Some solutions for health and education in Zimbabwe
Practical ways to Help Zimbabwe- Education and Health, just for now!
EDUCATION:
Problem: there is a severe shortage of teachers in schools as many are leaving for the informal sector due to poor salaries. My nephews in Form 3 at a boarding school outside Bulawayo are supposed to be taking 9 classes, but only have 4 teachers out of 9 teachers needed for the classes showed up this semester- 5 classes are without teachers. Furthermore, there is a great shortage of books.
Current efforts: We have established links with book publishers in Zimbabwe to print copies of the books used in the local examinations. On average a book costs no more than US$20 if we buy in bulk for many schools. We are raising money to pay for student tuition fees, but it is not enough to only support students. Our partner foundation in the US already sends books to Zimbabwe about twice a year to a group of 75 schools. Read more
Spare a thought for our national institutions
Far, far, from the licensed to deal in forex retail outlets, from the sleek posh cars blinging down streets, on the sidewalks of which moneychangers- cum- users hiss “toita zvemarands/ toplaza- plaza? and shrill cries of “Bacossi airtime yese ” or whatever…far, far from all this, and from the eyes of the wabenzi (enamoured from the sea of squalor around them by their lifestyles to rival the rich and famous of the supra-First World) our institutions are dying.
From city council clinics manned by a single overworked, underpaid senior nurse in an environment that has become sterile in a tragic sense (afflicted by a severe drought of medication)but faced by multitudes in various degrees of ailment desperate for affordable treatment… through the decaying referral hospitals, where those you are referred to are conspicuous by their absence, and if you are admitted, you asked to bring your own blankets, a candle and box of matches (in the event of a powercut, and the the generators commissioned in stately pomp and fanfare, probably never got there, or were redirected- or are simply out of diesel and there is no Diesel N’anga to salvage the situation)… Read more
