Friends Of Pakati

Greetings everyone!

Well, I had a very interesting day recently, visiting the company -Tronox – who have agreed to donate a number of computers to us. It all came about following a discussion with my fellow Scunthorpe United fan, Sarah Dent – see our two most recent blogs on the subject: https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/08/18/great-news-2/ and https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/09/01/follow-up-to-great-news/

I arrived at the company’s base in North-East Lincolnshire around 1.15pm, & was met by Sarah, her colleagues Alice & Mike. After a short induction, with my visitor’s badge, they accompanied me to the store-room where they keep computers which the company no longer use for various reasons.

Mike explained that usually they are given to other companies or charities, either to be destroyed or wiped clean for re-use in local schools, but Sarah’s intervention means they are happy to release what they can to us at Friends of Pakati. They will first wipe all sensitive data currently held, then install a new operating system for us, before downloading some free software for Pakati students to use/learn about.

I was informed that they can have 20 desktop computers ready within a couple of weeks, complete with monitors, keyboards & mice (mouses?). In addition, all relevant cables will be there, along with a network block to link several computers together.

They can also pack the whole lot together onto a pallet, & I am contacting the same shipping company to find out how much the transport will cost, including collection from North-East Lincolnshire to Leicester where the shipping company is based.

I have some additional items I can add to the package, such as t-shirts & maybe some football shirts too if it can be arranged in time.
All of this should be delivered to my contact in Harare, just in time for Friends of Pakati to deliver them in person to the schools in October…

…so hopefully both the Primary & Secondary schools at Pakati will be able to teach IT formally, especially at the IT suite recently completed at Pakati Secondary school!

If you can help us with funds that would be great, as the cost of shipping them out at a rough guess to be somewhere between £1200-1500. We currently have £764 in the bank account I use for Friends of Pakati. http://paypal.me/friendsofpakati or http://gofundme.com/friends-of-pakati

Thank you!

Hi everyone! After the great news we publushed recently, I have some updates for you about what we talked about here: https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/08/18/great-news-2/

As I mentioned in the previous blog, Sarah is also a fan of Scunthorpe United like myself, and we briefly met up for a chat & update on the IT situation.

I started the match day by talking to a number of people at the club & they have been very helpful & supportive – as they always have been I must say.

In those discussions the club has agreed to storing whatever IT the donor company – Tronox – are able to donate to Friends of Pakati somewhere under the stands at the ground.

They also mentioned other ways to support us, such as a football shirt ‘amnesty’ where fans can come & donate old shirts at the club, either to send or maybe sell/auction for funds.

I am now in talks with Tronox to see exactly what they are willing to donate, & about going to collect at least some of it as early as next week. Tronox being an international company, they need to confirm any such arrangememts with their US-based Head Office.

So, keep an eye out for future posts!

If you can donate football shirts or other IT equipment, please let me know via email friendsofpakati@gmail.com

If you can donate money towards the shipping, please use http://paypal.me/friendsofpakati or http://gofundme.com/friends-of-pakati

Thank you!

Greetings all, Friends of Pakati has some wonderful news to report….have a read below to find out more.

At the end of July I was contacted by someone who, like me, is a fan of Scunthorpe United FC. Her name is Sarah Dent, the HR Business Partner of Tronox Pigment UK Ltd, a company based in Grimsby, North Lincolnshire. Sarah sent me a Direct Message on X (or Twitter):

“Hi Chris, I work for a company called Tronox and we have some IT equipment available that works, but is considered not to be up to the standard required for roles on site, where we have upgraded IT etc….. do you have any more information for someone who doesn’t know about what you do, what the IT is for etc (I know the amazing work you do and I think it’s amazing by the way!! ) would that be ok? I can’t make any promises but will do my best!”

Not surprisingly I responded positively, explaining about Friends of Pakati, asking for more information, pictures, permission to share the news, and to use their logo (which they agreed to as you can see).

Sarah messaged back, saying we should have more details of what they are willing to donate soon, along with photos & how we can share publicity on both our various social media platforms. We will post a follow-up blog once we get more from Tronox in the coming days.

Sarah’s approach to me came a few days after the recent Iron Aid event at Scunthorpe United’s home ground of Glanford Park – now named the Attis Arena – read about it all here: https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/07/29/report-on-iron-aid-open-day/

Just this weekend, Sarah recognised me during the football match at Scunthorpe, & introduced herelf. We talked for a few minutes & confirmed we would work together to get this new donation out to Pakati, hopefully soon. I am planning to visit again this year & all being well, will be able to deliver more IT & other items to the two Pakati schools in person!

