Story by Tinotendaishe Zirongwe
CHEGUTU – A new university funded by the Seventh-day Adventist (SDA) Church is rapidly taking shape in Chegutu, Mashonaland West Province, with the institution expected to enrol its first cohort of students in January next year.
Named Great Height University, the facility becomes the SDA Church’s second higher learning institution in Zimbabwe after Solusi University in Bulawayo.
Speaking during a site tour this Monday, Mashonaland West Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Marian Chombo, praised the church for its commitment to national development and decentralisation of tertiary education services.
“You have one goal development. When we come to Chegutu, we witness tangible progress. The works are visible to all. For years, we hoped for a second university in this province, and we never imagined that our own SDA Church would rise to the occasion. You have made us proud,” she said.
The SDA Church, which runs more than 165 primary and secondary schools across Zimbabwe, says its educational efforts are aimed at benefitting the broader community, not just its congregants.
“Our mission is inclusive. These schools and institutions are not solely for church members, but for the entire Zimbabwean community. The province shall be put to map. You have been with us since the beginning of the work here. We, as SDA we shall always work together with the government in improving peoples’ welfare through development,” SDA Church President, Pastor Godfrey Musara said.
Engineer Albert Machando, a member of the SDA Church and project lead, echoed similar sentiments, stating that education is central to the church’s mission and that Great Height University is a milestone in that vision.
Government has commended the SDA initiative as aligning with the Second Republic’s whole-of-society approach to development, particularly through public-private partnerships aimed at bringing key services closer to citizens.
