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Online Reporter
FORMER Redcliff Primary School learners have remembered their roots in style through a donation of sports equipment to the Midlands-based school. Accompanied by their former teachers, Mr and Mrs Castelin and Mrs Mujee, the former learners last week paid tribute to the fine education they had received at the school.
The former students ran a fundraising initiative spearheaded by Monica Mandengu, Emma Mbele and Mildrate Maposa, who are based in the United Kingdom, US-based Munyaradzi Masawi, and Zimbabwe-based Roy Chimanikire and Beatitute Farikayi.
The fundraising initiative received a wide response from former students of the school, based all over the world. The students also reached out to their former teachers Mrs Castelin, a renowned Grade 7 teacher and hockey coach and Mr Mujee, a Grade 7 teacher and the school’s cricket coach.
Mr Castelin, then the chief geologist at ZISCO was a volunteer hockey coach at the school. During the visit last week, Mrs Castelin recounted how she came to be a teacher at the school in 1968 working under the then-headmaster, Mr Boniwell.
In her address, she pointed to the first classroom blocks that were built and how the school continued to develop with the addition of a library, swimming pool and other sporting facilities. She painted a colourful picture of the school’s history, right from the beginning, praising her former students for this noble gesture. “Today, we are seeing what sports did to many of these past pupils. I take my hat off the former pupils I taught…,” she said.
Mrs Castelin taught at Redcliff Primary School from 1968 to 1988 and taught many of the former students involved in this initiative.
Mr Mujee, in his address to the students, spoke about how he became associated with sport at the school.
“The cricket I knew in life was the insect we call ‘cricket’ so you can imagine what went through my mind,” he said, recounting the time he was appointed to coach cricket at the school.
However, his experience of cricket came through studying books in the library and learning the terms of the sport, such as wickets, stumps, runs and overs. He recalls that shortly after his appointment, the then cricketer of the year, Mr Dave Houghton, now coaching the world conquering Zimbabwe cricket team, came to Redcliff Primary School and spent a week conducting a coaching clinic, which helped in his cause to become an accomplished cricket coach.
Also present at the occasion were the District School Inspector, Mr Maziriri; the Midlands Cricket Board chairman and Zimbabwe Cricket Board member, Mr Makuwalo and some members of the Zimbabwe national cricket team.
Mr Maziriri lauded the former students for remembering their old school and for giving the young children an opportunity to be inspired by some of the country’s best cricketers who play at international level, through a coaching clinic that the former students had put together with the assistance of the Midlands Cricket Board and Grassroots cricket (Australia).
Midlands Cricket Board chairman, Mr Makuwalo promised to work with the school to develop it into a centre of excellence for cricket in the Midlands community. National cricketers, among them, Carl Mumba, spent the afternoon taking the young cricketers through a cricket coaching clinic.
He spoke about his experiences in top-flight cricket, in the presence of the young cricketers. The young cricketers included both boys and girls, who had been invited from primary schools in and around Redcliff and Kwekwe.
Ten schools were invited to the coaching clinic, including George Hill, Rutendo, RJ Davies, Fitchlea, Chana, Russell, Ruvimbo, Mafidhi and Torwood and Kwekwe primary schools.
Grassroots Cricket founder, Tawanda Karasa, who is based in Australia, said: “Grassroots Cricket is empowering young minds through the sport of cricket and giving them hope and belief in themselves, despite their personal circumstances. Today is an example of what we do throughout the country”.
The cricket equipment donated to Redcliff Primary School was initially donated to Grassroots Cricket by renowned Zimbabwe international cricket legend, Eddo Brandes, who now coaches the Sunshine Coast Cricket Club in Australia, Gabba Sporting Products and Ms Anita Chauhan, the wife of the late Indian Cricket legend Chetan Chauhan. This demonstrates how people all over the world contributed to make this event a success and shows how strong partnerships can be transformative in the development of schools.
On behalf of the former students, Econet Wireless Zimbabwe deputy chief executive officer, Roy Chimanikire, a former student at the school, lauded the headmistress, Mrs Chinembiri for the exceptional work they were doing in oftentimes difficult circumstances to continue inspiring young hearts and minds and preparing them for the future.
He spoke of how he enjoyed playing sports and remembered particularly the experiences he had under the guidance of Mr Mujee – learning the game of cricket on the very grounds they were standing on.
He recounted how Mr Mujee as the then sports coach had taught his students discipline, commitment, and teamwork in an inspiring way.
“I remember when we used to play these games here and at other schools, and this created a winning spirit within us. Those experiences have lived with me my whole life…,” said Chimanikire.
He praised the school for its exceptional standards and explained how this initiative was born.
“We came up with this initiative as former students because we value the contribution that Redcliff Primary School and its exceptional teachers made to our lives.
“Our aim today was to profile the schools in the area and encourage alumni all over the world to participate in assisting their former schools and also to showcase how networks and partnerships that former students have can be used for the benefit of schools development,” he said.
Jabulani Mlambo, a former student and parent of a current student in the school also spoke eloquently about his time at the school and thanked the school authorities for the work they were doing.
The former students gave a statement saying: “Redcliff Primary School holds a special place in our hearts. We formed lifelong friendships and we were taught to believe in ourselves and do our best at
whatever we do. “Our time at the school was such a memorable experience. Our small gesture today is to say thank you for the world-class education that gave us roots that opened life opportunities for us, which today has taken most of us all over the world.”
The school head, Mrs Chinembiri, showed her appreciation, expressing profound gratitude to the former learners for organising the event.
“This is a legacy we are witnessing, the legacy of giving back to our own communities, which is being done by our past learners from this school. We are very thankful for the donation,” she said.
“It means that we have equipment that we can use in the games of cricket and hockey.”
The donation was made at an event at Redcliff School, which was attended by Ministry of Primary and Secondary School officials, former Redcliff Primary School students and teachers, the Midlands Cricket Board, Grassroots Cricket representatives and some team members of the Zimbabwe national cricket team. The equipment donated by the former students and Grassroots Cricket consisted of hockey sticks and balls, hockey goalie kits, basketballs, chess sets, cricket bats, helmets, batting pads and gloves.
Redcliff Primary School is a Government school that was founded in the late 1940’s in a building at the then Rhodesian Iron and Steel Company steelworks.
The initial buildings at the current site of the school were built in the early 1950s. The school initially provided educational opportunities for children whose parents largely worked at what became known as Zimbabwe Iron and Steel Company (ZISCO), shortly after independence.
It produced many alumni who went on to achieve great things on the local and international stage. Mr Castelin, an amateur historian, who is a former chief geologist at ZISCO and former managing director of Buchwa Mine and contributed to the book on the history of mining in Zimbabwe, hopes to one day write a short history of the town of Redcliff.
Online Reporter