Tererai Trent

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  • 26 October 2011 Check the video!
  • 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!
  • 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!
  • 19 February 2012 Inspiring Education Yesterday I spoke at Walden University where I had a wonderful time with more than 800 PhD students and their faculty. http://www.waldenu.edu/
  • 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 August 2011
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • 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!
  • 19 October 2011 In South Africa just before my speaking to the girls!
  • 06 September 2011 For that moment when you want to reflect on what's important in your life, grab a special Tinogona coffee/tea mug and enjoy its contents!
  • 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!