Somabula Mission

Somabula Mission begun in 1901 when F. B Armitage and his wife came from Solusi with 8 students to Lower Gwelo Reserve. The land could only be leased and not sold being a reserve. In the following year a school was set up with the 8 students being baptized and the number of students rising to thirty soon afterwards.

Later, the site was moved to a new place , six miles nearer to Gwelo. This was by reason of the earlier site not being suitable place for the establishment of the mission. The new site for the station was a parcel of land offered to the missionaries by Chief Bunina,

In 1905, W.S Hyatt organised the Mission Church of nineteen members. W. C Walston took over the management of the school when the Armitages left Rh0desia due to fever attacks . At the end of five years, there were 68 students at the school. The school grew continually and in 1920 there were 18 out schools as reported by the superintendent J. N de Beer. In 1923, the name was changed to Lower Gwelo Mission . Six years later, the mission farm operating a primary school became a government approved teachers training college.