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Remember Deketeke Herald Correspondent
THE Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Ministry together with eight agricultural colleges held their annual inter-agricultural sports gala last week at Chibero Agricultural College in Norton.
For almost 21 years, agricultural colleges from across Zimbabwe have been coming to this sporting event to compete in various disciplines.
Soccer, netball, volleyball, snooker and other sports were among the disciplines represented.
Gwebi Agricultural College dominated most of the events and went home with the silverware in the overall sporting disciplines with Esigodini Agricultural College scooping second position and emerged overall winner of the event.
SayWhat, an independent group that primarily teaches sexual education to youth, was the driving force behind this year’s Gala, their focus was on teaching students sexual reproductive health education while they also invested in buying jerseys for soccer teams and also bought silverware for the victors.
Speaking at the prize-giving ceremony last Friday, Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Permanent Secretary Professor Obert Jiri said the participation of youths in sports and recreation programmes places them at the centre stage.
“Participation of youth in sports removes them from the scourge of drug and substance abuse,” he said.
“Sports as a discipline and activity offer potential employment for youth. By participating in sports, we increase the general wellness of people.”
The principal of Chibero Agricultural College Mr Phillip Mushayi said that this gala was in a way detoxifying the students from their usual packed-up academic programmes.
“The main purpose of this gala is for students to interact with themselves from different colleges and create unity among them, so we are just detoxifying them from their usual stressful academic lives,” he said.
Principal Mushayi spoke of the importance of partnering with other stakeholders like SayWhat.
“You cannot live on an island, so partnering with other organisations brings in new ideas to our students and helps in fostering unity with other stakeholders in the country,” he said.
“We cannot operate in isolation.”
Joshua Maruza, Vice Principal of Mlezu Agricultural College who was representing Mrs Madzime the principal, said the ministry takes sports seriously.
“As a member of both the ministry and the college I have seen that the ministry takes sporting activities seriously with evidence of their funding and sending in of respectable delegation and this is evidenced through the gracing of the event by Permanent Secretary for Lands, Agriculture, Fisheries, Water and Rural Development Professor Obert Jiri,” he said.
Speaking after the prize-giving ceremony, SayWHAT Provincial Programmes Officer Rumbidza Mabuto said the sports gala allowed SayWHAT to engage with young adults.
The inter-agricultural sports gala and awards ceremony allowed SayWHAT to engage with young people through our trained peer educators who dismantle public health information on sexual harassment,” she said.
“It also allowed us to teach students on prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, TB, Climate change topics, and non-communicable diseases that have a bearing on their overall well-being beyond sexual reproductive health.”
Ms Mabuto said the role SayWHAT plays in the student community is critical in ensuring they make informed decisions.
“Our role in the student community is to ensure that students make informed decisions,” she said.
“This can be realised only through attaining life skills which are instrumental during college life and beyond.”
Online Reporter