Aston Villa midfielder Zimbabwe midfielder Marvelous Nakamba has offered to pay school fees for 1,000 pupils in selected schools in his home country.
The English Premier League star will do this through the Marvelous Nakamba Foundation under its Education Assistance Plan.
Nakamba says that he is targeting to reach 100,000 pupils in Zimbabwe by December 2021 and 1 million pupils in four years' time.
“We hope this gesture will go a long way in helping not only the students that benefited but also comes as a relief to parents or guardians who have been struggling to raise school fees. This sits well with us, as the saying goes, ‘It takes a nation to raise a child’,” Nakamba noted.
“On this same breath, we are glad that a majority of the student beneficiaries for the 2020 school fees did extremely well and we hope that the 2021 first term students will excel in their studies.
“For now, we have gone as far as 1000 students but we desire to go for more when funds permit.”
The foundation founded in 2019, is aimed at supporting underprivileged children and youth in Zimbabwe with Nakamba's wish to see no child go through the hardships he faced while growing up in Africa.
The 27-year-old featured for Highlanders and Bantu Rovers in his home country before joining French side Nancy in 2012.
He spent two years in Nancy and he played two matches in the French Ligue 2 before he switched to the Netherlands to team up with Vitesse.
Nakamba won the Dutch Cup during his three-year stay with Vitas, and he moved on to join Belgian First Division A giants Club Brugge in 2017.
The Zimbabwe star made an instant impact during his debut campaign in Belgium as he clinched the top-flight title for 2017-18. In August 2019, Aston Villa completed a five-year deal for his services and he has played in 39 Premier League matches for Dean Smith’s side so far.