A young lady has brought hope for her peers after setting up a book club in rural Seke 2, to keep the young minds engaged and away from crime in the middle of a schools shutdown induced by Covid 19.
Young Sofline Basera and Advanced level student at Seke 2 high school brought a ray of hope in her community kept under a depressing Covid 19 pandemic induced lockdown after establishing the first ever book club in her community.
The book club has allowed many girls from different backgrounds to come together where they share and learn from with peers on the same academic levels.
Apart from reading and studying, the book club also serves as a way for the girls to engage in activities within their communities and also for advocacy.
A former councillor Mrs Chirwa for Seke ward 21 applauded Basera for the initiative and promised to work hand in glove with the girls.
“The book club is helping the students to keep to date with their school curriculum and also helping the community in curbing the issues of child marriages and drug abuse among others that increased during the lockdown” Mrs Chirwa said.
The young girls have set a good example and have shown that girls can lead and bring positive change into their various communities.
Owing to the Covid 19 pandemic government closed schools to try and stop the spread of the virus which has left hundreds dead in Zimbabwe and thousands across the world.
Parents fear that as their children are idle at home they could end up engaging in drug abuse or could result in the increase in child marriages.
“Lack of educational resources by students has contributed to some learners losing focus and engaging in immoral and premarital activities,” Chirwa said.
The former councilor said lockdown hasdaffected the girl child more than it has the boys.
By Deon Chitembwe