Church of Sweden: Chegato Mission

Church of Sweden

Chegato Mission

Chegato Mission was opened 1949 by the Church of Sweden Mission (CSM) and is located approximately 70 miles south of Zvishavane (formerly Shabani) in rural Mberengwe (Belingwe) District.  The mission initially consisted of just a chapel, pastor’s house and nearby primary school.  In 1957 a secondary school was moved there from Mnene Mission.  The school – the first secondary school in the Mberengwe area – was originally opened at Musume Mission at the prompting of the Ministry of Education.  It was moved to Mnene in 1954, ultimately ending up at Chegato.

Tore Bergman, son of pioneer missionary Johannes Bergman and born in Zimbabwe, was Chegato Secondary School’s first principal.  Under his leadership, the school continued to expand its educational offerings.  The First Form III-IV stream at Chegato was started in 1965 and A-levels a few years later.  In 1966, Bergman left to take up the position Education Secretary of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Rhodesia (Zimbabwe).  At the end of Bergman’s tenure, the school had 6 classes with almost 200 students and 9 teachers.  Other teachers at the school during this time included Mr. J. M. Shava and CSM missionary Monica Linge.

The Chegato Secondary School was closed at the end of 1978 due to the “liberation war.”  Regrettably, the school was then looted and largely demolished by the local community despite having been in their midst for 30 years.  Mr. E. C. Hove, headmaster at Chegato since 1970, oversaw the temporary relocation of the school to Bulawayo.  It was reopened at Chegato Mission in 1980.  As of 2010, Chegato High School had slightly over 700 students and about 35 teachers.

References

Contributors
  • Mark Loomis

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