Another successful partnership in education development: ORAP and African Bush Camps Foundation promote soccer in Dete




Shooting for Education Development
In September 2013 the Organisation of Rural Associations for Progress (ORAP) launched the Shooting for Education Development (SHED) Programme, to promote the use of soccer as a tool for development. The project, funded by the US Africa Children’s Fellowship (USACF) and One World Futbol, saw ten thousand ‘nearly indestructible’ One World Futbols being shipped to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. ORAP has formed strategic partnerships to distribute these, ensuring that the primary aim of enhancing the lives of youths and communities is achieved.

Strategic Partnership in Dete
In 2014 ORAP partnered with the African Bush Camps Foundation to assist schools in the Dete area of Hwange rural district, starting at Mambanje Primary School.
Mambanje Primary School is a very remote school, located 15km from the town of Dete (located along the Bulawayo – Victoria Falls road, approximately 415 km north-west of Bulawayo and 93 km south-east of Hwange), along a road which is so run down it takes over an hour to get there. The community at Mambanje mainly relies on subsistence farming, which is not a very reliable or profitable income. The school has an enrolment of 120 students. The African Bush Camps Foundation currently supports 79 orphans and vulnerable children at the school whose parents and guardians are unable to raise the US$15 fee per term or US$45 per year school fee per child. The Foundation also provides the salary for one additional teacher at $500 a month and again the community matches that and fundsan additional teacher.


As part of its commitment to education development, the African Bush Camps Foundation has identified soccer as a key developmental resource for the students and community at large. An annual soccer tournament is held, incorporating teams from other schools in the surrounding communities.The students are given the chance to explore their capabilities by showcasing their talents in the sports field.

“Umangisenkundleniyebhola yikholapha engitshengisela khona ubungqwethi bami”, (when I am on the sports field I got to show off my dazzling skills) -Ntandoyenkosi a grade 5 pupil.
Part of the Mambanje Primary School team
Accessing adequate sporting equipment has been a significant challenge for the programme, and this year the fruitful partnership with the Organisation of Rural Associations for Progress (ORAP) has been helpful in mitigating this challenge. Through the SHED project,ORAP has made soccer balls available to Mambanje Primary and other schools in Dete, initiated at the time of the African Bush Camps Heroes Day Tournament.
The Heroes Day Soccer Tournament is an annual event, supporting the Dete Soccer League, a ZIFA (Zimbabwe Football Association) registered soccer league that is made up of 18 clubs representing the 14 villages surrounding Hwange National Park. It is held in August each year celebrating the Zimbabwean public holiday of National Heroes Day. As per the previous years, the Primary Schools are also involved and this year the five schools which make up the Dete cluster played a round-robin tournament, kicking off proceedings for the day.
ORAP donated 60 balls for the Tournament, which meant all the participating teams managed to take some back with them, enhancing sports development among out of school youth, high school and primary school teams. 


The Main Camp Primary School team with their soccer balls
The effects of the rough Dete terrain on the futbols

Some of the much-loved and much-played balls 
Mambanje Primary received ten balls, with great appreciation as they traditionally rely on homemade balls that are fashioned from plastic bags, old fabric, and other refuse materials. To show how much use the balls received, seven of them were destroyed by September (i.e. a month after being received). This is due to the extent of use but also the poor terrain that the students are forced to play on. The balls used come from One World Futbol and are ‘nearly indestructible and suitable for play on all sorts of terrain’. While they are designed to last for years on the roughest terrain, the Mambanje youths have taken up the challenge and utilized the balls without restraint! 





ORAP is proud to partner with the African Bush Camps Foundation and their education and community development programmes. 





 The balls bring hours of stimulation to both boys and girls, and help to motivate the teachers in their work.