By Jonathan Mbiriyamveka
For years, learners at Sanya Primary School in Chief Kasekete Village, Muzarabani, braved a daily struggle that few outsiders ever saw.
When rains poured, rivers swelled and cut off entire villages, forcing children to miss school for weeks—sometimes the entire first term.
Delta Corporation Operations Director Mr. Tichafa Rinomhota
When the sun returned, lessons continued in shaky pole-and-dagga huts, where tattered textbooks were as vulnerable as the mud walls surrounding them.
For Grade 7 learners, the hardship was even heavier. With no proper buildings or exam centre, they were forced to camp at distant registered schools to sit for examinations.
Many could not afford the camping fees; others dropped out altogether—girls due to early pregnancies, boys to artisanal gold mining.
But today, the story of Sanya is changing. And for the first time in years, the community is celebrating.
Patricia Murambinda Delta Corporation General Mananger Corporate Affairs
A School Reborn
Thanks to a transformative partnership with Delta Corporation, Sanya Primary now proudly stands with two modern classroom blocks, 10 squat-hole toilets, teachers’ furniture, and bright new desks. Parents, eager to contribute, added another 1×2 classroom block through community labour.
Established in 2015 with only 89 learners and three teachers, the school once relied entirely on makeshift huts and outdoor lessons. Pioneer teacher Solomon Mupfura recalls the early days vividly.
“I taught ECD to Grade 3 alone,” he said. “It was passion, nothing else. We wanted our children to learn—even under trees.”
Today, Sanya has grown to 351 learners—176 girls and 175 boys—supported by 10 dedicated teachers.
School head Kudzanai Manyandure (46) says the new facilities mark a turning point.
Leadership
“We are confident this improved environment will lift our pass rate. We are now beginning the process of registering the school formally, thanks to the permanent structures.”
A Lifeline for Remote Villages
Before Sanya opened, children walked long distances to schools like Chimoio and Kairezi Central—crossing flooded rivers and risking their safety. Villages such as Huni, Muchenga, Mangwana, Gorobha, Chikuyo, Chinyoka, Mugugu and Mugwenhi suffered the most, with high dropout rates and delayed enrolment.
Now, with fully built structures, Sanya is set to offer ECD A to Grade 7 and will soon operate as a ZIMSEC examination centre, allowing children to sit for exams in their own village—no more camping, no more lost futures.
A Partnership Changing Lives
Commissioning the new classrooms, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution Hon. Christopher Magomo said the development aligned with the country’s Education 5.0, which emphasises innovation, empowerment and community-driven solutions.
Delta Corporation Operations Director Mr. Tichafa Rinomhota said the company’s support goes beyond business.
“Education is one of the most powerful pathways out of poverty,” he said. “Safe classrooms and clean facilities expand a child’s potential and confidence. Supporting Sanya is supporting the nation’s future.”
Delta invested USD 60,000 in new classroom blocks and ablution facilities and pledged to drill a borehole to strengthen WASH standards.
Permanent Secretary for Primary and Secondary Education Mr. Moses Mhike applauded the partnership, calling it a model for how communities and corporates can work together.
Then . . . the old mud and pole structures at Sanya Primary School
“It is our responsibility to ensure every child learns in a dignified environment,” he said. “Sanya is proof of what happens when government, community and private partners unite.”
A New Dawn for Sanya From mud huts to modern blocks, from dropout fears to dreams restored, Sanya Primary School is rewriting its story—one classroom, one learner, and one hopeful future at a time.
The new ablution block
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