Restoring Hope Through Education & Food Security.
Broken Wings Initiative exists to remove barriers to learning and reduce hunger for children and vulnerable families across Zimbabwe. Guided by love, we empower students to build dignified, secure futures.
Where Education Meets Food Security
Educational disadvantage rarely occurs in isolation. When hunger strikes a family, a child's pencil is dropped first. We address both simultaneously.
Access to Education
Paying tuition, providing complete stationery bundles, uniforms, and sturdy shoes so financial barriers never keep a willing student out of class.
- Primary & secondary school tuition
- Tailored uniforms & Bata leather shoes
- Examination fee registration safety net
Nutrition & Food Security
Operating daily hot porridge breakfast programs and school lunch kitchens to eliminate lesson faintings and sustain healthy cognitive development.
- Daily fortified corn-soya porridge
- Emergency family household food hampers
- Sustainable school nutritional gardens
Compassionate Dignity
Guided by Christ's love, we uphold the agency and privacy of every student, conducting respectful home assessments and personal mentorship.
- 100% verified home visits
- Termly academic monitoring
- Child safeguarding compliance
Guided by Love, Restoring Hope
Broken Wings Initiative was born in Zimbabwe out of a burning grassroots urgency to protect vulnerable children from dropping out of school.
Our Origin Story
Originally founded in Zimbabwe, Broken Wings Initiative was established to serve disadvantaged families and children facing extreme poverty, hyperinflation, and food insecurity.
In many peri-urban settlements and rural districts, families are forced to make an agonizing choice between purchasing a bag of mealie-meal to eat or paying the quarterly school levy. Too often, children are turned away at the classroom door, their educational wings clipped before they ever have the chance to take flight.
BWI steps directly into this gap. We partner directly with schools and village leaders to verify needs, pay fees without intermediaries, deliver sturdy uniforms and books, and establish hot meal programs so children learn in health, dignity, and peace.
"Where you come from in life must never determine how high you can fly."
— BWI Founding PrincipleOur Mission
Broken Wings Initiative exists to expand access to education and improve food security for children and vulnerable communities. Guided by the love of Christ, we work to remove barriers to learning, reduce hunger, restore hope, and create opportunities for individuals and families to build more secure and hopeful futures.
Our Vision
We envision communities where every child has the opportunity to learn, every family has access to sufficient and nutritious food, and poverty does not prevent individuals from realizing their potential.
Our Strategic Objectives
Five comprehensive pillars that drive every field operation and dollar invested.
1. Expand Access to Education
Increase access to quality education for children and youth facing financial and social barriers.
- School tuition, exam registration, and development fees
- Durable uniforms, socks, and Bata Toughee shoes
- Textbooks, notebooks, and STEM learning supplies
- Daily school meals where hunger affects attendance
- Direct interventions for learners at imminent risk of dropping out
2. Improve Food Security & Nutrition
Reduce hunger and provide access to sufficient, safe, and nutritious food for vulnerable households.
- In-school hot corn-soya porridge and protein lunches
- Emergency household food hampers for child-headed families
- Connecting food assistance directly with school attendance
- Climate-resilient smallholder agricultural support
- Working with village committees to identify acute hunger hotspots
3. Reduce Poverty's Impact on Learning
Address the interconnected challenges of poverty, hunger, and instability preventing children from reaching potential.
- Holistic assessments identifying clothing, transport, and family stability needs
- Preventing early child marriage and forced domestic labor
- Creating dignified conditions allowing children to learn with pride
4. Build Sustainable Partnerships
Mobilize donors, volunteers, schools, churches, and community organizations around practical solutions.
- Direct school headmaster nomination networks
- Faith-based and community volunteer mobilizations
- Corporate and international institutional matching donors
5. Serve with Dignity, Compassion, and Accountability
Ensure that every child, family, and community we serve is treated with absolute dignity and respect.
- Compassionate service guided by Christian love
- Responsible stewardship and zero administrative waste
- Transparency, independent audits, and child safeguarding
- Respecting the dignity and agency of the families we serve
- Listening to communities and responding to local priorities
- Demonstrating the love of Christ through practical action
Major Milestones
From a humble beginning of 15 children to over 1,420 students supported across Zimbabwe.
First Inception Cohort
Enrolled our very first cohort of 15 children in primary school, providing tuition, books, and uniforms.
