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Catholic Parish in Zimbabwe Appeals for Support to Restore Structures Destroyed by Storm

One of the seven blocks that were stripped of by the storm. Credit: Catholic Church News Zimbabwe

The leadership of the St. Francis Xavier Dete Parish of Zimbabwe’s Chinhoyi Diocese is seeking partners to facilitate the restoration of structures of schools and a Sisters’ Convent that a recent storm damaged.

On December 10, St. Francis Xavier Primary and Detema Secondary Schools, and the convent of the Missionary Daughters of Calvary (MDC) Sisters were damaged by the heavy storm, Catholic Church News Zimbabwe reported.

In the report, the Parish Priest of St. Francis Xavier Dete Parish, Fr. Adolf Wisdom Simwinde, is quoted as saying, “Seven classrooms and the administration block had their roof stripped off by the storm at St. Francis Xavier Primary School while the damage at Detema Secondary School was equally huge.”

Fr. Simwinde adds, “The roof of the Sisters convent was also blown away leaving the residents in the open.”

“The sisters had to move to Bethany House, which is close by, while the Postulants had to relocate to the Novitiate,” he adds.

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Fr. Simwinde says that the storm also affected the “business community, the railway station and the workers compound and it uprooted some trees and destroyed power lines.”

The storm negatively affected livelihoods of many people in Dete, the Catholic Priest says.

He appeals for partnership to facilitate the renovation of affected buildings of the institutions of learning before schools reopen early 2024.

Jude Atemanke is a Cameroonian journalist with a passion for Catholic Church communication. He holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Buea in Cameroon. Currently, Jude serves as a journalist for ACI Africa.