Thank you for feeding these children each day!

Resilience and connection are always endearingly on display at Masuwe Primary School, despite the massive hardship.

The children who go to remote Masuwe Primary School in Zimbabwe come from some of the most underprivileged homes in the country. Their families are typically subsistence farmers who rely on the rain to grow corn (maize/mealies). They may also raise a few chickens and goats. In a country where there is no social security, and where unemployment runs at over 90%, life is harsher than most of us can begin to imagine. And this year there has been a devastating drought.

Yet, when you visit Masuwe Primary School, you encounter a powerful rush of sensations. Among these are unbridled excitement and energy among the kids.

Traditional music and dancing are part of the curriculum, keeping alive an age-old tradition - with effortless verve!

But along with all the energy and rhythm, the children display a really impressive degree of self-discipline, and a capacity to delay gratification - i.e. emotional intelligence.

When visiting the school with treats, the children are always very well behaved. Kids will ask for of cake for those who have been overlooked and there is no complaining about portion sizes. The discipline is extraordinary.

I wish I could take you there to see just how important our donation is.

Being a rural school, most children live some distance from the school, in some cases as much as three or more miles (five kilometres). There is no school bus, of course, and no one has a car. So it’s a long, early-morning walk for many of them, through bush shared with wild animals including the usual predators, as well as animals like buffalo and hippo that are unpredictable and dangerous when caught off-guard.

Many of the children are fed only an evening meal at home. Having to deal with growling tummies, listlessness or distraction, the staff at Masuwe Primary School realised that unless the children were properly fed, there was little point trying to teach them.

Which is where we come in. The former headmistress asked me, during a visit, if I would be willing to sponsor breakfast porridge so that the children get fed when they arrive at school. Made by a local company, National Foods, the porridge is both tasty and enhanced with nutritional supplements. I agreed to do this until the school is able to sustain itself with its own food supply.

The school has its own fenced off vegetable garden, with a solar-powered bore. They plan to become self-sufficient with food, in the process, teaching the children agricultural skills. Here, one of our Mindful Safari guests is being shown around by two of the children.

Every year, our Mindful Safari groups visit to donate exercise books, pens and other gifts which are hugely appreciated by the children and staff.

Educational gifts, like these blow up globes, are always deeply appreciated. Where is Zimbabwe?!

Guests also contribute towards the breakfast fund. But with around 200 children and staff, there is always a shortfall, which you, my valued Substack subscribers, kindly meet.

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We all know the African phrase that “it takes a village” when it comes to child-rearing. For impoverished schools like Masuwe, it takes a global village of supporters.

You, my paying subscribers, are an important part of Masuwe Primary School’s fragile ecosystem of support. Your monthly $7 subscription helps feed children who would otherwise go hungry. It makes possible the chance for them to be educated - something that just can’t happen on an empty belly. It offers hope and possibilities beyond anything we may imagine.

Karmically speaking, the most vulnerable among us are among the most karmically powerful we can help - something you feel quite viscerally when you visit the school.

My heartfelt thanks to each and every one of you for helping feed the children of Masuwe Primary School.

Because of their very remote location, you will never see them featured in a charity ad, mentioned on TV or highlighted in any mainstream channel. They are among the almost forgotten.

What you are doing for them is truly extraordinary.

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