19 Children Enrolled
Expanded coverage to 19 kids in Zimbabwe, establishing standardized footwear and learning material kits.
21 Children & Secondary Bridge
Supported 21 students and launched our first secondary education transition scholarships for adolescent girls.
School Nutrition Kitchens Pilot
Introduced hot porridge school kitchens across 2 partner schools, dropping absenteeism by over 42%.
Holistic Food Security & Retention
Expanding our permanent nutrition hubs across Epworth, Chitungwiza, Mutare, and Masvingo rural clusters.
The People Behind the Mission
Local professionals and passionate community leaders serving on the front lines.
Tafadzwa Mandizvidza
Founder & Executive DirectorBorn and raised in Zimbabwe, leading grassroots educational equity and compassionate Christian stewardship.
Rudo Ndlovu
Director of Education ProgramsFormer secondary educator with 12 years of leadership in school retention, girls' mentoring, and exam sponsorship.
Chipo Mupfumira
Lead Nutrition SpecialistChild health and nutrition specialist directing our school porridge kitchens and family emergency hampers.
Tatenda Moyo
Field Operations & SafeguardingManages door-to-door home verification assessments, headmaster partnerships, and child protection protocols.
How Needs Are Identified, Verified & Followed Up
We operate an accountable, end-to-end framework ensuring zero wasted funds and long-term academic success for every child.
Grassroots Identification
We work directly with primary school headmasters, village heads, and community leaders who live alongside struggling families.
- Headmaster & teacher referrals
- Child-headed household focus
- High absenteeism audits
Rigorous Verification
Field officers conduct confidential, respectful home visits to assess economic hardship, food security levels, and school distance.
- In-person home welfare visit
- Direct enrollment check with school
- 100% zero middle-man confirmation
Direct Resource Delivery
Tuition is wired directly to verified school bank accounts. Uniforms, stationery sets, and daily hot meals are delivered with dignity.
- Direct-to-school bank transfers
- Custom fitted uniforms & shoes
- Daily hot fortified porridge
Mentorship & Follow-Up
We walk with each student term after term, evaluating report cards, providing after-school tutoring, and mentoring towards O-levels.
- Termly academic report reviews
- Classroom attendance tracking
- Secondary & vocational bridging
Child Safeguarding & Dignity First
At Broken Wings Initiative, every photograph, student story, and school report is collected with informed guardian and student consent. We never use sensationalism or exploit poverty.
Our field officers undergo rigorous child protection vetting, ensuring that the dignity, safety, and psychological well-being of every boy and girl remains inviolable.
100% Financial Accountability
- Zero Cash Handouts: All tuition payments are made directly via traceable bank transfer to Ministry-registered schools.
- Local Procurement: Uniforms and food are purchased from local seamstresses and farmers, stimulating community economies.
- Transparent Audits: Comprehensive financial reports provided annually to donors and regulatory authorities.
Where Children & Families Suffer the Most
Interactive regional data exposing acute food deprivation, thousands of children forced out of school, and severe household poverty across Zimbabwe's hardest-hit zones.
Individual Student Journeys
Behind every statistic is a child with a dream. Read the real, consented testimonies of young minds thriving with dignity and joy.
Ways You Can Make an Impact Today
Whether you are an individual, a church, a school, or a corporation, there are multiple meaningful ways to partner with Broken Wings Initiative.
Sponsor a Student
Commit to providing tuition, textbooks, uniforms, and daily lunch packs for a vulnerable primary or secondary learner.
Start Sponsorship →Feed a Classroom
Sponsor our daily morning fortified porridge program, ensuring an entire classroom of 40 children learns free from hunger pangs.
Fund School Meals →Volunteer & Advocate
Lend your professional skills in tutoring, curriculum design, photography, logistics, or spearhead a campaign in your home community.
Choose Where Your Help Goes
Inspired by DonorsChoose and Save the Children: select the exact educational items and nutritional packs you wish to fund. Transparent, tangible, and 100% verified.
News, Visits & Milestone Updates
Real-time updates straight from our school visits, uniform handovers, and community feeding centers. Managed via our live Admin CMS.
We Would Love to Hear from You
Have questions about child sponsorship, volunteer opportunities, or partnering with our feeding kitchens? Reach out directly.
Contact Information
48 Samora Machel Avenue, Suite 402
Harare, Zimbabwe
Epworth, Chitungwiza, Mutare Rural (Manicaland), Masvingo South