So look out for the next few blogs as we keep you all updated.

Hi everyone…well what a great day at the event yesterday!

Friends of Pakati had a stall at the event, as we mentioned in a recent blog https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/07/25/iron-aid-open-day-28th-july/ with the aim of raising additional funds towards sending more IT out to the 2 Pakati schools this year.

Firstly, let me give my thanks to a number of people involved yesterday:
Kelvin Stanford & Glyn Sparks at Scunthorpe United for organising the day.

Next, the following people who helped me with the stall: Bradley Mell, Brian & Jane Smith, and Simon Faulkner.

Not to mention all those fans, staff & players from the club who attended, whether they came to our stall or not.

Throughout the Open Day, which ran from 10.00am to 2.00pm, We had a good number of visitors to our stall. Many of them already knew about Friends of Pakati, others were introduced to our work.

We had a number of merchandise items to sell , including mugs, t-shirts, coasters, key rings & pin badges. In addition, we had a bucket which was there for any cash donations on the day.

Plus thanks to Simon Faulkner, we had a framed match-worn shirt from one of the players in the later game (Iron legends v Iron fans) to raffle off.

This was a particularly lucrative item & was responsible for about 75% of our takings on the day. We had a small number of other shirts donated which were sold on the day. This one was taken as the boy took a shne to it….

Of those who came to the stall, there were some notable visitors, including two of the club’s Joint owners, Michelle Harness & Ian Sharp, plus one of the First team players, Will Evans.

After a long day in the sun (in Sunny Scunny…) we managed to raise a very good amount of £160 in total! So well done to the Friends of Pakati team, and a huge THANK YOU!!!! To all who bought goods or raffle tickets, or just donated cash. We did also get a monitor & a couple of keyboards donated too as requested. I am sure we will get more things donated in the next few weeks as we publicise our efforts over the weekend.

Donate money please if you can: http://gofunfme.com/friends-of-pakati or http://paypal.me/friendsofpakati

Donate old IT if you can – Laptops, keyboards, mouse & mats, monitors if you have them. I will be at the first home game of the season on 17th August….Also any football tops please! We aim to send everything we get around mid-September.

Thank you!

Greetings everyone! This weekend, Friends of Pakati are attending an event which we hope will raise funds towards our goal of getting more IT out to both Pakati Primary & Secondary schools later this year.

We are part of an event at Scunthorpe United FC on Sunday 28th July, which includes an Open Day between 10am & 2pm, which will be followed at 2pm by a friendly football match between selected Iron fans v Iron legends – ex-players – under the banner of Iron Aid. Funds raised from the game will go to the club, whilst anything we raise ourselves will add to the current £561 we currently have in our bank account.

We plan to collect the promised computers from our donor, the Stephenson Group (based in Leeds) in the near future. I am just waiting for confirmation of a date to go there. Once we have everything in place, including any further items donated, then we will be contacting the shipping agents we have used previously, namely Coedma Freight International Ltd based in Leicester to arrange shipping the goods out to Zimbabwe.

As part of the Open Day, our stall will have our pull-up banner behind us, and will have merchandise to sell including the following:
T-Shirts (5 sizes, S,M,L,XL & 2XL) at £5 each, and 3 different Mug designs also at £5 each
Pin badges at £4 each
Key rings with 3 different designs & 2 types at £2 each & 3 different designs of coasters at £2 each
Anyone who buys multiple items will be offered a discount

We will also have a bucket for any cash donations on the day.
Anyone who would like to donate online can do so via the following:
http://www.gofundme.com/friends-of-pakati or http://www.paypal.me/friendsofpakati
In addition, our friend Simon who trades in football shirts will have a signed shirt to raffle on the day, and maybe other surprises…

Just recently I had some help from my friend –  Gareth, on X (twitter) as @Ironarmyhd and part of the @IronHourPodcast – with a short video to help promote our attendance:

If anyone has any unused IT items, such as the following: Monitors for PC’s, Laptops, Keyboards, Mouse &/or mat we will accept them on the day. If anyone has any football shirts/kits they would like to donate we will also accept them on the day.

We will update you after the event with a full report, photos & information on what we manage to raise.

