How much can you get done in a Saturday?

Hey, it’s a day off school, right? Why get much done, you’re wondering? Relax…take a break, sleep in late!

In Zimbabwe, Africa, Saturday, December 5th

was anything but a day to sleep in for a group of Yuda Bands sponsored students. Rangarirai Mukundu and his wife Precious, Yuda Band’s in-country directors, worked along side the youth group digging holes, pouring cement, and carrying pre-formed cement panels to help an elderly woman receive an early Christmas present—a new home!  When it was finished, the elderly woman declared in broken English, “It is beautiful house,” and thanked those responsible saying, “I won’t forget until to die.”

Before December 6th, 80-year-old Juliet Nhakuriranwa, lived with four of her grandchildren in a make-shift tent shack. The holes in the tarp roof did little to keep the rain out, turning the dirt floors to mud in the rainy season. Four year ago, Zimbabwe’s tough economic situation sent the children’s parents to neighboring South Africa, hoping to find work. With only odd jobs available, money hasn’t been sent home as expected, and Grandma has been struggling to provide even the most basic needs for the children. 

Yuda Band’s directors became aware of Grandma Nhakuriranwa’s desperate situation and recognized an opportunity for the small group of Yuda Band’s students to learn a powerful lesson about service. “They have learned a principle,” explained Director Rangarirai Mukundu, after the project was completed, “that in as much as they are less fortunate in the community, they are also able to do something positive by helping others who are less fortunate than themselves.”

With just over three months of existence in Zimbabwe, Yuda Bands is impacting students like this youth group through education, leadership, and service. The importance of service is emphasized through quarterly community service projects, like this one, as part of LEAD, Yuda Bands leadership and character building program.