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06 December 2012 The Sound of Change Ping. Ping. Ping. That’s the sound of text messages hitting my mobile phone, day and night, after navigating over the long dirt roads and open blue skies thousands of miles away from my home, in Africa. With each ping, my smile beams more brightly, my step has more spring and my bliss is boundless. And, I am reminded of the words of the soulful R&B singer Sam Cooke “A change is gonna come.” For you see, my dream of bringing a better education to children in my rural village of Matau, Zimbabwe, is soon to come true. A gaggle of grandmothers - Gogos in my native term, tease me with these texts, feeding me morsels of news about the progress on the Matau Primary School project. This will create a brighter future for nearly 4,000 children and 125 teachers. "A brand new school is now standing, it almost seems like I am dreaming," Gogo Sande says in her text. The next morning, before I have recovered from my joy of reading Gogo Sande's text, I get two more: "Tererai, my daughter could not read and write and died leaving orphans under my care. Now they can read at home and I get to participate in their reading, it has never been heard of until Matau Project. It's a miracle.” Gogo Kawocha "I saw the new desks and chairs arriving, our children have hope for a better future,” Gogo Kambuzuma My heart is brimming over with affection and tears come to my eyes as I picture these grandmothers, walking around my village, tracking down the young men and asking or paying them a few cents to relay their messages to me via text on their mobile phones. I am humbled knowing that these women have had little to no schooling themselves yet they share the same enthusiasm of children awaiting their first day of school. At this time of year, when we express our gratitude, I want to bestow mine on these grandmothers. I thank them for reminding me that hope springs eternal. I can hear them saying, “Naysayers of Africa, pass on through. Your stay is temporary, like the shift in shadows under the clouds of the African sky.” Change is gonna come. Progress is on the horizon. Can you feel it? Tinogona! It is achievable.

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08 July 2012 I arrived late in the evening announced, by early morning the sound of the drum had alerted my homecoming. I had gone home to visit my mother and see the progress on the construction of my childhood school. I am teary with joy as I write. The school looks transformed, beautiful beyond anything I expected. Save the Children and the community had been working hard and their sweat is visible. Some of you may remember the ground breaking ceremony, the brick molding by the community, the construction of the foundation. Today the school has walls and a roof! I captured some photos to share the journey of building our school. “A picture is worth a thousand words.” The building committee took me on a tour of the school. It was a precious moment. While both the community and teachers were happy to share the progress, it was the kids that captured my heart—their stories, their smiles, and joys are what keep me going. I had good time with the kids. I grew up with most of the kids’ grandparents. From every face of these kids, I see their grandparents, whom most were my friends and neighbors. It’s weird and sobering—to see the same smiles and laughter I knew from their grandmothers and grandfathers. Kudos to Save the Children, my community, the Ministry of Education and the local rural council for a job well done! I am inspired and I hope you will be inspired too. See the photos!
18 October 2011 Could not help showing this picture. These 2 guys thought if little girls in Africa can carry 5 gallons on their heads, they can also do it. It was interesting to watch them!
17 February 2012 The moment I saw the NEWLY constructed borehole and the Water storage tank I knew something bigger than myself was in the making…...."A Miracle" This is the Tinogona t-shirt money! The water storage tank holds 5000 liters of clean and safe water for drinking. Access to water, let alone clean and safe water is something that many of us take for granted, unfortunately many children in the world die from water borne diseases because all they have is dirty water from rivers and unprotected wells. This is a miracle! Today Matau Primary School has defeated Cholera and typhoid, life-threatening diseases facing the country. Thanks for the support!
08 July 2012 I arrived late in the evening announced, by early morning the sound of the drum had alerted my homecoming. I had gone home to visit my mother and see the progress on the construction of my childhood school. I am teary with joy as I write. The school looks transformed, beautiful beyond anything I expected. Save the Children and the community had been working hard and their sweat is visible. Some of you may remember the ground breaking ceremony, the brick molding by the community, the construction of the foundation. Today the school has walls and a roof! I captured some photos to share the journey of building our school. “A picture is worth a thousand words.” The building committee took me on a tour of the school. It was a precious moment. While both the community and teachers were happy to share the progress, it was the kids that captured my heart—their stories, their smiles, and joys are what keep me going. I had good time with the kids. I grew up with most of the kids’ grandparents. From every face of these kids, I see their grandparents, whom most were my friends and neighbors. It’s weird and sobering—to see the same smiles and laughter I knew from their grandmothers and grandfathers. Kudos to Save the Children, my community, the Ministry of Education and the local rural council for a job well done! I am inspired and I hope you will be inspired too. See the photos!
18 October 2011 With Oprah in South Africa
16 March 2012 A Window to the World Among the many pictures taken during my recent visit to my village, this is one of my favorites. The children and I are looking at a window frame, still waiting for the glass panel to be installed. It is unfinished but in my mind - as I’m sure in theirs - I can already see a window in a classroom. Big enough for the light to come through. Big enough for those faces to peer out of, so that they can see the sky, the trees, the playground and the hive of activity that surrounds their new school. It is not lost on me that a window is always used as a symbol of access to ideas and knowledge. For the people in my community, this school, the new Matau Primary School, is that kind of window. A kind of window through which they can know the world. And the world can know them back.
01 February 2012 One Brick at a Time My community organized themselves to help build the new Matau Primary School, literally with their hands. It is an exahausting backbreaking process. A true labor of love. In just four months, they have produced nearly 400,0000 bricks. From dead anthills, they extracted the best clay, mixed it with sand, packed it into molds which they lay under the sun for 4-6 weeks. The bricks are then molded by hand before they are baked in a kiln. The late headman (village elder) Va Magaba told me, "We know Oprah Winfrey, Save the Children and the world are behind us. We want to let them know that we appreciate the gift of an education very much." Brick by brick, the walls of the classrooms have started to go up. There is a sense of pride that everyone feels when they see the school slowly come to life; a sense of ownership, as if they left a part of their heart in those walls. I am on my way to Zimbabwe today. I will visit the school on Friday. Can't wait to tell you all about it.
04 February 2012 See the video update of the progress at the Matau Primary School.
11 September 2011 They also need to Achieve their dreams!
23 August 2011 Oprah's favorite guest in 25 years
18 October 2011 Could not help showing this picture. These 2 guys thought if little girls in Africa can carry 5 litres on their heads, they can also do it. It was interesting to watch them!
10 February 2012 At Long Last, Clean Running Water! I have just returned from a visit to the construction site of the new Matau Primary School in Zimbabwe, and I’m still feeling the excitement of seeing for the first time, clean water flowing from the tap on the school ground. It was an extraordinary sight. Something short of a miracle for me. Since I was a child, up to just a week ago, the source of clean water closest to the school was in a village a mile away. I remember how the water pump in that village was so unsafe that many children fell into the water hole and injured themselves. I was fortunate to have come after Save the Children, with the help of members of the Matau community, had just put the finishing touches on a new water pump. After digging nearly 140 feet into the ground, and laying the pipes connecting the water hole to a water storage tank, they used an electrically-powered pump to tap the water from underground. Seeing and hearing the water gush out from the faucet was an exhilarating experience! Having clean water may not sound like a challenge to many people, but it is life-changing for the children of Matau. For the first time, they will find it easy, and not have to waste precious classroom time to get clean safe water to drink and wash their hands. Imagine how this simple thing can impact the kids’ health, well-being, and ultimately their school performance! There are many other new exciting developments on the school’s construction. I will be sharing them with you very soon! Photo credit: Tsyangirayi Muzwazhi

Tererai Trent
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