My name is Freeman Chari. I am Zimbabwean and a Software Engineer based in USA. My journey begins in the dusty classroom that looks exactly like the one in the profile picture.

After completing my seventh grade in 1994 I was faced with the predicament of where to do my secondary school. There was no secondary school close by. Fortunately I got a place at a boarding school that was further away from home but 61 of my 80 classmates at Nyahombe primary school could not proceed with their education.

Bright kids with a whole future ahead of them had to become contend with the life of farming, fishing, drinking and prostitution. A number of them are dead now.

A few years ago, parents from around Tokwane Ngundu got together and decided to build a secondary school for their children. Even though they didnt have much, they got together to mould the bricks and provide labor.  The school is called Makotore Secondary School.

A few weeks ago, I spoke to headmaster of the school Mr Mazorodze who happens to have been my teacher when I was still a kid at Nyahombe. The picture I got crushed my soul but most significantly it inspired me to seek help from others.

The kids learning at this school are actually children of my peers and former schoolmates.  The 2 blocks that exist are not plastered and parts of the roof are held in place by rocks. This is dangerous.

Inside there are no chairs or desks and most of them sit  on the floor during class. There are no books and the 6 teachers that are present have to use their resources to buy books that are shared by the students.

When I look at these kids, I see myself. I know how hard it is to walk 10km to school and back everyday. I know that in their hearts they know that education is the only gateway out of poverty for most of them.

When I look at them I see hope. I know that through education and hard work a child can rise from the same dusty classroom  that did not have electricity nor a computer cable to become a somebody who writes software that helps educate kids in the First World.  Maybe the solution to today and tomorrow’s problems is in that dusty classroom.

I do not want them to drop out of school and resign to poverty, I also do not want them to go through the same tribulations I went through until I got my College degree. So help me build this school for them.

Every dollar counts!

What will the money be used for?

– The short-term   goal is to plaster the current blocks and to finish the roofs.
– We also hope to buy enough chars and desks for the 137 students that are currently enrolled at the school.
– If we managed to raise more, then we would look at books and clean water provision. CLICK HERE TO DONATE