adminFOR many, the practice of philanthropy entails splashing huge sums of money to help people of lands far from their own, often for selfish reasons, albeit without necessarily addressing the most pressing needs of those they give to.
Politicians, businesspeople and other iconic figures in society have often undeservedly carried the philanthropist tag, yet their cosmetic charity work would have done little to change the lives of the “beneficiaries”. Instead it is, in often cases, the benefactors’ brand that emerges as the biggest winner, leaving communities in far worse circumstances than they would have been found.
Few philanthropists, cut from a rare cloth, are genuine in their endeavours and their works. Though not necessarily earth-shattering, they have made noteworthy differences to communities they have touched. Ambassador Dr Aaron Maboyi Ncube is one such philanthropist whose charity work has no strings attached and is focused on helping the rural folk in Beitbridge district realise their dreams.
For Ambassador Maboyi Ncube charity begins at home among his kith and kin. He thus stands out as one of the few organic philanthropists in the country whose charity work aims at uplifting communities they come from by addressing the specific nagging needs of their communities.
Last weekend the former Zimbabwean Ambassador to Egypt handed over a library and administration block to Masungane Primary School in Beitbridge district. The facility, valued at about $46 000 comes as a major relief to the school which is one of the oldest schools in the district and has been grappling with shortage of critical facilities for years.
Ambassador Maboyi Ncube is a former pupil at the school, where he did his Standard One in 1949 and his donation saw him retracing his footsteps to give back to a school where he cut his educational teeth.
Speaking at the handover ceremony, which was graced by high-ranking Government officials led by Vice-President Phelekezela Mphoko, Ambassador Maboyi Ncube gave a nostalgic account of his experience at the school.
“I had a vision, a vision to make my community better and I asked myself, what can I do to realise that vision? That is when I thought of starting by giving back to the school that made me who I am today. I remember in 1949 we were only three pupils in the Standard One class, two boys and one girl. That girl would always beat us and I would come second while the other guy would be third. This indicates where we came from and I will never forget that. Which is why I decided to give back to this school,” he said.
Ambassador Maboyi Ncube built the library and administration block with the help of local people who provided manpower while he purchased all the material that was used in the construction of the facility. The former diplomat said his decision to build a library at the school was driven by the need to empower local children to rise above some of the challenges they face due to the under-development of their area.
“Material that will go in that room will help empower these children to see beyond their noses. We are never poor as a people but we are made poor because of our ignorance and selfish motives which see us fail to exploit our own resources for our own benefit. This library, when well equipped, will help local children broaden their horizons and understand issues in a much more enlightened manner,” he said.
Ambassador Maboyi Ncube, who is also a Zanu-PF Central Committee member, said the library and administration block were the first of many community development projects he will carry out in the district. He is also assisting schoolchildren from under-privileged backgrounds in his area with school fees and other basic necessities.
VP Mphoko who was the guest of honour at the handover ceremony led an avalanche of pledges towards equipping the library, with some of the pledges coming from as far as the United Kingdom. The VP commended Ambassador Maboyi Ncube, saying what the former diplomat had done was an example that other successful people from Beitbridge should emulate to uplift their communities. He said this while also urging rural communities to look for homegrown solutions to their challenges.
“Ambassador Maboyi built a library for his former school. That is what I’m talking about. Let us make that commitment to develop our areas and know that no one will come to help us. As the Vice-President I will see what I will do to equip this library. This facility must be equipped with adequate material, computers and books and so on which will assist children in carrying out their researches. Your children must be empowered with the requisite knowledge that will unlock their potential to exploit natural resources available in their areas for the benefit of their community,” he said.
Two Zimbabweans based in the UK and are originally from Beitbridge pledged to donate computers and a television set to the library as pledges to the new facility trickled in. The two are a brother and sister to Matabeleland South acting Zanu-PF chairperson Cde Rabelani Choeni, who also played a crucial role in the construction of the library and administration block.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Primary and Secondary Education Dr Sylvia Utete-Masango, in her acceptance speech, echoed similar sentiments with VP Mphoko, commending Ambassador Maboyi Ncube for supporting the education sector.
She said what Amabssador Maboyi Ncube had done dove-tailed in the education Ministry’s efforts to partner businesspeople in spurring education infrastructure development.
“I appeal to other local stakeholders to emulate the Ambassador embark on similar projects to partner our Ministry in accelerating infrastructure development.We would like all schools to have libraries and administration blocks similar to the two projects we are gathered here for. What Ambassador Dr Maboyi Ncube has done underlines the importance of Joint Venture Partnerships in school’s infrastructural development,” she said.
Dr Utete-Masango also urged other luminaries from Beitbridge to emulate the example set by Ambassador Maboyi Ncube.
School head Ms Esnart Muleya expressed gratitude to Ambassador Maboyi Ncube’s gesture. She, however, highlighted that the school continued to face numerous challenges which she called on Government to assist in dealing with.
“We don’t have enough classrooms, teachers accommodation is also a problem. We would also want borehole water within our premises so that our pupils and staff will not walk long distances to fetch water. Our ECD classes also need playground facilities,” she said.
Masungane Primary School has an enrolment of 353 pupils from Early Childhood Development to Grade Seven and a staff complement of 11 teachers. The unveiling ceremony of the new library and administration block was attended by Minister of State for National Security Cde Kembo Mohadi, his wife Cde Tambudzani Mohadi who is the senator for Beitbridge, VP Mphoko’s wife Laurinda and legislator for Beitbridge West constituency Cde Metrine Mudau.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter