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Roselyne Sachiti Features Editor
“Our Father/Who art in heaven “Hallowed be thy name/Thy Kingdom come . . . ”This is the Lord’s Prayer being recited by Mlalo Primary and Secondary School learners at Chingwizi, Nuanesti Ranch in Masvingo province.
Each morning, the pupils also sing the national anthem, some forgetting a few stanzas and just humming along with the others.

With pride, they sing the national anthem at the assembly point, even if the school does not have a flag to hoist.

For children that were displaced by Tokwe Mukosi floods last month, Mlalo is their new school.

They love it – for all its humility and compromises – far from the proper facilities back in the Tokwe Mukosi basin, even though the younger learners are still baffled at the sea change.

The makeshift school opened its doors on February 20, 2014 with only 88 pupils and one teacher, Mr Elphas Mapanje, who also doubled as the headmaster. But now there are over 2 000 pupils.

A total of 1 786 children are attending primary school classes while 312 are in secondary school.

Things were bound to be hard here.

There are no proper classrooms to shelter the children from weather elements and lessons are conducted under trees, in a pole and mud structure and two tents that were recently pitched at the school.

There isn’t the luxury of furniture, even for teachers. There are not enough text books. And when it rains, lessons are aborted no matter what time it is. If it rains early in the morning, students simply do not turn up.

Teachers do not have furniture, even modest chairs to sit on. They stand till lunch time. Pupils’ work is marked under a tree, teachers using a bonnet of a car belonging to one of the teachers as desk.

“Most of these students were used to learning in furnished and properly built classrooms at schools like Zunga and Zifunzi. They were not co-operating, coming to school late and not taking teachers seriously.

“Some loitered around during learning hours. The environment had suddenly changed and they did not appreciate it.

“We had to emphasise the importance of learning even under difficult conditions. The environment has changed, but the benefits of education haven’t,” he said.

He also revealed how the children faced serious challenges as their leaning time had been affected by floods.

“They came from different schools and were on different stages of their syllabus. Their learning time was also affected.

“We are facing serious challenges in trying to meet their demands. For example, in History, some had started studying African while others were on European history. Here, they are expected to sit and learn in one class.

“To manage the situation, we spare time for all the children and try to assist as much as we can,” he revealed.

Mlalo Seconday School school head, Mr Taurai Virira said their immediate needs include five more teachers at the school.

Also, six more proper classrooms are required as tents easily bow to the power of heavy rains.

There are no sporting activities at the school yet, the grounds still have to be cleared.

“Today I requested labour from education officials but no one turned up. That is why some of our kids run away at 1 pm,” he said.

Parents despite not paying fees have not helped. They are occupied with many meetings, looking for water, firewood and other basic necessities in Chingwizi.

However, for Mr Virira, things are shaping up as turnout is now satisfactory with currently 312 students at the secondary school.
A total of 44 O-Level students are expected to write examinations this year.

The Form Three and Two have 70 and 76 students, respectively. There are 122 Form One students.

The boy-girl student ratio is also satisfactory, he explained, with gender parity in the classes.

“News is reaching most parents that learning is taking place and their children are trickling to school. We have one addition today,” said Mr Virira.

There are six teachers at the school; four males and two females.

Mr Virira is skilled in metal work but currently teaching Mathematics because of the shortage of teachers.

He hopes the situation will be addressed soon.

Other subjects currently being taught at the school include Geography, Shona, Commerce, History, English and Science.

They are all taught by specialised teachers.

There are no practical subjects yet and Mr Virira hopes to introduce Agriculture which he said does not require much resources.

“It is hard being a teacher in this part of the country and under these circumstances,” he revealed.

“You have to make many sacrifices.

“First you stay in a tent that can easily be blown by wind and rains. Then there are no shops nearby meaning no fresh food. We survive on stale food or buy dried vegetables.

“There are no proper toilets, neither are there bathrooms. You cannot bring beds and you have to sleep on the floor.

