The building of our Center

1. Building Our New Home

2. The City of Bulawayo gave Zimkids 2.2 acres

3. But the land had been used as a dump.

4. So, we spent three months cleaning it.

5. We had to remove glass, broken bricks and
cement and trash

8. Once it was cleaned we tilled some of the
land for our garden

9. Next, we dug a trench around the land for
the foundation of the security wall.

10. Our girls were as tough as our boys.

11. Even elderly caregivers lent a hand.

12. Our older kids moved the block and built
the wall

13. They had to mix sand and cement by hand

14. Once the wall was done, we laid the
foundations for our buildings.

15. By now, our elders were becoming expert
builders.

16. Our first glimpse of the shape of the
resource center.

17. Then the walls rose as the blocks were laid.

18. Sithibisiwe developed serious muscle
assembling gumpoles for our solar panels

19. Here, we are building our caretaker
cottage, clinic and office.

21. The boys slept at the site for 14 months for
security.

22. Two of our girls laid the brick path so our
wheelchair-bound children could come to
the center

23. Thandie and Sithibisiwe learned to use
power toold.

24. We assembled our steeple that would later
fly the ZIMKIDS flag

27. Finally, the walls of the building for our
kitchen, library and multipurpose room
were up.

28. Then we had to lift heavy wooden poles to
construct the roof.

30. It took our strongest boys to lift the poles.

31. Then we bolted them in place

32. Next came the roofing.

35. Dennis and Foster celebrated the
installation of the first roof section

36. Then, it was time to plaster the walls.

40. The computer center finally took shape.

41. We learned to weld our own burglar bars

42. And install our solar panels so we could
stay off the grid.

43. We designed and built our gate.

44. Playground equipment was a gift from our
welldrillers.

45. As we built, Tshaka and some of our kids
painted murals on our front wall.

46. We assembled greenhouse complete with
drip irrigation.

49. And we started filling the site with color!

50. We welded Zulu Shields to hold computer
desks

51. Purple for toilets, orange for
technology, green for office and turquoise
for library, kitchen and meeting room

52. At the opening, on August
1, 2012, everyone paused to marvel at the
history of Zimbabwe on our wall.

55. An hour before opening, the kids were
already streaming in.

56. And admired the multipurpose room

58. The beginnings of our library

59. Our central plaza

60. Everyone was wowed by the use of drums
at the Tech Center desk.

61. And how we used Tonga stools at each
station

62. The “trees” around the performance area
were a big hit.

63. And no one could believe that we had a
crop during the dry season.

64. OUR AMAZING BUILDING TEAM!

65. Tinashe, Dennis and Zimkids having a ball at
our new home