Hi everyone!

Just a reminder, everything we do is to help improve things for students at Pakati Primary & Secondary svhools in Zimbabwe. Memory (below) is a great example of success from Pakati – but how many mote could do the same if the schools were better equipped?

With thanks to Bradley Mell, our podcast host, we now have a more informative version of our recent post, Memory Mapiti. Here is Memory’s story from earlier https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/06/16/carrying-books-in-a-plastic-shopping-bag/

Brad & I recently spoke to Memory at length, and here is the result in our latest podcast:

If you can, please donste to us vis http://paypal.me/friendsofpakati or http://gofundme.com/friends-of-pakati

Enjoy the podcast & watch out for some news aboit this coming weekend, 27 & 28th July, and an important announcement for later this year!

Hi Everyone!

Welcome to this review of the first 6 months of 2024, which I have to admit has not been as productive this year as previously. However, there have been several highlights, & this is what has been going on here at Friends of Pakati.

We started out with this post in January https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/01/20/welcome-to-friends-of-pakati-in-2024/

We next heard from Mr Chifaka, the former Head of Pakati Secondary, about his new appointment to Macheke High School https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/01/29/former-pakati-head-at-his-new-school/

Now & then I get updates & reports from Pakati, including this from the Secondary School https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/02/04/pakati-secondary-school-early-in-the-first-term-2024/

From time to time, I reminisce about my experiences at Pakati & around Zimbabwe, and discuss Friends of Pakati. Here are two such blog posts this year so far

https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/02/21/its-35-years-since-i-first-went-to-pakati/

https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/05/25/old-photos/

Other local Primary schools have kept in touch after benefitting from Friends of Pakati in 2022 https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/02/25/chanetsa-mapanga-primary-schools-reporting-updates/

Pakati Secondary school lost a former Chairman of the School Development Committee (SDC), Mr William Dzimauta. He was very much respected by the local community.

https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/03/10/sad-news-from-pakati-secondary-school/

We don’t always publish everything we have straight away, but we do let you know what is coming up frequently. https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/05/12/going-on-in-the-background

Often we introduce people who have a close connection to Pakati, here we have the new Head of the Secondary school & a former student at both schools…

https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/05/18/meet-mr-chizenya-head-of-pakati-secondary-school/

https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/06/16/carrying-books-in-a-plastic-shopping-bag/

Friends of Pakati loves to hear about sports activities at both Pakati schools, & here we have two from the Primary this year so far…

https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/03/23/pakati-primary-infants-sports-day/ and most recently, https://friendsofpakati.com/2024/07/06/pakati-primary-sports/

So a great variety of stories, pictures & videos…with more to come from us including a new podcast! Please donate via:

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

A big announcement is coming in the near future….See you all soon!

Hi everyone! Here are a number of images & videos showing students at Pakati Primary during recent sports events. All pictures, videos & information come from Head Teacher Mr Mahachi, so thank you Mr M!

These are the students who are the ones we hope will really benefit in the longer term from Friends of Pakati’s efforts to get more IT out to both Pakati schools. If you can, please donate to http://www.paypal.me/friendsofpakati or http://www.gofundme.com/friends-of-pakati so we can send more computers this year!

The Primary Girls Football Team got a little practice prior to playing a friendly game against nearby Mabika Primary…

Below are some of the other sports teams at Pakati Primary school:

For some reason, Pakati schools have proved very competitive in sports over the years, producing a number of vwey talented athletes & sporrs teams. I can certainly remember that from the time I was at Pakati. Long may it continue with both Pakati schools!

Greetings everyone! The title words are taken from a truly remarkable story I have just been told. Allow me to explain.

I was contacted this week by a former student of both Pakati schools – Primary and Secondary – who now lives & works in South Africa. The story below is in her own words, apart from minor editing from myself. Meet Memory Mapiti, who became Mrs Majoni.

“I am all I have become because of Pakati School. It was in 1984 when I enrolled for Grade 1 at Pakati Primary School. With all the support from my teachers Mrs Machivenyika, Mr Marambakuyana and the Mr and Mrs Kuparas. May the soul of Mrs Kupara rest in eternal peace. I got my best and quality education there which fully prepared me for High (Secondary) school.

