Youth Leadership · Health · Education

Young people are ready to lead. They always have been.

Kurera is a system for developing community leaders. Young people aged 13 to 18 who are equipped to identify real needs and lead practical change from within the communities they already belong to.

What Kurera does
2
Programme branches — Health and Education
13–18
Age group at the heart of the programme
1
Full scholarship awarded every single year
Leaders built from within their own communities
"The goal is not to take young people out of their communities. It is to send them back in, stronger and equipped to lead." Kurera Founder
Our Story

Built from within. For everyone.

Kurera is a youth organisation centred on education and health. It works with young people aged 13 to 18, providing structured guidance, exposure, and support so they can understand their options, recognise real needs around them, and respond in ways that are practical and grounded. Through two programme branches in health and education, participants build the knowledge, awareness, and confidence to approach both their future and their communities with clarity.

The organisation began in Zimbabwe and is extending its work across Southern Africa and beyond. Participants are selected on the basis of their story, their motivation, and a clear awareness of a need within their community.

Each year, Kurera awards one fully funded primary school scholarship to one exceptional child aged 6 to 12. The Kurera Scholar Award is granted on the basis of academic excellence, character, resilience, leadership potential, and financial need, and is funded entirely by Kurera.

What drives everything we do
"Building leaders within their communities. Not people who wait to be helped. Because they are capable — and they always were."
Our Values

What guides everything we do

Rootedness. We work from within communities, not above them. We understand the context because we are part of it.
Leadership. We produce active, visible community changemakers. Participants leave Kurera doing something real.
How Kurera Works

Leadership is the foundation.

Every young person who enters Kurera is being developed as a community leader and advocate. Health and education are the two pathways in. Leadership is where everyone arrives.

Participants don't leave their communities to thrive somewhere else. They go back in — equipped, confident, and ready to transform the space they already occupy. That is what makes this different.

The Leadership Core — woven through both branches

Community advocacy. Communication skills. How to identify a need and respond to it. How to start something and keep it going.

Health Branch
Know your body. Teach your community.

For young people aged 13 to 18 who are connected to a health experience, personal or through family. Builds the preventive health habits and health literacy that most young people have never had the chance to develop.

  • Health literacy workshops on what checkups are and why they matter before symptoms appear
  • Clinic partnership days with free screening at partner health facilities
  • Medical teachings at school where clinicians come directly to students
  • Community health knowledge including how to support preventive care networks
  • Leadership training on running first aid clubs, health campaigns and community projects
Education Branch
Believe in your potential. Show others theirs.

For young people aged 13 to 18 who want to build academic confidence and explore what their future can look like. Designed for students who have the ability and have never been fully shown it.

  • Academic confidence workshops on the science of learning and dismantling self-doubt
  • Future pathways sessions covering careers in medicine, law, engineering and public health
  • Barrier audit sessions where participants build a real plan around real obstacles
  • Books and uniform support for participants facing financial barriers
  • Leadership training on peer mentorship, study groups and education clubs
What comes next
The Ambassador Programme

Participants who complete a branch and show leadership potential become Kurera Ambassadors. They lead a real, visible grassroots project in their school or community. Their story is shared with their consent as the living proof of what Kurera makes possible.

First aid club School vegetable garden Mental health mural Peer study group Community reading corner Health awareness campaign
Real Stories

Meet our Ambassadors.

Every ambassador came through Kurera with a story. They are now writing the next chapter from inside their own communities, on their own terms. These are the kinds of stories Kurera tells.

AZ
Health
"Through Kurera I learned about eco-stoves as an alternative to wood fires in rural cooking areas. The smoke from wood fires causes serious respiratory damage and most families do not know there are safer options."
Ran health education sessions in her community on household respiratory risks and cleaner cooking alternatives.
Anesu Z.
KN
Education
"I almost dropped out in Form 2. I did not believe a future in further education was possible for someone in my situation. Kurera changed how I saw that."
Runs a weekly peer study group for younger students at her school.
Kelly N.
FM
Health
"My community eats poorly because nutritious food feels like something for other people. I wanted to change that thinking."
Organised a school vegetable garden connecting nutrition to community health.
Farai M.
NZ
Health
"Mental health is never spoken about where I come from. People suffer alone and nobody says the word out loud."
Painted a mental health awareness mural at school. Started a conversation that did not exist before.
Nomsa Z.
SK
Education
"There was nowhere for children in my neighborhood to access books. I kept thinking this was something that could be fixed with the right people involved."
Ran a donation drive in partnership with other schools and private donors who contributed books. Set up a reading corner at the local church, now serving children across the neighborhood.
Simba K.
KB
Health
"I went for my first health checkup at 16 years old. My blood pressure was already elevated. I had no symptoms. I would not have known without Kurera."
Now facilitates health awareness sessions at her school on preventive care and knowing your numbers.
Kupakwashe B.
The Kurera Scholar Award

One scholarship. One child. One life changed.

Awarded once per year to one exceptional child aged 12 or under, identified through Kurera's community network. A full primary school scholarship to Genius Ray International Preparatory School in Harare, funded entirely by Kurera.

We are not looking for the child who has already been given every opportunity. We are looking for the child who has had almost none and is still showing up as someone remarkable. Character. Resilience. The spark of a leader who will go back into their community and change it.

GR
IPS
Genius Ray International Preparatory School Cambridge and Oxford curriculum. Newlands, Harare. Partnership established with Kurera.
What we look for
Academic excellence as evidenced by school reports and teacher assessment
Character and resilience, assessed through the child's own written words
Leadership potential — vision, community awareness, the quality of a young person who sees a problem and wants to do something about it
Financial need, with priority given to families facing genuine economic barriers
The child's own voice carries the most weight of all
The 2026 to 2027 application cycle is currently closed. Recipients have been selected.
Applications

Ready to begin?

Choose the pathway that fits your story. If you are unsure which one, reach out and we will help you find your place in Kurera.

Health Branch
Participant Application — Health

For young people aged 13 to 18 connected to a health experience. You don't need to have all the answers. You just need a story and the desire to do something with it.

Start your application
Education Branch
Participant Application — Education

For young people aged 13 to 18 motivated by academic confidence or future pathways. Urban and rural applicants welcome. Books and uniform support available.

Start your application
Scholar Award
Kurera Scholar Award

For children aged 6 to 12, completed by a parent or guardian. One award per year, fully funded by Kurera.

The 2026 to 2027 cycle is currently closed. Applications for 2027 to 2028 will open in due course.
Volunteer
Join the Kurera Team

We are looking for remote volunteers — content creators, social media support, mentors, translators and grant researchers. You can contribute from anywhere in the world.

Kurera is completely free to join. There is no application fee and no barrier to entry. If you have difficulty completing a form online, contact us via WhatsApp and we will support you through the process.
Get in Touch

We would love to hear from you.

Whether you want to apply, partner with us, donate, volunteer, or simply learn more — every message is read and every story matters to us.

WhatsApp

+263 715471204

Where we work

Zimbabwe and beyond.

Follow Kurera

School and Clinic Partnerships

If you represent a clinic, school or community organisation and want to work with Kurera, we want to hear from you. Reach out directly.