Our Vision
Stewarding a world where everyone belongs.
Our Mission
Support healthy, resilient, sustainable and flourishing communities through culture, education and ecological practices.
Ubuntu Learning Village Trust
Ubuntu Learning Village Trust is a registered Trust (charity) in Zimbabwe. It is a local branch of a Canadian registered non-profit, Ubuntu Global Village. UVL is an arts, culture and community service center physically located in Gutu, Zimbabwe and provides five interconnected free programs to the local community. All programs are led by the local communities, with support from global friends.
Our Programs
UFS – Ubuntu Free School
Founded in 2019, the Ubuntu Free School serves the children and families from the subsistence farming communities of Fortress, Edna, Stresspy and Craig Farms, and Mudzanapahwe Village in Serima, Zimbabwe.
Ubuntu Free School currently has 5 dedicated teachers and a population of 63 eager learners in Kindergarten to Grade 4. We dream of progressively adding a grade level each year to eventually include the secondary and tertiary levels.
2UC – Ubuntu Upcycling Program
2UC is a community arts group that uses visual art (murals and canvas) to speak about ecological preservation and human/nature relationships. Additionally, 2UC recycles garbage from surrounding schools and nearby towns and transforms it by creating art pieces and usable tools. Members of 2UC visit local schools where they facilitate conversations around climate change, environmental sustainability, and the roles that individuals can take to support sustainability at the local level. 2UC has done all the murals atUbuntu Learning Village and Ubuntu Free School and recently collaborated with Muse Toronto in the Doves of Peace project, where they explored the meaning of peace through visual art and dialogue. Their Doves of Peace will be shown at Nuit Blanche in Toronto and in Colombia.
Utano – Women’s Health
The word Utano means optimum wellbeing. Utano women’s health program is a community-based initiative that has provided a safe space for women between the ages of 16 upwards to convene and discuss and learn ways to take care of their mental, physical, and psychological health. During these bi-weekly forums, women discuss ways to improve intergenerational community relationships and share their stories.
Ubuntu Mbira Group
In Shona music, the mbira dzavadzimu is the “voice of the ancestors” or “mbira of the ancestral spirits” and is the national instrument of Zimbabwe.
Mbira music was banned during colonial rule and it now provides a way to connect to indigenous knowledge systems. Ubuntu Mbira Group are stewards of mbira culture and spirituality. Through co-learning and performing together, the group deepens the village’s attention to Chivanhu culture. Members of the groups have played in local ceremonies and for international audiences through their videos which are posted online. Members of the group teach and share Mbira music to local and international visitors and Ubuntu Free School students.
Young Women’s Empowerment Program
Women and girls continue to face the most widespread discrimination, marginalization, and violence in Zimbabwe. YWEP addresses gender inequality by ensuring that rural women and girls have the knowledge, tools and skill sets to advocate and empower themselves. Since March 2022, YWEP has reached at many rural young women and girls weekly through a well-designed and facilitated twelve-month program. The program focuses on after-school support, small business development, dance, music and gender-based violence prevention and capacity building workshops. We are grateful to Naledi for funding the infrastructural needs of YWEP.
