The programme started back in 1992, when Seppo Ainamo, the project originator and coordinator, promised to start paying school fees for just one 8-year old Zimbabwean boy whose widowed mother could not afford to send him to school. In the early years the project grew slowly. By 1994 there were four children and in 1995 there were eight. Other schools than the initial Dzivaresekwa No. 4 Primary School also began to become involved.

 When Oili Wuolle joined the project in 1996, the number of children increased from 18 to 36 in one year. Towards the end of 1997 we gained our first sponsor outside our families and relatives. The encouraging attitude of friends and relatives made it possible to increase the number of children annually.

By the end of 2007 we have 170 children and 156 sponsors. On top of that, we have 160 other children who do not necessarily meet all the ”Dzikwa children" criteria. The funding for this comes from the financial aid we have been granted for  20052008, by the Finnish government from NGO Development Cooperation funds.

Click here to learn of how to become a sponsor!