My parents were struggling and could not take me to a better school such as St Paul’s Musami Mission. But with hard work and focus I worked extremely hard at Pakati which was headed by an amazing leader Mr Walker (You are far too kind!). He turned our rural school into an urban school by introducing tapped water which was actually a miracle in the surroundings. He was very passionate about learners and wanted the best out of us.

I remember My Maths teacher Mr Madondo nicknamed Dondas by students. Samanyika who trained in Cuba was a Maths guru. I salute you sir where ever you are. I am what I am because of you. You taught me circle Geometry, Pythagoras theorem and I grasped it all.

Not forgetting Mr Chifamba my Religious teacher You taught us with all-out expertise May your soul Rest in peace 💐 “Jesus was born in B of J” said Mr Chifamba referring to Bethlehen of Judea. I thank you for all your input in molding me. Mr Goronga, my Core-Science teacher due to all of your effort I got an “A”on this subject.Thank you for all you did for me.

My former desk mate Francis Jani is now a policeman, all because of Pakati School. I tried to copy his neat handwriting and failed dismally, but I am still intouch with him. Abel Fusire, anither classmate, is a Pastor. Bothwell Risidi Mafema my junior (well known as part of Friends of Pakati) is teaching in Asia, Tapiwa Magumisiro I have coctact with. Eugania Musanhi was the headgirl in my stream. Just to mention these few fellow former Pakati schoolmates of mine.

I was actively involved in sports, particularly netball. At one point and time I got injured whilst playing against Rota School and I was driven to St Paul’s Musami Mission, where I had my leg put in plaster a came back on crutches.

Pakati School taught me about public speaking such that even today, be it at workplace or any gathering, I don’t hesitate to address the public. I served my school Pakati as a senior prefect from 1993-1994. I remember doing a duty roster for leading assembly as prefect as well as raising the flag.

Having passed my O level with a distinction in Science which paved way for me to enroll at Nyadire teachers College in 2001 and got my Diploma in Education in 2004.

Since then I have worked tirelessly in urbanising my parent’s homestead in Njenje village as a token of appreciation towards sending me to school.

Yes, the road wasn’t easy, for we used to carry food in an empty plastic bag without a proper lunchbox. Studying with a parafin lamp. Having one pair of school shoes. Carrying my books in a plastic shopping bag. All these things never stopped me from reaching my goals.

I later mate Mr Nhamo Majoni in 1998 whom I got married to, and we had two children.

I felt that diploma was not enough and furthered my education with Unisa and got my Bachelor degree in Education majoring in Maths.

I am currently residing and teaching in the Republic of South Africa. I teach Maths at an International school called Amity, based in Pretoria, where I have been teaching for 6 years now.”

Wow! What an inspiring story! Thank you so much Memory for contacting Friends of Pakati & showing us what can be done with hard work and ambition no matter where you are from or went to school.

Friends of Pakati was set up to help the students of a school I taught at back between 1989 & 1991. I took a number of pictures & slides during this time.

I was looking back through my old photos from my two-and-a-half years in Zimbabwe. They bring back so many happy memories for me, both from teaching at Pakati Secondary school, and also holidays in & around the country…

…and you know what they say – every picture tells a story, so here are a few stories of mine!

Once, I visited a small private game park on the edge of the beautiful city of Mutare in the East of Zimbabwe. The rhinoceros pictured was a full-sized adult, and from where I took this picture, he was heading straight for me! However, what you can’t see is the large ditch between us preventing him getting much closer!

Before I flew out to Zimbabwe, a serving VSO volunteer visited the school to report back on what it was like. He said ‘…the school is in a remote, rural setting.’ He was right! See below…

I certainly enjoyed living & working in the area. I found the people friendly & welcoming, plus there were several interesting things to see & do.

These rock paintings are at the back of a cave under an overhang on Gwangwadza hill. My colleague Mr Chirape came along as we were shown the way by the boy (& some of his friends).

Some images above, from around the school, they take me back to the days of my first teaching job!

Two of Zimbabwe’s top tourist attractions are the Great Zimbabwe ruins, and the spectacular Victoria Falls.

Some more pictures of people & places in and around the school/community.

I was glad to have visits from friends & family, it gave me the chance to see the country, its people, its fascinating tourist sights, and of course its amazing wildlife.

I am still fundraising for the two Pakati schools – Primary & Secondary – to take IT & other items out there this year. If you can help, please donaye to http://www.paypal.me/friendsofpakati or http://www.go.fundme.com/friends-of-pakati

Thank you👍