Appeal: Montessori Zimbabwe Faced With Closure

The primary school was established in 2007, after repeated requests from parents who recognised how well their children were learning and developing in its Greystone Montessori Pre-School.

Operating out of a rented residential house in Suburbs, Bulawayo, the school has in the past 7 years experienced tremendous growth in terms of enrolment from a mere 5 pupils to 68 pupils.

It is looking forward to its first national Grade 7 examination sitting this year.

However, this growth has come with challenges such as the shortage of learning space, resources rooms and toilets.

To address this difficulty, the school management has launched a fundraising campaign to mobilise resources to build the “excellence centre”, on a 3.5 hectare plot.

This piece of land is conveniently situated 2km southwards of the Central Building District, on Townsend Road, Suburbs.

It is here that the school authorities have set measures in place to build a state-of-the-art “centre of excellence”.

The Ministry of Education ordered the primary school to build proper premises last year, in December.

“Recently, we were notified by Ministry of Education that unless we build proper classrooms etc. and then register the school as a formal institution, we will be shut down. We have been given a deadline of 31st December 2013 to complete the first stage of the plan, if we do not complete this stage the school will be closed, leaving our current pupils without a school to return to after the Christmas break.”

“Given the risk of permanent closure by Ministry of Education unless we build the required resources for the school, there is great and urgent need to immediately commence the construction of phase 1 of the school building project (Phase 1). Phase 1 includes minimum requirements of the Ministry of Education, Sports & Culturenamely two classrooms, toilet facilities and offices and it is estimated to costUS$113,000. We will not be allowed to register the school unless the Phase 1 is complete,” said Rebecca Mukombe, the project manager.

The school has managed to raise some funds to kick start the building process.

“To date we have raised enough, money through many activities, to secure the land and we have had many parents also committing their time and expertise to the building project.”

“We have all the pre-construction architectural and planning work done. Our vision is to build of world class learning facilities that provide quality education to all children, including the one with special needs,” said Rebecca.

However, the school’s administration does not have adequate funds to embark on this project and is therefore appealing for urgent contributions to commence Phase 1 of the project.

“This proposal is aimed at kindly appealing for contributions towards our urgent need for Phase 1 in cash or in-kind. We are seeking support for Phase 1 of the development to ensure the security of our school for the children who are currently enrolled and for the school community (teacher, parents & supporters) who have done an amazing job to raise the money to pay part of the land and to support our efforts to develop the school for future generation of Zimbabwean children.”

“Montessori Zimbabwe is seeking any building materials that will be used in the construction of the school. This includes bricks, cement, sand, stone, roofing, timber, window and door frames, tiling for floors, including adhesive and grout, carpeting, window glazing, paint, solar panels, electric wiring, fittings, plumbing supplies, etc,” Rebecca, emphatically.

The school administration has been exploring online fundraising avenues such as Facebook and Indiegogo.

Rebecca, who is Australian by birth, has also resorted to her home country’s media and has also sent appeals to different Montessori schools in USA.

“I have contacted 16 individual Montessori schools in the US and we are hoping to get positive responses,” she said.

She said the development of the school infrastructure will be managed by the Trustees and founding members of the school, Mrs Nicki Pugh, Mr Andy Pugh and Mrs Rose Mutch.

Mrs W. Cooper of Baker, Tilly, Gwatidzo Zimbabwe (Accountant) will as an advisor, together work with Rebecca, as she has lengthy experience in managing donor funds.

The school (including the 2 pre-schools) has a highly motivated and committed teaching staff of 16 teachers and 8 assistant and part-time teachers spearheaded by the school principal. All the teachers possess great qualifications and experience in teaching the students. There is also a non-teaching staff of ten members. This group plays a major role in ensuring the smooth day-to-day running of the school. With new premises, more staff will be required, thus creating more job opportunities. The teaching and non-teaching staff has all contributed tremendously to the growth and success of the school.

Bank: NMB
Account Name: Montessori Zimbabwe Building Fund
Account Number: 210234306.

Contact persons:
Rebecca Mukombe – 0774312448
Nicki Pugh - 0772213137.

Donated funds will be held in an account at NMB bank solely used for the development of the school and will not be comingled with any funds for the day to day running of the school. Financial reports will be provided to donors, the school board of governors and other bodies as appropriate.