The churches of christ were established in 1896 by John Sheriff in Zimbabwe, who had come to find a new lease of life in Africa after his newly wed bride died a few months after their marriage. Sherriff  was born in Newzealand and went to work in Australia .Sherriff had known of the foreign mission union of the associated churches of christ in Newzealand., so when he realised  the work in Bulawayo was moving fast he asked Newzealand to send  missionaries to come and help. Newzealand sent FL Hatfield as the first missionary to come and work in Zimbabwe with Sherriff in 1905. After Hatfield arrived he was soon followed by another missionary from Newzealand WR Mansil

The year 1912 the government of the day offered the churches of Christ an opportunity to come and minister in what was know as the Runde area of Belingwe District. In 1912 WR Mansil and FL Hatfield set out on a journey that took 3 days on donkey carts arriving the Ingome area of the Lundi reserve in August 1912. They set a mission post in Ingome and within a short space of time had opened four preaching points at Fishu, Ngome, Dadaya and Shabanie. Both FL Hatfield and WR Mansil fell sick at different times resulting in WR Mansil succumbing to a heat wave and dying on the field. A decision was then made to move their headquarters from Ingombe to old Dadaya. Dadaya like the other mission church posts that had been opened offered lessons on evangelism and also teaching people basic education up to grade 4 allowing the local people to be able to read and write.

Years later in 1934 the foreign mission union of the churches of christ advertised for a position of a missionary pastor, whose wife had to be a teacher. Garfield Todd whose wife Grace had just qualified from the University of Dunedin was chosen as the new missionary to be sent in Zimbabwe. On arrival the Grace Todd realised the need to provide the locals with quality education and not just education to read the bible but also to understand arithmetic. She decided to write schemes of work for each of the teachers in each grade then called standards. She was not happy to teach them upto standard two but prepared her students and teachers to teach upto standard six. The dadaya schemes produced and drawn by Mrs Todd for her teachers became popular in all the mission institutions. When she realised that her schemes were in demand and that all churches wanted her assistance, she took the schemes to government and showed how much all the churches wanted to implement the schemes of work. The government decided to adopt Grace Todds schemes of work as national syllabus for education. Dadaya then became not just a mission post but a centre of education, par excellence.

Old Dadaya had many handicaps, water supplies were not easily accessible, it was right in the middle of a rural community and life was tough. In 1949 Garfield Todd who had now entered politics and now owned Hokonui ranching company decided to offer about 700 acres of land to New dadaya. The new mission post was quite ideal as the Ngezi river went past it. Dadaya then went through a period of building and eventually established a two year secondary course for its students and eventually establishing a primary training school offering primary school teachers higher certificates. Years later they discontinued the PTH course in favour of offering cambridge school certificates upto O-level. Then on to A level preparing students for University education.

Dadaya has always been known for its excellent educational standards and today can boast of having produced many students who have and are continuing to play a vital role, be it in politics, in education and in fact in all facets of life in our country. I would encourage today’s generation of students to emulate and maintain the high ideals that have been set by those who went through Dadaya before them.

BJ Mpofu

(Former Dadaya Governing Board Chairman)