“If you bring a bed or other furniture, it will be damaged by the rains,” he lamented.

Mr Virira had an idea of what he would see at the school. He was also affected by Tokwe Mukosi floods.

Uniforms at Mlalo are not yet standard. Anything resembling school uniforms and ordinary clothes is accepted.

Uniform donations have been coming but not enough for everyone.

If anything, that is not the top worry.

“No fees and levies are being paid yet. Parents do not have money.

“But this has affected administrative running of the school. Headmasters cannot travel for important meetings in Masvingo, there is no money.

“We were supposed to attend a headmasters meeting in Masvingo and called them to excuse ourselves,” he said.

Primary school head Elfas Mapanje said they, too, have a number of challenges. The unavailability of permanent structures and furniture is just one of the many things also slowing their operations.

There are water shortages and no food supplements for kids.

Back at their old homes, they would carry packed lunches of maize cobs, pumpkins, round and groundnuts among others, especially during this time of the year.

Here, they carry a cucumber-like fruit called “bhondasi” which they crack open and share under a tree at lunch.

“If we had supplementary feeding, maybe the kids would not run away from school during lessons. Some will go back to tents, others to the borehole and never return for classes that day,” explained Mr Mapanje.

The primary school’s immediate needs also include furniture and proper classrooms.

“Children just squat on grounds. We also need proper accommodation for teachers,” said Mr Mapanje whose tent collapsed when heavy rains fell last week.

He also said the 10 makeshift toilets at the school are only two metres deep, and there are fears that they may fill up soon.

Students like Birthday Tambaoga (17) a Form 4 student recall how their lives have altered and in such a crucial year, her studies have been greatly affected.

“I had covered more ground at my former school and what we are being taught here is like revision.

“I hope the revision is an advantage for us,” she said.

She and her friend, “paralysed” by the heat slept under a tree next to other classmates as lessons went on.

Dozing during lessons is normal here, for the heat is too much.

Her life also has altered in Chingwizi camp. Their houses were spaced. Now they are cluttered. She fears diseases, there is too much human waste lying around and when it rains, those on lower ground fear the dirty water will flow into their homes.

Living under one tent with her whole family is hard, especially during menstruation.

“You have to look for a widow’s tent and ask for permission to bath and change sanitary pads there, especially at night,” Birthday explained.

She also fears sexual abuse, especially when they go to look for water.

At least she can read at night, as Econet Wireless provided them with solar powered lights.

Constance Chivange who came from 7A area is still traumatised.

She sheds tears when she reminisces how her life was drastically altered.

She, too, “boarded” at a village close to their former school.

She did not imagine she would board a helicopter in her life, not in that fashion of carrying along their goats and chickens.

She easily gives up and says she has forgotten most and wants to cry.

She says she is like that, that defines her. Her life has not altered much, the conditions are pretty the same from where she came from since she did not spend much time at home.

Most children are not in school, they loiter around the transit camp.

Some chase cars, others look for water, then some just play near food distribution areas hoping to hear announcements.

Masvingo Provincial Administrator Mr Felix Chikovo said there are an excess of 5 000 school going children at Chingwizi.

He revealed they have textbooks donated by partners like Plan International, Unicef and other well wishers.

He said most children seem not to know why there are at Chingwizi and what the future holds for them, their parents have not spoken to them.

“Only the adults know why they are there. Our culture segregates children from information dissemination. The children found themselves loaded on trucks coming 210km and being told we are here in the middle of nowhere.

“It was traumatic for them and they would need some kind of counselling,” he added.

Minister of State for Masvingo Province Kudakwashe Bhaskikiti said they will build four primary and two secondary schools to cater for the children.

As the clock hits 1pm at Mlalo, lower class primary school pupils make their way home. The secondary school students will endure the heat for a few more hours as lessons continue.

They just pray that one day, things shall be the same again.

They also hope, the flag comes soon and they can sing Simudzai Mureza with more pride.

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