Will you donate money to sponsor a Zimbabwean High School student or teacher to participate in a short term school exchange program?! 

What is this fundraiser for?

This fundraiser is to sponsor an exchange program between students/teachers from John Tallach High School, Ntabazinduna, Zimbabwe and Mount Cheam Christian School in Chilliwack, BC, Canada.  A group of 8 students and teachers from Chilliwack will be paired with students/teachers at JT.  This group will travel to Zimbabwe for about 2 weeks and each participant will 'shadow' the student/teacher they are paired with.  Several weeks later, their exchange partners will travel back to Canada and do the same.  Each group will participate in a several cultural and education activities during their visit.  This experience will have a lifetime impact on all the students involved, and the educational value is more than words can describe for both the participating students and their schools..

Why students from this school?

John Tallach High School (JTHS) is a Free Presbyterian boarding school at Ingwenya Mission with over 600 students of which about 50 live locally. It is located in a rural community 40 km outside Bulawayo. The students come from a wide range of economic background.  Even though the Zimbabwean economy is in shambles and poverty is rampant,  JTHS has a long standing reputation of high academic ratings.  Multiple students have performed top in the country on both government and Cambridge examinations. These are brilliant teenagers that can positively impact their communities and their country if they are given the opportunity.

Why an exchange program?

The purpose of the exchange program is to give high school students and teachers in both Canada and Zimbabwe a unique learning opportunity and potentially a once-in-a-lifetime chance to experience another culture and country oversees.  International learning and knowledge propels individuals towards acceptance and understanding of a wide range of cultural and community perspectives and an increased interest in global issues.  

By sponsoring just one teacher, you make a difference to 100s of their future students.  By sponsoring one teenager, you can make a difference to an entire community.

Help us make an impact!

The greatest challenge in this program is in raising money for travel expenses.  All basic accommodation expenses will be covered by the host families/school.  The currency in Zimbabwe has little value in the current economic situation, so even though these students are well educated, they have very little hope of ever raising enough money to travel overseas.   

The Canadian students/teachers will raise money for their own travel expenses, but they can use your help to cover the travel expenses of their Zimbabwean counterparts.  

What will we do with the money raised?  

The money will be used to cover travel expenses for up to a maximum of ten (10) Zimbabwean students/teachers to travel to Canada and a maximum of nine (9) Canadian students/teachers to travel to Zimbabwe in 2020.  

Extra money raised may

• fund any education activities/excursions.  
• roll over into an exchange program for 2021.
• be put into development projects at John Tallach High School.

Other ways of donating  
Donating through fundrazr is very efficient and allows you to pay with credit card.  Please realize that about $3 per each $100 dollar donation will be subtracted from your donation for payment processor fees.

• If you live in Chilliwack, you can give cash or cheque donations to any of the students or teachers participating, or to the school office.  Contact Maria Kerkhoff (maria@kerkhoff.ca) for more information about participants near you.  Cheques can be made out to Maria Kerkhoff and write "MCCS-JTHS Exchange" as a memo on the cheque.
• Send an e-transfer to Maria Kerkhoff (maria@kerkhoff.ca).  Please be sure to include a message that this is a donation for the exchange program.