adminConrad Mupesa
Mashonaland West Bureau
PRIVATE companies continue to heed President Mnangagwa’s call for all Zimbabweans to play their part in building their country in line with the mantra, “Nyika inovakwa nevene vayo/ Ilizwe lakhiwa ngabanikazi balo” mantra.
Infrastructure development is being advanced for the attainment Vision 2030 of an empowered upper-middle income society.
Through their involvement with the Government and community, private companies have transformed the lives of people in the rural areas.
One such organisations is Carbon Green Africa, which partnered the community in local development initiatives in Hurungwe District. The firm has transformed the lives of people in the community, including students at Chikova Secondary School.
School Development Committee chairman Mr Lovemore Kanovava recently said they received a solar-powered borehole and a 147 000-litre tank for their water needs and garden projects. Chikova Secondary School is in Hurungwe North Constituency. It has also benefited from gutters that collect rainwater to add to a separate tank to supplement the borehole supplies.
The tank also fills up with rain water and serves six villages with over 2 000 households and a community nutritional garden.
“Schoolchildren no longer endure long distances in search of water. This is also helping the nearby Chikova Primary school and the surrounding communities; people are driving from as far as Kazangarare township,” said Mr Kanovava.
Ms Chioniso Bviki, a member of the Mother Support Group that is helping school children in market gardening, said the initiative will improve the health of children and uplift the lives of vulnerable children.
“I am one of the Mother Support Group members. We work together with the school children in this nutritional garden, and we use our proceeds to support vulnerable children in our community,” said Ms Bviki.
Several villages in the Hurungwe District also have community gardens that are empowering women after boreholes were established. Women’s groups have successfully grown maize, sunflower, sugar beans, cowpeas, and sorghum for sale and for their nutritional needs.
Kuyanana Garden chairperson, Ms Regina Mapfumo, said they had raised enough money from the sale of green maize. “We are now looking for assistance in finding the market for our sunflower; the sorghum is for our families’ consumption,” she said.
Gogo Prisca Nyamazana, a member of the nutritional garden group, said they were now able to pay school fees for their children while also fighting hunger at household level.
Carbon Green Africa managing director, Mr Charles Ndondo, said: “This garden belongs to a community called Charlie Village. Women in this area asked for a garden after noticing a similar project at Tashinga Village, but there was no water so we had to sink a borehole.
“But what is very important is that it is a project for women as we can all agree that women are important in a family unit.”
Online Reporter