Parents of school-age children will know the pain of shopping for uniforms. It can be an expensive exercise, but there are also clear benefits to having school uniforms. That’s why so many schools use them, both in Ireland and overseas.

In Zimbabwe, schools are a key part of the Methodist Church’s mission. Those schools have uniforms, and now - thanks to a grant from the World Mission Fund - the Methodist Church Zimbabwe (MCZ) also has the ability to manufacture those uniforms.

Not only can they manufacture the necessary garments for their own pupils, but they hope to generate income for the church by producing uniforms for other schools too. Even better, there is potential to link with MCZ’s vocational training centre which shares a site with the new factory.

Eventually, the new initiative could simultaneously provide uniforms for schools, jobs for unemployed young people, and also generate income to support the church’s wider mission in Zimbabwe.

It’s an excellent story, and well worth reading more about. Thanks to Rev Dr Andrew Ashdown (Partnership Coordinator for Africa), you can do that by clicking here.

Through World Mission Partnership, Irish Methodists contribute to the World Mission Fund. In 2023, that contribution was £75,000.