Zimbabwe Newport Volunteering Association is a registered charity, number 1191931, working across two continents — Newport in Wales and Mufakose in Harare, Zimbabwe. We are run by volunteers and trustees, and our work in Zimbabwe is supported by Welsh Government through Hub Cymru Africa.
ZNVA began in 2006. The photograph alongside is one of the oldest we hold — a family outdoor day at Cwmcarn in June of that year. There was no office and no funding. There was a belief that sport and the arts could bring people together who would otherwise never meet.
Twenty years on, that has grown into weekly futsal and multi-sports sessions, an emergency food bank, a seasonal Warm Bank, four annual cultural festivals, and a standing link between Newport and Mufakose in Harare.
What has not changed is who does it. ZNVA is still run entirely by volunteers and trustees — around 120 people. There are no paid staff.
To empower young people and their communities of Mufakose, Harare, Zimbabwe and Newport, Wales through twinning, youth provision, and activities that alleviate poverty while creating employment, volunteering and training opportunities.
Promote integration of refugees, asylum seekers and Roma communities using sports and arts.
Combat isolation and promote community cohesion in Newport and Mufakose.
Deliver sports and arts events in Newport, Wales and Mufakose, Zimbabwe.
Facilitate exchange visits and share global experiences between our two communities.
Three principles have held for twenty years.
Someone who will not walk into an advice centre will turn up to a free football session. Once they are through the door, everything else becomes possible — advice, food, friendship, a route into training.
The Covid-19 food bank was meant to be temporary. It fed more than 500 families, and it is still running today as a Warm Hub with monthly parcels. When we start something in a crisis, we do not pack it away when the headlines move on.
The Newport to Mufakose link is a twinning, not a donation pipeline. Exchange visits run both ways, skills and experience travel with them, and both communities are expected to give as well as receive.
Our Newport base is Clarence House, where we run the food bank, one-to-one advice, free internet and printing, weekly films, storytelling and drumming. The Warm Bank runs from November to March in Newport town centre — the venue for the next season is being confirmed.
Across the city we run futsal and multi-sports sessions, detached youth work, a community garden, mental health support, and four annual festivals — Africa Day, Zimbabwe Cultural Day, Black History Month and the Refugee Week tournament.
Mufakose is a high-density suburb of Harare. Our Breakfast Club there provides nutritious porridge to children so they can concentrate at school — £10 feeds one child for a week.
We deliver Christmas hampers to isolated older people every year, a programme begun during Covid-19 that has never stopped, and we responded to Cyclone Idai with emergency groceries and blankets. Exchange visits run in both directions.
This work is supported by Welsh Government through Hub Cymru Africa.
ZNVA is a registered charity in England and Wales, number 1191931, governed by volunteer trustees and holding the Charity Excellence Framework Quality Mark.
Our work in Zimbabwe is supported by Welsh Government through Hub Cymru Africa. We work in partnership with GAVO and Newport City Council, and our multi-sports provision follows the StreetGames Doorstep Sports Club model.
Because there are no paid staff, money given to us goes into breakfasts, food parcels, heating and kit rather than salaries.
It is a twinning relationship between two communities on different continents. ZNVA runs exchange visits between Newport in Wales and Mufakose in Harare, Zimbabwe, so that skills, culture and experience travel in both directions. Alongside the exchanges we support community regeneration in Mufakose, including a children’s Breakfast Club and Christmas hampers for older people.
Volunteers and trustees — around 120 people. We have no paid staff. The charity was founded by Elphas Gunguwo, and our team includes Angeline Tshiyane, named Community Coach of the Year at the BBC Wales Sport Awards, and Robert Muza, whose work has been recognised by StreetGames.
No. Our roots are in the Zimbabwean community in Newport, but our projects are open to everyone. We work with refugees, asylum seekers, Roma and migrant communities of all backgrounds, and our Africa Day and Family Fun Day events are open to the whole city.
Sport lowers the barrier to entry. Someone who will not walk into an advice centre will come to a free football session. Our Newport Multicultural Futsal Project was recognised by the European Commission’s JOININ project as a Best Case Study of working with young migrants in Europe, and our multi-sports provision is modelled on the StreetGames Doorstep Sports Club approach.
Yes. We already work with Welsh Government through Hub Cymru Africa, GAVO and Newport City Council, and we regularly host partner stalls at our community events. If you run a service that our community should know about, email zimnewport@yahoo.co.uk.
No. ZNVA is a secular community charity. Our projects are open to people of all faiths and none.
