Though our primary focus is economic empowerment and early childhood education, we are invested in the greater prosperity of the communities we serve. Sometimes that means broadening our reach to tackle some of the other challenges Zimbabweans have been facing due to the economic crisis the country is experiencing. 

“Historically, Zimbabwe has had a very strong healthcare system,” says our founder, Shyam K. Iyer. “It’s common for children to be vaccinated. But due to the current lack of local currency and exports, the country needs to import medicine and it is expensive. They don’t get much help from other countries and big institutions because of the country’s politics.”

Because of this, it has become difficult for Zimbabweans to obtain the vaccinations they need. Combined with the other issues posed by the economic climate, risk of illness is high. “Cholera is a recent issue because of the lack of public services along with the overcrowding and lack of food hygiene,” says Shyam. “We lost a SKIPGO scholar to malaria, which weighs heavy on us.”

To help with this mounting health crisis, SKIPGO has been working with the Early Learning Center, where many of our scholars attend, to help ensure that they are vaccinated and to assist in this process however possible. “The parents are very positive and open to vaccination,” our founder says. “Sometimes they bemoan having to wait for services due to the region’s hardships, but they’re completely aligned in the effort to increase vaccination rates.”

And for children especially, these vaccinations are absolutely vital. “They run, play, explore and interact closely with each other,” he says. “At home there are often small infants who cannot be vaccinated. Vaccinating the school-aged children protects them as well as others around them.”