Online Reporter
Zimpapers Reporter
OVER 200 children at Zimkids Care Centre in Pumula North, Bulawayo, recently received a Christmas treat from a local company, Hualin Quarry, which donated an assortment of goods as the festive mood gathers momentum.
The care centre provides a daily feeding scheme for children of all ages and also accommodates teenagers at tertiary education level. In addition, the centre offers vocational training and pays school fees for a number of underprivileged children from the suburb and Ward 17 as a whole.
“Zimkids is a day care centre that caters for orphans and underprivileged children. They are given meals when they come here. You find all age groups here, and we have a lot of teenagers as well. We pay school fees for many of them in primary and secondary school. We take those who have completed high school for vocational training so that they acquire life skills to sustain their livelihoods,” said Mr Tinashe Basa, director of Zimkids.
The centre pays tuition fees for students who want to study in public institutions, while some are trained in-house in areas like solar installation, dress making, cooking and baking, gardening, farming, music, video production, hotel and catering and building.
He added that the centre also offers medical assistance, as some children who attend the centre were born with HIV.
“We are a day care centre, and children come here from 8 am to 5 pm. They are provided with food, training for life skills, and young kids not yet ready for school spend the day playing around the centre. We also have a pre-school here. At the end of the day, they go back home to their families or extended families. We don’t want them to lose that sense of being part of their families and their communities. We also give food hampers to their families every month so that these kids get food at home for supper with their families,” said Mr Basa.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Ward 17 Councillor Sikhululekile Moyo expressed gratitude to Hualin Quarry for its continued generosity, noting that the company has been donating Christmas hampers to vulnerable families since 2022.
“Hualin Quarry has played a significant role in community development, including assisting with road repairs, donating water kiosks to five schools, and paying school fees for several children from underprivileged families,” said Councillor Moyo.
Hualin Quarry Public Relations Officer, Mr Ayibongwe Moyo, said the company enjoyed cordial relations with the community and would continue providing both material and financial support to vulnerable groups.
“The food hampers comprised mealie-meal, sugar, cooking oil, and juice,” he said.
The programme has been running for the past four years, with the aim of ensuring
that everyone enjoys the Christmas period.
“We are not just a business; we are part of the community,” Mr Moyo added.
