CITW Zambezi’s Cynthia Ndiweni proudly reports on one of the most meaningful projects we have been part of this year.
Just outside Victoria Falls, opposite the airport, sits a community that had long gone without a local functioning school. For families here, the nearest option was 10 kilometres away, one way, a distance that kept many children from ever making it through the door. Rather than accept that, the community came together with the support of the Rural District Council, and the Ministry of Education through the Hwange District Schools Inspector, allocated a piece of land, and committed to building Lupinyu Primary and Secondary Schools. The groundwork was in place. Now, funding was needed.
For a period, lessons happened in the shade of trees. A mix of volunteer teachers and Ministry-employed staff showed up each day, the children naturally showed up, and learning continued as best it could. It was not a permanent solution, but it was a start, and it said everything about what the community was willing to do for its children.
CITW Zambezi’s role entailed co-ordinating donor funding and project managing the construction from the ground up. What followed was a genuine collective effort, and we could not be prouder of, or more grateful for, every donor who chose to be part of it.
So Others May Learn (SOML) came in first, sponsoring the construction of two double classroom blocks and furnishing every room, bringing four classes indoors for the first time. Well Deserved funded the drilling and solar power supply for a borehole, giving the school reliable, clean water.
YourRight Foundation funded five classroom slabs, furniture included. SOML then returned a second time to cover the remaining slabs and all superstructure construction. When the last building was complete, Lupinyu had 12 structures in total: double and triple classroom blocks, teachers’ housing, a library, and a meeting hall.
As of today, every class from Grade 1 to Grade 7 in the Primary section and Form 1 to Form 4 in the Secondary section now has its own dedicated indoor classroom.
A particularly meaningful addition has been the support of Hunter Valley Grammar School in Australia. Following a school trip and volunteer experience at Lupinyu, they funded 10 scholarships for students, covering school uniforms, stationery, and school levies in full. For families who could not previously afford to send their children to school, this removes the barrier entirely. For the school itself, it means guaranteed levy income from 10 students, funds that go directly into the materials, books, and resources that teachers need to do their jobs properly. It is a small number that carries a lot of weight in both directions.
Most recently, a team from YourRight Foundation visited the school in person. They spent a few days running educational games with the children and worked alongside the school carpenter to help assemble and finish the furniture they had funded, fitting backrests and completing pieces that were still in progress. It was practical, hands-on, and has left behind far more than the build itself. Their week of volunteering closed with a ribbon cutting ceremony to officially open the school. It was a low-key occasion with the two headmasters, CITW, the YourRight team, the teachers, and the children, but it carried a great deal of heart.
CITW Zambezi is beyond grateful to every donor who played a part in making Lupinyu School a reality. As the school grows through the grades, it will serve this community for decades to come, and the children sitting in these classrooms today are just the beginning.
