WEST NORFOLK METHODIST CIRCUIT Climate and Justice Group Matjinge Fund

Matjinge is a rural community in the beautiful province of Matabeleland South, Zimbabwe.

The Superintendent of the Methodist Circuit is Rev Julius Tonderai Muteve.

Matjinge Methodist Mission runs a Primary School and boarding High School. About 195 children attend the high school. Simple dormitories accommodate 120 boarders, 75 girls and 45 boys. Many are orphans.

There are also day scholars at the high school and at the primary school; some walk over 20 kilometres every day between home and school. Up to 600 children attend the primary school.Most of the children’s guardians or parents live and work abroad in South Africa, Namibia, or Botswana, where they can earn more money than in Zimbabwe.

Most good schools in Zimbabwe are unaffordable. Matjinge provides hope to many poor children whose families cannot afford expensive boarding schools. The Methodist Church in Zimbabwe subsidises the school fees, which are around  20 US dollars per term, and provides uniforms. Despite this, during the recent drought, some parents could not afford the school fees.

The Matjinge Circuit faces many challenges and hardships. With climate change, drought now occurs almost every year. As a result, the school’s borehole was running dry and children were having to walk about 5 kilometres to fetch water. The headteacher, James Ndlovu, explains how this affected the pupils in this short video.

With support from churches in the West Norfolk Methodist Circuit, a borehole was successfully restored on the school grounds, about 300 m from the girls' dormitory and 200 m from the main school buildings. 

Next, a pump was needed. Together with the school leaders, we chose a solar powered system installed by a local engineering company.

The water is pumped to two storage tanks to provide a regular supply to three taps - one for the school, one for the manse and one for the community.

The School community gathered to celebrate the new system in July 2024.

In August, Rev Dr Richman Ncube visited the school to see the water system for himself and taste the water! Everything was working well.

We received these wonderful letters of thanks from the school.

Next, the school installed a 160m fence around the Manse and garden at Matjinge, to keep out the goats so the minister and his team can grow vegetables, irrigated by the water supply.

Unfortunately, in late 2024 the water table was so low that the borehole again dried up. Since January 2025, there has been some rain and the community is again able to access a modest supply of water. The new superintendent, Rev Julius Muteve, has arrived. He is settling into his role, covering a large rural area with 19 Methodist societies and two completed church buildings, at Gwambe and Ngwana. There is no car, so Rev Muteve has to walk up to 25 km in a day to visit his congregations.

Our next ambition is for the school and the manse to have a satellite internet connection. This will help the children and teachers get access to educational resources and allow us to communicate with them and the superintendent much more easily.

Could you help us in our efforts to support the children and families in Matjinge Circuit and the children at Matjinge High School and Matjinge Primary School? Perhaps you could contribute a small regular donation towards the $300 annual connection fee?