Prince Bashangezi establishes peer tutoring for refugee students in Zimbabwe

Prince Bashangezi and a group of students founded TWEENS to provide education for refugee youth at the Tongogara Refugee Camp in Zimbabwe.

The initiative began in March 2020 when COVID-19 lockdowns closed formal schools at the camp. Located near the Mozambique border, the camp houses more than 17,000 people displaced by conflict across central and eastern Africa.

Bashangezi and his peers at USAP Community School decided to create a peer tutoring system because they understood the specific challenges of studying without stable resources or family support. The organization, which stands for Together We Educationally Empower Non-privileged Students, operates on a model where refugee students tutor younger children within the same camp. Education Matters Africa, a Zimbabwe-based nonprofit, supported the program during the lockdown.

The model relies on the proximity of the tutors, who live in the same conditions as the students they teach, to maintain educational continuity for children facing compounding disadvantages in a displacement context. Bashangezi now studies computer science and economics at Pomona College in California through the Global Student Haven Initiative. While he pursues his degree, a fundraising campaign on GlobalGiving continues to fund TWEENS.

The program has expanded since its founding to include an A-level program, a girls' book club, and regular homework support.