The Zienzele Foundation began as the result of a chance meeting in Zimbabwe of two committed women — Prisca Nemapare and Nancy Clark.
When Prisca was a professor of nutrition at Ohio University, she started an Earthwatch project researching the nutritional status of women and children in her native Zimbabwe. That project began in 1984 and continued through the 1990s. In 1998 and 1999, Nancy Clark, a nurse from rural Vermont, volunteered with the project. Then, in 2000, Earthwatch discontinued its support due to the dangerous political situation in Zimbabwe. Undaunted, Prisca and Nancy returned and set a new course!
Prisca and Nancy based the mission of Zienzele on what they had seen during their research: an emerging crisis of children orphaned by the HIV/AIDS epidemic. As the virus devastated an entire generation of adults, widows and grandmothers were struggling to adequately care for the orphaned children left in their care. These aging caregivers asked Prisca and Nancy for help, and Prisca and Nancy responded with “OK! Let’s think about what we can do together.”
Now, the Zienzele Foundation has a network of volunteers in Zimbabwe who provide oversight and carry out the work when Nancy and Prisca are absent. Each of the 23 Zienzele school districts has a Zienzele Representative who has been chosen by the caregivers in their village. There are also three Zienzele Coordinators who oversee several districts each. This model has created a high level of accountability and quick response to situations as they arise.
Zienzele has active Boards of Directors both in Zimbabwe and in the US. The foundation is registered as a charitable organization in Zimbabwe and qualifies as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the US. Funding comes from private donations from many friends across the US and abroad. Great support systems are in place in Athens, Ohio and Kyoto, Japan. Another important source of funding for school fees is the sale of beautiful baskets, hand-made by Zimbabwean caregivers.