Projects supported include Lesedi Primary School, Lesedi Secondary School and Lesedi Clinic. Lesedi School & Clinic is located in a rural area not far from Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. Despite being relatively close to town, the daily existence could be from another world. Most families survive by cattle raising and subsistence farming. The people in this area are often poorly educated with low aspiration levels and limited role models. Prior to Lesedi, the nearest local school was many kilometers away. Children were often absent or dropped out of school altogether. Many parents, unable to pay school fees, preferred their children to remain at home to help with household chores. Alcohol dependence was an issue, with some households engaged in the illegal moonshine business. Many families are dealing with ill health, including HIV and AIDS. The cycle of poverty in these communities has persisted for generations and there was little hope for improvement without outside intervention. We started the Lesedi project in 2014 with a simple hut, a handful of youngsters and one trainee teacher. The following year we established a UK registered charity, the Ngoko Charitable Trust, to support our work at Lesedi and any future projects elsewhere in Zimbabwe. The founders and trustees of the Ngoko Charitable Trust are Fiona & Graeme Thompson and Benson Siyawareva. Fiona and Graeme are based in the United Kingdom and Benson lives in Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe. The three of them met on safari 20 years ago and have remained firm friends ever since. Benson and Fiona founded a safari company, Ngoko Safaris, together in 2005, which continues to provide their “day jobs”. Lesedi Primary School now offers a full infant and junior education to over 290 students. Infant education consists of four years of schooling from Early Childhood Development (ECD) A to Grade 2. Junior education comprises five years from Grade 3 to Grade 7. Our first pupils will complete their primary education at the end of 2021. Having given the children hope and encouraged them to dream, it would be wrong to abandon them after primary school, so we have started construction of a secondary school at Lesedi. We recognize that not all the children will excel academically, so will include vocational training at secondary level. A relatively new addition, Lesedi Clinic opened in 2020. In addition to serving the wider community, the clinic provides a vital health resource for our Lesedi learners, including regular medical checks and vaccinations. Some of our children have long-term health conditions, and the clinic ensures a consistent supply of medication and regular monitoring. We now have a team of 22 teachers, nurses and support staff doing an incredible job transforming and saving lives at Lesedi. These wonderful individuals work tirelessly on a daily basis to not only educate our students but also monitor their welfare, nurture them and encourage their ambitions and dreams. The vast majority of our Lesedi pupils are now sponsored. Without sponsorship, it is likely that many of our learners would not be regularly attending school, and certainly wouldn’t have expectations to continue past their primary education. Our school meals are crucial to the welfare of many children, and for some the access to healthcare is proving to be a lifeline. For further details on sponsorship please see our website: www.lesedizim.org/sponsor. Lesedi is totally reliant on private donations and our achievements to date have only been possible thanks to the generosity of our supporters. Please consider making a donation or sponsoring a child. 100% of each donation we receive is spent in full on the project, making a difference where it is needed most. Donation methods are shown on the Donate page of our website www.lesedizim.org/donate.
