Sports and Recreation

We also look after the children's general welfare including their mental and social development. Once a year every child has the chance to go either to the theatre or cinema or on an outing. The most popular outing is to Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage with its lions, leopards and rhinos. Other favourites are the Great Zimbabwe Ruins, Bulawayo Natural History Museum, Imire Safari Ranch and Antelope Park.

Twice a week the children have singing, music, dancing and acting classes with the Pamuzinda music and dance company. In 2007, we also set up our own Dzikwa marimba, dance and drama groups. Extra-curricular activities like this usually take place in Junior House. The Dzikwa Choir is directed by senior Dzikwa children.

In 2009, 814 Dzikwa children took part in nine extra-curricular events. The biggest recreation happening was Dzikwa's very own sports day on Friday 29 August. The games were held at the sports ground of the University of Zimbabwe. A total of 263 enthusiastic children took part.

The most popular sport in Dzivarasekwa is soccer. The Society provides the children with second-hand soccer equipment collected in Finland.   

At the beginning of May, the annual Harare International Festival of Arts/HIFA was a marvellous experience for our Dzikwa children. Oili and Seppo took 60 orphans along to enjoy the fun and games. In 2009 the Dzikwa children also performed at HIFA, playing marimbas, dancing and singing. We made a couple of visits to the local REPS theatre - in February with 8 children and at Christmas time with 120 to see the pantomime Jack and the Beanstalk. We took 22 children to see Healing the Wounds, a play about national healing, at the Theatre in the Park. We had our own Christmas party on 3 December. To the delight of the 295 children, Father Christmas found his way to Dzivarasekwa.

The Dzikwa Shelter and Junior House were the venue of a number of cultural evenings where the children put on their own shows - poetry readings, plays, singing, marimba and dancing.

In 2009, 43 orphans who did particularly well at school or whose sponsors were visiting went on outings to the Chipangali Wildlife Orphanage, Great Zimbabwe ruins, Victoria Falls, Bulawayo Natural History Museum, Imire and Chengeta game reserves or Antelope Park .

The main event every autumn is the Dzikwa Trust Sports Day, which is usually held at the 80,000-seat Zimbabwe National Stadium. A written record is kept of every single result. Harare's leading newspaper, The Herald, has even sent along the head of its sport section to report on the event.