DHL Mentoring Program

In line with its vision of “Developing diverse future leaders in the 21^st century”, Teach For Zimbabwe(TFZ) through its fellowship program aims to build a strong force of leaders who use their deep understanding of self, others, and systems to collectively champion a holistic, equitable and inclusive education for all children in Zimbabwe. These leaders are entrepreneurial, creative, and innovative; they collaborate with diverse local and global stakeholders to ensure that learners get quality education to reach their full potential in the 21st century. It is in line with this vision that partnering with DPDHL under their Go Teach Program was a perfect fit. The Go Teach program focuses on empowering all young people in the GoTeach program to attain the employability skills necessary to live an independent life by equipping them with the skills and professional interactions needed to prepare them for the world of work.

On the 13^th of June 2022, the DPDHL Zimbabwe Country Manager Ms. Mugadza took some time to do a familiarization tour in Mutoko District in the company of the TFZ Chief Executive Officer Dr. Miriam Siwela, the Mutoko District Schools Inspector Mr. Katuka and some TFZ members of staff.  This was meant to give our new partner a better perspective of the work that TFZ is doing in the schools. The first stop was at Kowo Primary School which is also a recipient of the TFZ Rural Light Box project. It was through this visit that the idea of supporting Kowo primary through scaling the Rural Light program came about. As part of her efforts to ensure learners have access to information, the DHL Country Manager requested the technicians to provide details of what is needed to ensure every classroom has at most 3 laptops/computers to ease the pressure in the small computer lab consisting of only 8 desktop computers. The school administration expressed gratitude for this new development at their school and thanked DHL for their efforts in digitalizing marginalized communities. As she was touring the school, The DHL Country Manager emphasized the DHL ‘GoGreen’ project which is a worldwide environmental protection program that demonstrates a strong sense of environmental responsibility. Its main objective is to reduce and avoid the emission of greenhouse gasses and local air pollutants. To date, DPDHL has donated 44 monitors towards the initiative to computerize Kowo primary school.

A day before the launch (26 September 2022), TFZ and a delegation from DPDHL, the Mashonaland East Provincial Education Director (Mrs. A. Ncube), and the Mutoko Schools Inspectors (Mr. Katuka), as well as the Mutoko local leadership, graced the occasion of the tour of Kowo primary which DPDHL intends to make into a model school. Lots of entertainment was provided through song and dance by the Kowo Primary School learners

The launch event continued at the TFZ offices where the official signing of certificate of the partnership was signed. This was a well-decorated blended event attended by over 50 local and international delegates virtually and physically. The delegates to the launch included DPDHL (Go Teach) local and international employees, TFZ board members, staff and fellows, the Mutoko Chief and his delegation, The Mashonaland East PED, the Mutoko DSI, ECOZI, NANGO, and private sector organizations including M-Tron and Schweppes. This event saw the official launch of the partnership between TFZ and Go Teach.

A total of 8 TFZ fellows have benefited from the mentorship program by the time of this report. The DPDHL team was able to work with 8 fellows at a time for the period under review.  In total four volunteers were involved in the mentorship program while over 24 participated in other activities. 18 attended the pre-launch event at Kowo Primary and over 24 attended the lunch event.