2020 year in review

Dear friends,

The ZOF Africa team wishes you all a very happy new year and hopes that you and your loved ones are staying safe.

2020 was a particularly tough year given the constraints of Covid, and we are especially grateful for your contributions. Despite these challenges, we achieved the following:

• We funded scholarships for three talented young women:

  • Alice* is completing her final year of Journalism and Media Studies at Harare Polytechnic

  • Anna is completing her final year of Professional Cookery at the School of Hospitality in Bulawayo and is expected to graduate in March with a Higher National Diploma 

  • Laurie is in her second year of Professional Cookery in Bulawayo and is expected to graduate in two years

• Media, a Food Technologist and Nutritionist who previously benefited from a ZOF-funded course in Professional Baking, launched a successful baking business this year, "Medi's Cakes & Confectionery". We are in awe of her hard work and dedication to launch a business in the middle of a pandemic. Her testimonial is included below with some photos of her yummy cakes in the sidebar!

• In 2021 we expect up to 9 candidates to apply for scholarships for vocational courses

• Our sister organisation in the Netherlands, the Emerald Hill Foundation, funded:

  • A solar battery set to provide clean energy to power Emerald Hill Children’s Home for the next five years (link to report)

  • A new greenhouse on campus to grow vegetables for the children’s consumption – providing essential nutrition and farming education for children, and generating additional income from excess crops (link to report)

• We are setting up a sister organisation in the UK to support education and entrepreneurship in Zimbabwe. If you would like to get involved please email gfleming@zofafrica.org

You can support higher and vocational education in Zimbabwe by donating here. We offer tax-exemption in the US and hope to extend the same to UK donors next year.

With our warmest regards,
Georgina, Linda, Charles, and the Emerald Hill graduates you help support

*We have used pseudonyms for the girls currently in school to respect their privacy

Media, ZOF Africa volunteer and founder of Medi’s Cakes

My Baking Journey, by Media T.

(Note: Media previously benefited from a ZOF-funded course in Professional Baking)

So let’s start with a brief personal introduction: I’m Media Tazarurwa 26 years of age. Professionally I’m a Food Technologist and a Nutritionist, for now I’m mainly majoring with food technology as a Quality Analyst for the snacks department of National Foods Limited.

Unfortunately, the economy has dramatically taken a toll on almost all businesses and this affected my salary when inflation began; hence I saw it fit to start putting my baking skills to use in order to make some extra income. I started “Medi’s Cakes and Confectionery” in January this year, my friend had a birthday in December of the previous year and as we were having her birthday lunch our other friend took interest in the cake I had baked for her and wanted one for her toddler turning one on the 25th of January. I didn’t have any equipment to get started with baking so I planned to borrow some baking equipment from Emerald Hill so I could start buying my own equipment with the extra cash. Luckily as I made my proposal to start a baking business to Emerald Hill, they offered to assist me to get all the necessary equipment to get started.

The business quickly got started and in no time orders were coming in, thanks to close EH family and friends who helped me spread the word. I find baking a fulfilling business and hobby knowing that I can get monetary value out of it and enjoy myself at the same time. I do want the business to grow even bigger and I’m prepared for it. My preparation involves constant improvement of my baking skills, investing in more equipment and meeting customer preferences and trends at the time. I am able to achieve these by taking advantage of social media platforms where different bakers show tutorials of their vast skills. For now, I do basic cakes for birthdays, small events and anytime cakes and cupcakes including other confectionery goods. My next objective is to start learning wedding cakes and character cakes.

Special thanks goes out to my EH family for the constant support they have given to me. Many thanks go out to my customers present and those to come that keep me busy!! I do hope that my younger brothers and sisters at EH get to understand the importance of taking advantage of the opportunities presented to them and how those skills can take care of them in the near future.