Zimpact Schools Initiative Launch Retreat 2026

21 alumni from USAP Community School Class of 2025 will take part in the 2026 pilot of the Zimpact Schools Initiative, volunteering in schools across Zimbabwe. The fellows attended a retreat this week to build skills and competencies in preparation for their roles in various under-resourced schools. 

As part of the retreat, the Zimpact Fellows had the opportunity to learn from Dr. Vimbisai Nhundu, Dean of the Faculty of Education, Social Sciences, and Humanities at the Catholic University of Zimbabwe (CUZ), and co-author of Education in Zimbabwe: Past, Present and Vision for the Future (the seminal reading for Zimpact Fellows). Dr. Vimbisai shared historical context on the Zimbabwean education system, as well as key areas of study in the fields of decoloniality within education. 

Students participated in sessions to build knowledge in strategies for student engagement,child protection, and self-advocacy led by Geraldine Mukumbi, the Zimpact Schools Initiative Program Coordinator. 

Zimbabwe faces a shortage of over 20,000 trained teachers, especially in secondary school mathematics and science, and the Zimpact Schools Initiative offers an innovative response by engaging recent high school graduates during the eight months between graduation and university enrollment. Inspired by the historic ZINTEC model that quickly built a teaching force after independence, Zimpact will train USAP and other high school alumni in curriculum design, pedagogy, and assessment, then place them in pairs at under-resourced schools.

With a focus on “leaving schools better than you found them,” Zimpact Fellows will not only fill critical classroom gaps but also introduce sustainable co-curricular activities.