Meet Godfrey and Taurai, Two Impactful School Leaders in Gokwe North, Zimbabwe

on February 23, 2023

Across the globe, as many as 828 million people face hunger today, but real solutions do exist. Through a five-year partnership with ADRA International and communities in Gokwe North, Zimbabwe, the Planting Seeds for Strong Communities initiative has supported long-term food security, increased school attendance, and stimulated the local agriculture economy. What began as an emergency school feeding program evolved into a sustainable solution to empower residents in Gokwe North to lead resilient and bright futures.Hear from two individuals who participated in the program and how their schools are improving the well-being of their students, their families and their community through nourishing meals and sustainable programs.

Godfrey, Deputy Headmaster for Manuli Primary School

As the Deputy Headmaster for Manyuli Primary school in Zimbabwe, Godfrey has seen students and their parents’ lives transform. From local income-generating activities for parents to support their families to home-grown school gardens and a water system providing students with nourishment, the school is now self-reliant. With a significant improvement in agricultural skills, parents are equipped with the skills they need to thrive, children succeed and the entire community benefits from locally grown foods. “The community at large is getting water from the pond that we have here and the children from the community are being fed at the school,” Godfrey said. “When I see my community making progress, I feel very happy, and I also feel included in the community. The worldwide community.”Watch the video below to learn more about the remarkable journey of Godfrey’s school and community.

Taurai, Headmaster for Nenyunga Primary School

Now considered one of the best schools in the district, Taurai, Headmaster of the Nenyunga Primary school, has seen an 80% increase in student attendance. Since participating in the program, the school has established a home-grown garden where parents volunteer to grow staple crops and vegetables and cook meals for students. In addition to more children attending school, parents have also significantly benefited from the program because they can provide meals daily to their families. “We have evolved the community as a whole,” Taurai said. “The program itself has made a positive impact to the school…When looking at the number of learners, it has increased from 504 to 871. It has reduced the absenteeism of learners.”Watch the video below to learn more about Taurai’s school and the impact the program has made.Learn more about our Planting Seeds for Strong Communities program here. Also, don’t forget to join the celebration in Zimbabwe by donating to help even more children on the path to food security, just like the students at Manyuli and Nenyunga Primary schools.

Strength, Stability And Hope

The gift that filled Nelly’s table.

“We were yielding very little, and the crops could not sustain us the whole year,” Nelly remembers. As a mother of seven and a farmer with two decades of experience, the stress of inconsistent yields was all-consuming. A poor harvest not only strained her family financially, but also limited their own meals to just two a day. Their story reflects that of many in their fishing and farming village near a lake in the Karonga district of northern Malawi. Here, heavy rainfall makes conventional farming methods nearly impossible. The entire village is, quite literally, saturated in food insecurity — a reality that leaves families struggling to survive season after season without a dependable source of nourishment.

In 2019, Nelly began participating in Harvesting Prosperity and Resilience, a sustainable agriculture project implemented by Rise Against Hunger in partnership with the Foundation for Community Support Services (FOCUS). The project works with 3,100 smallholder farmers in Malawi’s Karonga and Mzimba districts to strengthen food and nutrition security by improving production methods, nutrition practices and household income.

Just one year later, Nelly was ready to expand the variety of crops on her farm. What land once only produced maize began to flourish with sesame, cowpeas, rice and groundnuts during the rainy season (summer), as well as maize and vegetables during the dry season (winter). Through climate-smart agriculture training, she learned new techniques like manure making, pit planting and mulching, crop rotation and intercropping. Equipped with these tools, Nelly’s farm began to thrive.

After the 2023–2024 growing season, she sold enough produce to purchase an ox cart. Her harvests in 2024-2025 season yielded over 500 pounds of crops, including 22 bags of groundnuts, seven bags of maize, 12 tins of sesame and three bags of rice. With this surplus, she was able to invest in a motorbike, which she now uses to transport African doughnuts (mandasi) that she cooks and sells — creating yet another source of income for her family.

The transformation reaches far beyond her finances. Nelly now has the stability to provide for her husband and children. “I am able to eat different food types, pay school fees for my children and fulfill the visions that I have made with my family,” she beams. “I am now sleeping peacefully without any fears of food or paying school fees for the children.”

Her leadership has also grown. Today, Nelly serves as a leader in the Harvesting Prosperity and Resilience project, teaching other farmers in her district to adopt climate-resilient, labor-saving practices. By sharing her knowledge, she is multiplying her impact — empowering her neighbors to experience the same transformation she has achieved.

Across Nelly’s community, food and economic security are on the rise. Lombani, a government extension officer for the region, explains, “I can see the community is being transformed in the sense that in the area, there is food, income and nutrition security. Development is also happening at the household level.”

Nelly reflects on what it means to invest in holistic programs that address the root causes of hunger: “We are now healthy people. Children are going to school after eating their breakfast, having high yields and different types of crops due to conservation agriculture practices. With the support from the project, we have food, and we can access other food items from the market after selling our produce.”

This is the gift that fills: a future full of stability, strength and hope. It fills tables with food, families with security and communities with the resources to thrive. It’s an investment in futures rooted in resilience and hope.