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Trust Freddy, Herald Correspondent
The Chinese Embassy, through Teen Rescue Mission, has bailed out over 100 families affected by the market fire in Mbare, donating a range of essential school stationery and paying school fees for their children.
This comes after President Mnangagwa declared the Mbare fire incident a State of Disaster after the inferno affected more than 4 000 traders.
The donation benefited 100 families with each family receiving US$35 to cover school fees, as well as an assortment of school stationery which included 20×72-page exercise books, one 2-quire exercise book, pens, pencil cases, and sellotapes.
Speaking at the handover ceremony in Mbare yesterday, Chinese Ambassador to Zimbabwe Zhou Ding said he hoped the donation would bring some relief to the families.
“To complement the Government’s efforts for a speedy recovery of livelihoods, our embassy decided to support the school children from most affected families in Mbare with school fees and stationery to ensure that the school children here are able to continue with their education without being bothered by the hardships caused by the sad incident,” he said.
“These children are the future of Zimbabwe and the torch bearers of our dreams and aspirations. They will soon take on the responsibilities of adulthood to give back to society and contribute to Zimbabwe’s economic and social progress.”
Ambassador Ding also revealed that the Chinese Embassy was exploring additional ways to assist the remaining individuals affected by the devastating fire.
Teen Rescue Mission director Mr Abraham Matuka said: “We managed to come up with a selection of 100 families of parents who were affected by the fire, so in choosing those 100 families, we were mainly looking at women, particularly single mothers.
“We have provided a package for school fees for one term, and each parent is getting US$35, since we are mainly targeting primary school children, particularly in Government schools.”
Online Reporter