A University of Wollongong PhD graduate has taken on a mission to give back to his home town’s primary school in Zimbabwe, which instilled in him a love of learning.
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From humble beginnings, Dr Alfred Chidembo, who lives in the Illawarra, wants to give old, unwanted books a new life by creating a 10,000-strong collection for the children of Mavhurazi Primary School.
‘‘When I came here I noticed that most people use iPads and Kindles and they give away a lot of books, and I thought if I could get books and give back to the the community where I started off that could help maybe some of the kids get a head start,’’ Dr Chidembo said.
‘‘Maybe one day they could do much more than what I’ve done.’’
When the stash of donated literature is collected, the shipping container used to transport the books will be converted into the school’s first library, he said.
Dr Chidembo, the youngest of seven children, said there were many hurdles to education in his village, and many didn’t ever leave to go to primary or secondary school in the nearest city. If they did it would be a ‘‘huge achievement’’, he said.
‘‘With a book, you give kids a chance to dream and explore other worlds, to see beyond the village life,’’ he said. See facebook.com/booksforzim.
