By Chantelle Muzanenhamo
Four classrooms at Swereki Secondary School were severely damaged after hailstorm struck the Ha-Khohomela area in Beitbridge West on Sunday evening.
The storm tore off roofs from four classroom blocks at the school.
The disaster also affected the wider community, including Swereki Clinic, the local primary school, and households and fields.
Beitbridge West Member of Parliament, Thusani Ndou, confirmed that while several facilities were impacted, the destruction of the four classrooms remains a major concern.
He said the storm had disrupted both education and daily life in the village.
“I am appealing to well-wishers and stakeholders to put our hands together and assist the community in any means possible,” he said.
Speaking to Ziyah News Network, Samkeliso Ndlovu, an administrative officer at the District Development Coordinator’s office, emphasized the extent of the damage at the secondary school.
“Four classroom blocks at Swereki Secondary had their roofs blown away. Minor damages were recorded at the primary school and the clinic, where only shade roofs were affected,” she said.
The Civil Protection Department is currently assessing the situation to determine the number of affected households and the full scale of infrastructure damage to coordinate relief efforts .
Rebuilding the four damaged classrooms is expected to be costly.
In rural Zimbabwe, re-roofing a single classroom can range between USD $2,000 and $5,000. This means restoring all four classrooms could require upwards of $10,000, posing a challenge for the community.
With four classrooms now unusable, learning at Swereki Secondary School could be disrupted if schools reopen before repairs are completed, increasing pressure on authorities and well-wishers to urgently mobilize resources.