Community Outreach
At Hellenic Academy, we strive to empower our students to become leaders in their communities through research, service, and reflection. We aim to nurture a sense of empathy for others, and develop the skills necessary for our pupils to actively engage in society and lead the way toward positive change and development in the world.
At Hellenic Academy, community outreach is achieved through many different initiatives and more often than not, it is led by the pupils themselves. Some examples include:
- Knitting/Crocheting squares that are made into blankets for Kidzcan
- Tag Rugby
- Volunteering with local charities
- Litter clean up initiatives
- Clothing drives
- Food drives
- Stationary drives
We have two key areas of focus for our Community Outreach
– Interact Club
– Makomborero Zimbabwe (A-level Academic Scholarships)
Interact
“Service above Self”
This club gives sixth form Academy students the opportunity to SERVE and make a real difference in the communities around us. Through the club, members fund-raise for, and interact with, those less fortunate than themselves to develop leadership skills, real connections with others, and a more accepting and well-rounded view of the world and respect for all.
The club also promotes international understanding and cultural diversity. Interact Clubs fall under the larger organisation of Rotary International. Every two years the Interact Club at Hellenic selects a specific Charity (often a school in particular need) to support through focused, hands on efforts. These include year-long fundraising events, visits from the Club members and practical assistance (for example, buildings, painting, establishing of vegetable gardens and improving water supply). The goal of these projects is to enable the charity/school to become as self-sufficient as possible. It is important for the Interact Club to work closely with the school/charity leadership to understand their needs and how to focus the Club’s efforts on supporting their vision. This outreach work offers an invaluable opportunity for Hellenic students to serve and understand those less fortunate than themselves in many ways.
Beyond this, every year the Interact Club also supports a number of local charities, such as:
Kidzcan, Island Hospice, Miracle Missions and Zimbabwe Albino Association. Fundraising events are organised and run by the Club, as well as awareness campaigns and drives for various causes are initiated, co-ordinated and managed.
Makomborero
Makomborero Zimbabwe is a local registered Zimbabwean Charitable Trust.
We are passionate about education and about seeing all students having access to good quality education – being given a chance to reach for their dreams. The trust started operating in 2011 and was founded by Mark and Laura Albertyn.
Makomborero’s main area of our work is providing A-level academic scholarships. We recruit from high density (township) and rural schools around Zimbabwe and receive roughly 600 applications per year. Each applicant goes through our intensive testing process which includes one on one interviews, home visits and fun, interactive, subject-specific testing. The final 8 - 10 are offered a two-year scholarship with us in our Resource Centre to attend school at one of three private schools (St George’s, Gateway and Hellenic Academy). The schools generously give us these academic scholarships.
We run a Life Skills programme that addresses an array of issues and we see students blossom during the time with us. We really do feel like a family and for many of our students, we are their only real family. We see students begin to believe in their dreams, see that they are of worth and have value as a person and really see how they can impact their communities, without necessarily having money to do so. Our students achieve outstanding A-levels results and many go on to get international scholarships or attend local Zimbabwean Universities. More than 130 students have been accepted on to the internal scholarship programme in the last 11 years.
You can find out more about Makomborero Zimbabwe at: https://www.facebook.com/MakomboreroZimbabwe/
