Makanaka Chikowero, Founder MTC Educate A Girl Inc.
By Tafadzwa Mwanengureni
In the remote rural community of Nhedziwa in Chimanimani, about 400km east of Harare, a spark of hope is lighting up the lives of vulnerable girls who once saw secondary education as a distant dream.
For the now-18-year-old Fortunate Ruchiyo, the dream of progressing beyond primary school in 2020 had all but faded — until a life-changing opportunity arrived.
“My grandfather does piece jobs to provide for our education and food, but it has never been enough,” said Fortunate.
After losing her father while in Grade Two and with a chronically ill mother, Fortunate was raised by her grandparents. The family’s meagre income could not support secondary education for Fortunate, despite her attaining 13 Units at Grade 7.
That was until MTC Educate A Girl Inc., a grassroots initiative aimed at empowering girls through education, stepped in. The organisation awarded her a scholarship that allowed her to enroll at Nhedziwa High School, changing the course of her life.
Five years later, Fortunate is now in Upper Six, happy and dreaming big — an outcome she once thought impossible.
Founded in 2019 by girls’ and women’s rights advocate Makanaka Chikowero, MTC Educate A Girl Inc. is on a mission to close the education gap among rural girls in Zimbabwe. The organisation provides scholarships, mentorship, sports opportunities, and basic necessities to girls at risk of dropping out. It seeks to bring hope to all the vulnerable girls and turn their fortunes.
“One big area I noticed was the lack of representation for marginalized girls. They were never included at the decision-making table. So I decided to make space for them,” said Chikowero.
The scale of the girlchild school crisis is staggering. According to UNESCO’s 2024 report, 122 million girls remain out of school globally, and two-thirds of the world’s illiterate adults are women. Many of these vulnerable girls fall prey to early marriage, gender-based violence, or teen pregnancies due to poverty and lack of support systems.
In rural Zimbabwe, the education of girls is often deprioritized due to entrenched patriarchal norms. Even where the will exists among guardians, poverty sometimes becomes an insurmountable barrier.
But Chikowero believes empowering the girl child is doing the greater community a great favour and changing the situationof vulnerable girls.
“When you take the chance on girls they will return the investment taken on the tenfold. Believe it or not, some girls who were recruited into the MTC scholarship program are now doing their Advanced Level. Others who finished O Levels are now finding their post high school pathways in different fields,” said Chikowero.
“That’s a far cry from being a hopeless primary school student without any means to support their secondary education. Just being in school for 4 or 6 years offers a safe space for girls to learn from teachers and others about girl rights and being young women in the world,” she added
Another success story is that of Phiona Makadzange, now 18, who lost her mother at the age of four. She was raised by an elderly aunt and uncle who struggled to raise school fees for her secondary school. She had attained impressive units at Grade 7 but with no hope of going further.
“If it wasn’t for MTC, I was ready to give up on school,” said Phiona, now studying for her A-Levels at Nhedziwa High.
For vulnerable girls like Fortunate and Phiona, organisations like MTC offer not just education — but dignity and possibility.
Ward 4 Councillor Mike David Mashonganyika praised MTC’s work in fighting child marriages, drug abuse, and illiteracy.
“I wish authorities could assist MTC to expand across the country. This organisation is doing a great job,” he said.
The need is clear. Zimbabwe’s economic downturn in the early 2000s resulted in a surge in child labour. According to ZIMSTAT’s 2019 Labour Force and Child Labour Survey, around 50,000 children were in child labour. This is a consequence of school dropouts and financial desperation.
“Many families struggle to afford school-related costs,” said Hon. Jabulani Hadebe, a member of the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Primary and Secondary Education.
“This forces children to support their households rather than pursue education,”he added.
Yet, with the right support, girls are not only surviving — they’re thriving. Phiona says MTC gave her more than education; it gave her purpose.
“With this opportunity, I’ve learned to believe in myself and to work towards my goals. I now understand that everything is possible if we believe in our dreams,” she said.
Ekenia Chifamba, director of Shamwari Yemwanasikana, commended grassroots organisations like MTC for their transformative work.
“Investing in girls’ education has the potential to change entire communities,” Chifamba said. “In a country where girls often face unequal access to education, these initiatives promote gender equality and empower future leaders.”
As MTC continues its mission in Chimanimani, stories like that of Fortunate and Phiona prove that sometimes, all it takes is one opportunity to change a life — and in doing so, change a community.
