Memory of former Norfolk adult social care director Harold Bodmer could live on at Zimbabwe school
Harold Bodmer. Pic: Matt Keal Photography Ltd. - Credit: Archant
The memory of Harold Bodmer, Norfolk's former director of adult social care, is set to live on at a school in the country where he was born.
Fundraising is under way to build a multi-purpose assembly area at Rugare Primary School in Zimbabwe, which will be named after Mr Bodmer.
Mr Bodmer died at the age of 61, after collapsing at a meeting of the county council's health and social care executive in July last year.
He was a trustee of the Norfolk-based Mudeka Foundation, which was set up by Anna Madeka to provide education for orphans and disadvantaged children in Zimbabwe.
And next month the foundation will hold an event to celebrate the contribution which Mr Bodmer made to it. The event will also raise money for a multi-purpose assembly area at Rugare Primary School in Zimbabwe, which would be named after Mr Bodmer.
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Some £3,000 towards the £7,000 project has already been raised through Mr Bodmer's County Hall colleagues and through collections at his funeral service at Norwich Cathedral, but the foundation hopes to raise a further £4,000 by the end of the year.
Foundation founder and musician Ms Mudeka, from Southburgh, who attended Rugare Primary School, said: 'This is a very special tribute for us for the contribution Harold made to the foundation.
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'His passion and love for Zimbabwe was contagious. The foundation have been given permission by Mr Bodmer's family to name the assembly point after him, to provide a long lasting tribute to his memory.
'This will be the first time ever the muddy, or dusty, area (depending on the season) will be made usable since my mother attended the same school.'
The event will be held at Thickthorn Hall from 2pm until 6pm on Sunday, July 2 and tickets will be charged at £25 per person. It will feature live music, international canapes, a welcome drink and an auction.
Born in Bulawayo in Zimbabwe (then Rhodesia), Mr Bodmer moved to England in 1977. He initially worked as a social worker in Lambeth.
By the time of his death he was not only director of adult social services in Norfolk but also the president of the Association of Directors of Adult Social Services.
To book tickets for the event, call 01362 850492 or 01362 822194.
