On Saturday, August 3, history was made as we celebrated the grand opening of USAP Community School permanent campus located on Ruwazi Road in Marondera. The new campus is set on 93 hectares of wondrous miombo woodlands and balancing rocks.
The event’s theme, ‘Centering Africa’ resonated with our commitment to a vision that is deeply rooted in our values of Service, Integrity, Equality and Curiosity. Since 2020 we to thrive to provide a holistic and transformative education to talented young Zimbabweans, from under-resourced families, to cultivate future leaders who are ethical, skilled and empowered to make an impact. The event was a moment to honor the hard work of all who have contributed to this milestone. Having welcomed 185 students in the first five cohorts, three graduating classes having earned over USD 20 million in college scholarships and finally moving to our permanent home.
The day kicked with welcoming our guests to the epicenter of the celebration, Chobani Dining Hall, where they were greeted with enchanting sounds of USAP Marimba, setting the atmosphere of reflection and gratitude. Speaking at our colorful ceremony was our Director and Founder- Rebecca Zeigler Mano, School Head- Ellen Mapiko and Teacher representative- Alistar Panashe (Physics Teacher and USAP Alumni) sharing our commitment towards living up to our vision as USAP Community School to expose our students to a holistic and transformative education with a focus on character development, empathy and future contribution to Africa. Collence Nyazenga captivated our guests detailing the projects evolution from a visionary concept.
Baldwin Guchu, member of our Education Matters Africa Foundation board, expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the donors in his speech noting that; “Your unwavering support has transformed our vision into brick and mortar, creating a space where young minds will flourish and futures will be shaped. Without your commitment, this beautiful campus would remain but a distant aspiration,”. Alick Mwedzi one of our architect from Architexture Spatial Design, gave a message behind the vision of the architecture saying, “All working towards a goal: the goal of reflecting that we were thinking of you, the members of the USAP Community School. We spent many hours putting ourselves in your shoes – during office hours and outside office hours: figuring out how our buildings might best support your endeavours, ensuring that the same level of attention and quality of design are given across the board: to classrooms, dining hall, student residences, staff residences and service areas, so that everyone’s role in the school is understood to be valued and dignified.,”
The day concluded with a tour around the our lush green campus as our students showcased our curriculum which combines Cambridge A level Sciences with African centered humanities, Computers, extracurriculars and a yearlong capstone research project to tackle a challenge facing their community with a focus on the future contribution to Africa. Our guests were then treated to a scrumptious meal before they departed.
We extend our gratitude to our generous donors who have been instrumental in transforming our dream into a reality. A special thanks to Architexture Spatial Design, Beit Trust Africa, Chobani, Innscor Africa Limited, PaDenga Holdings and Simbisa Brands, our major capital donors. Also, we would to appretiate our one time and recurring donors who have made our dream a reality. Together we have not only built a school but a foundation for thriving future generations to come.
