Former Mpumelelo Primary School Students Form Association

Bulawayo - A group of former students from Mpumelelo Primary School, Mpopoma, Bulawayo have announced the formation of a new association. At a meeting, attended by former teaching staff, parents, current staff, former students and some invited guests, held at the school premises on Saturday 14 May 2011, the former students, there present, made it clear that their association's main aim was to mobilise as many of their colleagues as possible and work together with the School authorities and the School Development Committee (SDC) to advocate for and support the development of the school and its children.

Ms. P Chibelu, the Headmistress of the school, supporting the initiative said "The formation of this association comes at a very opportune moment in the life of the school. On the 18th of November 2011, Mpumelelo will be hosting its 50th Anniversary Celebrations and the success of these Jubilee Celebrations and future advancement of the school, in general, is directly related to how much the former students commit themselves to the institution that opened their minds and helped shape who they are today."

Also present at this formative meeting was the first Headmaster of Mpumelelo, retired educationist and icon of Mpumelelo Primary School, Mr. Silas Dabengwa who, as he said, saw the school open its grounds, in 1961, without classrooms or any infrastructure.  To give more support and wisdom to the project was Ms. Marietta Dabudabu who faithfully and diligently served Mpumelelo from 1965 till her retirement in 2003 and Mr. Herbert Ncube who is currently the longest serving member of staff having started work at the school in 1978 and is still faithful to his calling.   

The segment of the meeting that gave rise to the first official deliberations, as regards the formation of the association, was chaired by Advocate Sabelo Sibanda, a former student of Mpumelelo himself. Sibanda encouraged, and at the same time surprised many at the meeting when he made mention of the fact that as it is, former students of the school have started a Facebook Group in which they share stories, news and anecdotes about the school. In particular the Mpumelelo "Class of 79" (1973-1979 students) were already in the process of organizing themselves and had committed themselves to doing all in their power to advance the school and participate in any planned Jubilee Celebrations. The Class of 79 is an extremely vibrant group that is very active on Facebook. Both initiatives are spearheaded by Babusi Sibanda, another former student of Mpumelelo.

In highlighting some of the urgent needs of the school, the SDC Chairman, Mr. Yuki Nhananga, emphasized the fact that since 1961, the school had seen little or no infrastructure development and thus needed a serious facelift, not just for the Jubilee Celebrations but for the general well- being of the school.  Out of his long list of requirements for the school, Mr. Nhananga identified some of the following as priorities:

 - Repainting the school

 - Acquiring a school bus

 - Revamping the class-room blocks, as some are now developing potholes

 - Fixing the toilets

 - Fixing the sports field

In welcoming the creation of the association, Mr. Nhananga said, "We should raise our sights and envision Mpumelelo Primary School as becoming one of, if not 'the' top-ranked primary school in Zimbabwe."

In conclusion, Advocate Sibanda stated that "To succeed in our association's mission, we're working with parents (of former and current students), former and current members of staff, administrators, well-wishers and as many former students as may be located across the world.  It is most imperative that we all remember our past and keep in mind the future of the present generation of students of our great and beloved Mpumelelo. A great motivating factor is that currently there is no big organized interest group outside the school authorities that defends and promotes the interests of the school and the children."

The association is still at infancy stage. To help advance its cause speedily, the association is inviting all former students who may be available to attend its second meeting at Mpumelelo on Saturday 21 May at 9:00 am. Amongst the issues on the agenda will be the official launch of the association and fundraising events scheduled for 30 July 2011 and 01 October 2011.

For further information please contact the following people:

Ms. P Chibelu 
  +263 772 292 912
  +263 712 737 865
               +263 9 412 962     
    chibelup@yahoo.com

Sabelo Sibanda         
    +263 777 827 363
                +263 9 887 991-4     
     sabelo.dawu@gmail.com