German Well-Wisher Sponsors Thousands of Learners in Rural Zimbabwe

Thousands of learners from Rudhanda High School in the rural Zaka area have benefited from Wilfried Busch’s generous sponsorship since the early 1990s.

The German national has over the years assisted disadvantaged pupils by paying for their school fees, uniforms and food, especially during deadly droughts.

He has also assisted the school with funding for a library, teachers’ houses, science laboratory, a pig farming project, a maize grinding mill and other income generating initiatives.

Busch has been applauded for promoting cultural exchange between German and Zimbabwe by arranging trips by Hagen youths to Rudhanda, where they experienced village life and toured many parts of the country. Wilfred still has great plans for learners in Zimbabwe.

Rudhanda High School is a government-owned institution situated in Zaka area, Masvingo province. Many pupils often drop out of school due to lack of financial support from their parents and like other government schools Rudhanda has limited facilities. But the sponsorship from German has helped to ease the hardships which learners faced before.

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After 36 years the Hohenlimburg secondary school teacher Wilfried Busch last year went into well-earned retirement. In his new-found leisure time he wanted to travel, to read books. He also wants to continue the work of the “Kubatana” association for Rudhanda High School in Zimbabwe. He did all of this. “A lot has happened,” says the pedagogue.

Wilfried Busch and his wife taught at this school for 3.5 years up until 1992. This initiated the idea of sponsorships. “Then, in 1992, the first school sponsorship started. We are also celebrating our 25th anniversary,” says Wilfried Busch. He informed about this in the fair trade shop, which has been offering its fair-trade products for a quarter of a century in Freiheitstraße.

Anthony Furanai was the first student from Rudhanda, who was supported from Germany. Later, the former student worked for the government and became a fisheries overseer. Attending the elementary school in Zimbabwe is free, but further education institutions require school fees.

In the year 2000, Wilfried Busch founded the “Kubatana” association. “226 pupils in Rudhanda are currently supported from Germany,” says Wilfried Busch. Meanwhile, many former students have joined together to assist their school financially. “Many have been able to secure professions through our support. One of them lives in Oman, others in Belgium or Bulgaria,” says Wilfried Busch. The “Rudhanda Old Students Association” has not yet officially been founded, “but I have taught with the chairman myself.”

Before his departure from the public service, Wilfried Busch organized a sponsored run in the local Kirchenberg Stadium. He was able to transfer almost 20,000 euros to Rudhanda. “That’s how it has always been, and it will always be the case, that every euro goes to Zimbabwe in full,” says Wilfried Busch. The bulk of the money was invested in school furniture. “Now every child has their own desk and chair,” says Busch.

It was not like this before - approximately half of the 1200 pupils had to sit on the ground or makeshift furniture. “One week after I transferred the money, the furniture was already there.” As there were still funds left, the fence around the school grounds was also renewed. “The school is right in the middle of an agricultural area. Therefore, the fence is important so that no animals can reach the grounds and destroy crops. “Since the school has upgraded its external appearance compared to other institutions, it has been included as one of five schools in a government program. This guarantees further grants for the future. And this is of course a great recognition,” says Wilfried Busch.

For the future, the former secondary school teacher has a lot of plans. The first of these starts with the fact that all letters to the German sponsors are now being sent by email. Furthermore, letters of the Zimbabwean pupils to their sponsors are also going to be sent by e-mail in the future - this saves postage and resources. “From Zimbabwe it does not work at the moment, but we are working on it.”

In the coming year Wilfried Busch wants to travel to Rudhanda. “My wife and I are planning a longer stay.” In the summer, at the latest in autumn, they want to travel to Zimbabwe and visit the educational institution.

He still maintains good contact with his former colleagues at the Realschule Hohenlimburg. He has organized five sponsored runs to raise money for Rudhanda High School. Is such an action perhaps again conceivable? “I would support this, of course, but the initiative must come from the school itself,” says Wilfried Busch.

LUtz Risse contributed to this article.