A classroom awaiting it’s roofing restoration after Cyclone Idai rendered it unsafe and condemned for use in its current state. As a result, the students who would have used it since 2019 have been using temporary classrooms shelters and outside open spaces for their learning.

Back to School

Two years after Cyclone Idai, many students are still to recover from its impact. A lot of school infrastructure is yet to be re-built after the damage it sustained. As a result, learners are still working are still using temporary shelters or outdoors for learning. The Districts of Chipinge and Chimanimani had schools that were most affected.

After the first phase of restoring roofs nearly 240 households was completed, community volunteers have moved to repairing the roofs over damaged classrooms and clinics.

With support from the People’s Republic of China, locally-sourced roofing material and accessories were secured and transported to the various school locations for the restoration works.

Materials

Building

The second phase of roof restoration targeted damaged classroom roofs at 30 schools and buildings at 8 clinics in Chimanimani and Chipinge Districts.

As in the first phase of households, all works are done by both experienced and non-experienced volunteers from the same communities they are working in.

“The work is very critical as … most of our infrastructure was affected in one way or the by Cyclone Idai rendering our classroom space in most schools inadequate.

The restoration of roofing in our schools will ensure that our children will now be working in a safe environment as some structures were now unsafe for both children and staff in the aftermath of Cyclone Idai.”

— Chimanimani District Development Coordinator, Mr. Joseph Manyurapasi

Protecting people and places

The teams hold regular trainings on the importance of the following work procedure and keeping safety at work.

Despite the various experience levels among the volunteers, and the tough, rugged terrain, the project prides in recording zero safety, health and environment incidents.

In addition to the personal protective equipment all the volunteers receive, the women also receive sanitary wear as part of their

Much still needs to be done to restore the way of living for those affected by Cyclone Idai. Efforts by these community volunteers to restore their society are beginning to inch towards restoring their dignity and hope.

The work to restore roofs over homes, schools and clinics was support through the South-South Co-operation Facility, from the People’s Republic of China and implemented through UNDP Zimbabwe.