Free books to 24 Zimbabwe schools

Isaac Bleich

In December 2010 we couriered the first batch of Activated Ministries’ sponsored books to our two voluntary distributors in Zimbabwe. Our one local distributor, called Friday, lives in the Harare area, while our other distributor, Eddie, lives about 150 kilometres north of Harare in a country area.

When we saw them on our road trip in February 2011 they said that the local Christian fellowships were very thankful for getting the Activated booklets for their libraries, the pre-schools, and Sunday schools. Our distributors also use the books to teach their own children and in their own little fellowship.

In February 2011 we made a trip to Harare to distribute the STEPS program packages to the Primary Schools. We were there just over a week. All the public schools are very poor and are lacking access to quality teaching materials. The country has been through a period of great upheaval over the past 10 years, and at times the educational system as a whole was virtually shut down due tolack of funds and other reasons. The teachers were very inspired when they received the curriculums and said that this was just what they needed. We encouraged those who had access to e-mail, (three of them) to send us little reports about the use of the books and the reactions of the children as they use them over the next few months.

The Sunday School teachers we met were excited about the STEPS sets and said that the material will be well used in all their programs. A few mentioned that the stories are also very good for the adults. The children in Harare speak English quite well and in the rural areas the stories will be read in English and then translated into the local language.

In total, we distributed 60 STEPS sets to 24 rural schools and Sunday schools across Zimbabwe. Thank you, Activated Ministries, for your sponsorship of the materials for Zimbabwe. We appreciate your generosity and kindness in making these materials available so freely, and we know that the beneficiaries are also very appreciative. We are confident that the materials will be put to very good use.