The enthusiastic applause of the Emfundweni Primary School children signified not only appreciation but pride and celebration as they returned to classes in the newly refurbished classroom block. This was funded through the generosity of Mr David Taylor Smith, his wife, Jacs and their two daughters. In his younger days, David came out to Zimbabwe in 1990 as part of Operation Raleigh, and assisted with building a much needed 2-classroom block at this school, then called Borehole 14 School, just outside Victoria Falls. Twenty four years later, Mr Taylor revisited this school and was pleased to meet up with a number of the villagers he had worked with previously. He was however saddened to see that, due to a lack of funds, the classroom he and his team mates had built was in a state of disrepair.
With assistance and guidance from Children in the Wilderness the Raleigh block has now been “given a new lease on life”, with a new roof, replacement of broken window panes, fresh coat of paint on the walls, a revamp of the black boards and concrete paving. A simple thank you does not adequately convey the level of gratitude that we all have for Mr David Taylor Smith, his commitment and generosity towards this rural school has been humbling to say the least. Without his help a project of this scale would quite simply not have been possible for the community and Emfundweni would probably have lost the remains of its roof this coming rainy season.
