Willard Barure the founder and President , looks on to the future with optimism

PRACTIKAL is a para-professional student welfare organisation that was established in August 2006 as a gateway to champion students` issues through creative and innovative means while focus is given on the students themselves to engineer solutions for both the immediate and the forseable future. The organisation was set up as an outside the clasroom undertaking under the guidance of the Student Affairs Division at Midlands State University led by The Executive Dean of Students Ms T.N.Mkwananzi.

PRACTIKAL is short for Professional Acting Interest Knowledge And Learning and is the brain child of Willard Barure  (w.w.w.willardbarure.co.cc)  who  together with several other students realised that only  students have the capacity to empower themselves.At PRACTIKAL we appreciate the role played by education in poverty alleviation but we strongly believe that the  priority area is meeting the practical needs of students first.PRACTIKAL was inspired by the influence of Leo Wamwanduka the Project Coordinator of SHAPE Zimbabwe as well as Mr Shepstone Musiyarira the Executive Director of SHAPE ZIMBABWE who  both have  a passion for working with young people in attaining sustainable development while making  a difference in several communities.

To date PRACTIKAL has been operating under SHAPE Zimbabwe (www.shapezim.org.zw) where the majority of our members are student volunteers  and gender activists with various skills and competencies which they have been using to contribute towards both sudent and community development .The time has come for PRACTIKAL to forge ahead and realise its full potential .Other notable collaborations include : 

• Traffic Safety  Council of Zimbabwe Global Road safety week campaign held in Gweru 2007 
• Mayor`s  Christmast cheer fund Gweru 2006
• Hands On Zimbabwe Sponsored Walk from Gweru to Harare (about 270km) 2006
• Music Crossroads Talent development festival
• Various collaborations with the Midlands State University community
• Jesuit AIDS  Project

PRACTIKAL has come to stay and intends to continue growing from strenth to strength by enabling student development to take place while local communities and the nation at large benefits from such undertakings as  employment creation, poverty alleviation and self sustaining communities.