The ManicaPost
Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Correspondent
HIS father died in 2019 and consequently, his mother moved to South Africa.
Samuel Murinda (not real name) had to step in to take care of his three young siblings.
He was only 15 and was doing Form Three at Masasi High School in Marange.
After making sure that everything was in order at home, Samuel would walk 10kms to get to school and another 10kms to get back home.
This, however, did not deter the teenager from pursuing his education.
“I trudged to school daily from October 2018 to June 2021. I would get to school at around 10am, two hours after the commencement of lessons. I would arrive back home at 8pm and start preparing food for my siblings.
“I would be so tired after walking 20kms to and from school, but there was nothing I could do as I had to take care of my siblings and also go to school,” he said.
When he moved to a bush boarding facility near the school, his challenges worsened.
He was exposed to drugs and alcohol.
Samuel was at one time tempted into dropping out of school and joining the diamond panners in Chiadzwa.
Fortunately he resisted the temptation.
“It seemed as if panning for diamond and making a quick buck to fend for my siblings was better than scavenging for food and firewood to prepare for my meals at the bush boarding.
“I could not afford the monthly rentals the landlord was asking. It was US$15 a month and unlike other learners, I had to work for that money and then go to school afterwards.
“Turning into an illegal diamond panner was my last option and l was on the verge of doing so. The Masasi School Development Committee (SDC), however, talked me out of it. They promised to build boarding facilities for us,” said Samuel.
To his great relief, the Masasi SDC came to his rescue when they put up a makeshift timber boarding facility that can only house nine boys at a time.
Samuel has now joined his peers at the boarding facility and is now doing his ‘A’ Level.
He is determined to go all the way to university.
Sadly, many other boys at Masasi High School are still being accommodated at the houses near the school as the SDC-built boarding facility can not absorb all of them.
In an interview with The Manica Post, the SDC secretary, Ms Nesta Bracha said some students at the school have to walk a distance of about 20kms every day.
She said the school’s SDC built the makeshift boarding facility to accommodate a small number of boys temporarily as the school awaits for the intervention of Government and its development partners.
“If you hear the children narrating what they go through just to get to school, you will be shocked. These boys are exposed to illegal diamond and gold panning activities due to our proximity to Chiadzwa and Odzi.
“Some of them succumb to peer pressure and drop out of school to become diamond and gold panners,” she said.
Another SDC member, Mrs Christine Mushumbi, said bush boarding exposes teenage boys to dangerous drugs as they have no supervision at their rented accommodation.
“On many occasions, we receive reports that some of the boys would have been arrested for public drinking and fighting. Some miss lessons as they nurse hang-overs. This is why we took it upon ourselves to build these makeshift structures,” said Mrs Mushumbi.
She also said despite the poor state of the temporary facilities, the boys’ security is guaranteed as they have supervision.
“At least parents can now have peace of mind, the security of their children is now guaranteed. They have a curfew and they spend most of their time studying,” she said.
Mutare District Schools Inspector (DSI), Mr Creezin Chofamba said there is need for development partners to partner Government to assist the boy child in the same manner that they are doing for the girl child.
He said low cost boarding facilities are required in schools like Masasi High School where the bulk of learners are staying in bush boarding facilities.
“The girl child in bush boarding facilities face challenges that include child marriages, teen pregnancies, rape cases and many more; but it is also important to remember that in some instances, it is the boy child who is behind those teen pregnancies as they are also stuck in this bush boarding set up.
“In other instances, these boys are exposed to drugs and other dangerous substances as they stay alone. The boys also need the protection that the girl child is getting.
“We need to thank the SDC at Masasi High School for thinking of these boys and building a protective unit for them. We hope that other SDCs in other areas will emulate them,” said Mr Chofamba.
“In other hotspots like Chitora, Marange and Odzi, girls and boys are falling prey to wolves in sheep’s clothing. They lure them with short-lived luxuries. If such an initiative is adopted in all these areas, all school going children will be protected,” he said.
Recently, Plan International Zimbabwe built a girls’ boarding facility with a capacity to house 40 girls at Masasi High School.
The move seeks to combat child marriages and teen pregnancies.
