harare, then all being well, deliver them to Pakati schools in October! As in 2019 & 2022, we will post more about our visit to show what happens to the computers, & in future the schools will send us more pictures, videos & information as the students progress with IT lessons – thus helping to meet our original goal as set out from when Mr Chifaka, then Head of Pakati Secondary school said to me in 2018, when I asked what development he would like to see there, & he said one word:
Greetings everyone! We need additional funds as soon as possible. Find out how much, why we need it, and how to help below.
Well we have got the pictures from our donors, Tronox, of them boxing up the IT equipment ready to begin being transported to Zimbabwwe.
Alice & Triston of Tronox
The plan is to get them to our shippers in Leicester as early as tbis week. That gives them time to prepare everything for the next available flight. Usually it takes several days to get a connecting flight to Harare but they should arrive just before I do.
The entire donation has been boxed up by the Tronox team
So now we need to get them on the move!
What do we need?
Well the weight of the donation turns out to be quite a bit higher than I expected, at close to 250kg. That means the cost of shipping the goods out to Zimbanwe has gone up to around £2700…. I had thought it would have beem maybe £1500.
Friends of Pakati have just over £760 in its account, & I will put a chunk of money in myself to make it up to around £1300, leaving a ‘black hole’ of around £1400 to raise in a short space of time…
So PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE can you help us? Please SHARE this widely across your online platforms & encourage people you know to give whatever they can, no mattee how little. Here us how you can givr to us:
Or please contact me via DM (Twitter), IM (facebook), or via email at friendsofpakati@gmail.com & I will give the bank details of our account for larger amounts..
Let’s help get the computers out to Pakati & allow their students to learn in the digital age!
We are delighted to have Sarah Dent on this latest podcast episode, along with our host Bradley Mell and myself. Sarah is the HR Business Partner at Tronox, the company who is donating computers to Friends of Pakati.
Sarah Dent (left) with the Author, and with her colleagues Mike & Alice
Friends of Pakati are delighted to be able to report on developments regarding the IT donation.
Mike from our donors Tronox sent me the above picture of the first 5 Dell desktop computers which have been prepared for use at Pakati schools. These are the first of a total of 20 machines which we are hoping to ship out before I visit Zimbabwe & Pakati schools in October.
In addition to the desktop PC’s there will be monitors, mouse, keyboard & relevant cables to go with them. I am also sending a number of t-shirts alongside the IT equupment.
Triston, an apprentice at Tronox, seen working on one of the Dell computers destined for Pakati
A new message came in from Mike with good news: “Hi Chris, we have all the PCs built and the monitors tested. We’re waiting on the delivery of the keyboard, mice, and the monitor cables, we expect these within the next few days….”
I am also in the process of organising the transport of donated goods to the shipping company I have used before – https://coedmafreight.com/air-freight/ – just waiting to confirm details & get a rough idea of the price. My own estimate is somewhere between £1200 & £1500.
Sarah & the Author recently
Good news for Friends of Pakati – Sarah Dent from Tronox (& fellow football fan of Scunthorpe United FC) has kindly agreed to do a podcast with our host, Bradley Mell, and myself. We are due to record this week, & will publish it when it is ready.
Sarah also sent me a picture of some things on her desk….
Friends of Pakati merchandisei
This is all positive news for Friends of Pakati, and the Heads of both schools – Mr Chizenta (secondary) & Mr Mahachi (primary) – have warmly welcomed the news!
Will keep you updated, & keep an eye out for the podcast….
