Staff Writer
Forty girls from Mbire district in Mashonaland Central Province have received bicycles for them to be able to cycle and cut long distances to and from school.
The donation which was made by Action Aid Zimbabwe as a gesture to empower the girl child from under privileged families.
Said Action Aid in a statement:
“40 girls in Mbire District are cycling past one of the biggest barriers to their education—long, unsafe journeys to school.
Many of these secondary school learners walk more than 25 km daily just to get to class.For girls in Ward 6, of Mbire and beyond, that distance meant missed lessons, exhaustion, and heightened risk of gender-based violence on the road. Some were dropping out entirely.
“That’s changing now. ActionAid Zimbabwe, under the Girl Supporter Project has purchased 40 bicycles for distribution. 20 have already reached Mahuwe and Kadzi Secondary Schools, and the remaining 20 will be handed over soon. Each bicycle is going to a girl identified by her school based on need—one bike, one student.”
Action Aid said the move will remove education barriers and uplift the girl child.
“The impact is immediate. Travel time is cut, attendance is rising, and girls are arriving safer and more ready to learn. More importantly, these young leaders are reclaiming their time, their safety, and their right to stay in school and lead.
“This is what removing barriers looks like. When girls can get to school safely and consistently, they don’t just keep learning—they start shaping the future of their communities.Thanks to ActionAid Sweden for standing with us to make this possible. Because when girls lead, everyone moves forward.”
Girls’ school dropouts in Zimbabwe are a pressing issue, with 3,433 girls forced out of school last year due to early marriages and teenage pregnancies. Most of these dropouts, 3,324, were from secondary schools, while 109 were from primary schools. Mashonaland East recorded the highest number of dropouts, with 499 girls’ education disrupted by teenage pregnancy.