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FBC Holdings Group has donated farming implements worth more than US$40 000 to Shungu Dzevana Children’s Home as part of its community impact-driven corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiative.
The group has also pledged to build a parking shade for the agricultural implements and offered US$5,000 for the payment of school fees.
The farming implements consist of a brand new 75 Horsepower Tractor, 20-disc Rhome Harrow, 4,8m Open Trailer, Grass Cutter, and 3 Disc Plough.
The donation was presented to Reverend Sister Mercy Mutyambizi, founder of Shungu Dzevana Children’s Home, at a colourful ceremony held at the orphanage in Mhondoro yesterday.
Speaking at the presentation ceremony, FBC group head of marketing Mr Roy Nyakunuwa, highlighted the need to build sustainable communities and emphasised the need for corporates to give back to the community.
He said the group’s donation to Shungu Dzevana was motivated by the recently adopted sustainability approach, FBCH Climate Positive Agenda, which promotes community resilience, self-reliance, and sustainability through CSR initiatives.
The group’s approach is informed by the evolving stakeholder needs including the general wellbeing of the community, as the entity aims to deepen sustainability within the FBCH group and contribute towards national, regional, and global priorities.
“As we deepen our sustainability approach, we aim to always listen to our various stakeholders and purposefully deploy resources through initiatives like this one,” he said. “We are here in Mhondoro for the handover of a brand-new tractor, trailer, and farming implements to Shungu Dzevana Children’s Home as part of our efforts towards equipping this children’s home with the tools to augment the orphanage’s capabilities to ensure food security, agriculture productivity, sustainable market development, and sustainable income generation.”
Such initiatives are critical for investing in education, health, ICT, and a wide range of other fundamental needs that ensure the children and young people housed at this institution receive all the support they need.
In the face of extreme weather events that threaten lives and livelihoods, the FBC group executive said the banking institution was mindful of the fact that there are communities such as Shungu Dzevana who need support to strengthen their resilience and adaptive capacity to the effects of climate change.
“We are playing our part and we remain committed to this journey. Therefore, it is our sincere hope that this donation will go a long way in alleviating some of the challenges faced by this institution,” he said.
“We are pleased to note that the FBCH Group’s donation resonates with four (4) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) namely SDG 1 (No Poverty), SDG 2 (Zero Hunger), SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being) and SDG 10- Reduced inequalities.
“The donation is also in sync with the FBCH Group’s endeavour to promote sustainable and inclusive Development as well as facilitate sustainable transition to food self-sufficiency,” added Mr Nyakunuwa.
Shungu Dzevana Trust Children’s Home is an exceptional orphanage led by the visionary Sister Mercy Mutyambizi. She has transformed the orphanage into an agricultural hub to sustain the philanthropic organisation’s operations and empower children with agribusiness skills. Shungu Dzevana Children’s Home has produced doctors, engineers, nurses, and chartered accountants, among other professions.
Speaking after receiving the donation from FBC Holdings, Reverend Sister Mutyambizi expressed her gratitude to FBC Holdings for the donation.
“A warm and profound appreciation to FBC Holdings for the timely fulfilment of one of our long-standing dreams of mechanising our crop production projects, through their donation of a brand new tractor, its full set of implements and accessories – a plough, planter grass cutter disc harrow and scotch cart,” she said.
“A storage shed is to follow. As we strategically and deliberately edge towards progressive and sustainable development this donation will go a long way towards fulfilment of self-reliance and undoing of the begging bowl syndrome.
“FBC Holdings has shown us that there is a human face to a corporate vision and it’s the company’s soul that always connects instinctively with the social needs of the community,” said Rev Mutyambizi.
The FBC group has embarked on a group-wide Tree Planting Programme in a bid to build the group’s green track record in line with High Impact Goal 3, which articulates the group’s mandate to “Engender Environmental Protection and Climate Resilience”.
As part of this initiative, FBC board chair, Mr Herbert Nkala and group chief executive officer, Dr John Mushayavanhu, planted trees at Shungu Dzevana Children’s Home in order to demonstrate the group’s commitment to the environment and climate.
FBC Holdings is well-placed to foster creative and innovative ways of making a positive impact on the well-being of the local communities in which it serves. It is against this background that the organization always disburses funds towards sustainable, value-driven and mutually beneficial corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives in the fields of education, health, arts and culture, environment, and planet.
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