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Zvamaida Murwira-Senior Reporter
Three Advanced Level pupils at St John’s College in Harare have mobilised resources for rural community projects where they have donated stationery and renovated school infrastructure as part of efforts to complement Government’s community empowerment drive in line with President Mnangagwa’s “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo” mantra.
The efforts in empowering youths will also go a long way in insulating them from vices such as drug abuse.
The trio have started with Dudzi Primary School in Goromonzi district, Mashonaland East province, where they donated an assortment of stationery, installed a borehole with six taps from which pupils and the community can draw water and a water tank.
The school also got 20 bags of cement to renovate classroom floors and window panes to repair broken windows. The team hired a grader to clear the football ground.
St John’s College students, from left, Rynan Jackson, Zheng Jin and Ayaan Khan opening tapped water soon after installing a borehole at Dudzi Primary School in Goromonzi.
The three, Zheng Jin, Ryan Jackson and Ayaan Khan said they have now set their eyes on other disadvantaged rural schools and communities in their bid to give impetus to the Second Republic’s Education 5.0 model which seeks to produce goods and services.
The pupils said they mobilised resources from their fundraising activities at the school and engagement with the corporate world, including their family businesses as they try to change lives of communities, particularly the disadvantaged.
At Dudzi Primary School last Thursday the three arrived with exercise books, ballpoint pens, football and netball kits for the school. On the previous day, the school had its water challenges addressed after the students installed the taps for water drawn from a borehole and water tank for storage.
It was all smiles for pupils, parents and teachers as the trio brought installed a borehole ending days of travelling long distances looking for water.
The school is now set to have a thriving vegetable garden and will grow crops for sale all year round.
In an interview soon after donating stationery, Jin said while they were going to affluent schools, they still have compassion for those in schools that do not have all the provisions.
“Our thrust is to fight poverty in communities and help fellow students be able to achieve their vision, we want to play our part in helping our colleagues who might be disadvantaged. While we are going to better schools we are equally aware of the plight of disadvantaged schools and communities. The three of us have leadership positions at school and we have many fundraising activities. We also use our leadership positions at school to mobilise resources and that will be complimented by our family businesses,” said Jin.
He said they intend to mobilise more resources to help more schools and communities.
St John’s College student Ayaan Khan handing over stationery to a pupil at Dudzi Primary School in Goromonzi.
Khan said: “Education is very important. I decided with my friends to help empower other communities, particularly the young ones. We have asked for donations from companies in our areas and we do some fundraising activities at school,” he said
Jackson said wants to pursue an engineering degree at university to enable him to continue philanthropic work.
“My expectation is that I will be at university next year and study water engineering then come back to continue to assist the less privileged,” he said.
The school headmistress, Ms Alice Muzondo said she was grateful for the kind gesture extended to the school by the three boys.
“We used to get water very far away so the borehole will go a long way in mitigating water challenges. They repaired all broken window panes, gave us 20 bags of cement to renovate and make slabs for each classroom, we now have a borehole with six water taps installed at the garden, classrooms and teachers quarters,” said Ms Muzondo.
School development committee chairperson, Mr Givemore Muchabaiwa said he was excited by the assistance.
“The major challenge we had was that of water. We were travelling long distances to look for water. I am happy that these developments occurred during my tenure in office,” said Mr Muchabaiwa.
A parent at the school said they were happy with the help which came at a time they did not expect it.
Online Reporter