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Tendai Gukutikwa
Post Correspondent
TO help improve conditions for pupils while also contributing immensely towards the containment of Covid-19, a local development partner has donated furniture worth US$7 000 to five schools and three clinics in Manicaland.
Furniture donated included school desks, chairs, electric hospital beds and other hospital equipment like crutches, syringes, uniforms for hospital staff and patients as well as Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) among a variety of others.
Receiving the donations from Development Aid from People to People (DAPP) on Wednesday, Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Nokuthula Matsikenyeri said the school furniture would help in enhancing comfortable learning and ensuring that there was adequate prevention of the spread of Covid-19 in schools.
Schools that received the donation include Sagambe, Makwara and Nemaramba primary schools as well as Pafiwa Mutasa Secondary School, while Sakupwanya, Mutasa and Hlabiso clinics received hospital equipment and furniture.
The schools and clinics are dotted across Mutasa and Chimanimani districts.
Minister Matsikenyeri said the furniture would also go a long way in ensuring that the pupils sit for their examinations comfortably while practising social distancing without hindering them from performing at their best.
“Covid-19 has disrupted normal life, and this has led to the disruption in education and health institutions. Social distancing is being encouraged everywhere, but school children cannot practise it in class when there is no adequate furniture.
“The donation will surely improve learning for pupils from Sagambe and Makwara as some of them were practically having lessons while sitting on makeshift benches. We had fears that this would disturb their concentration during examination time, so the donation has come at the most opportune time,” she said.
DAPP country director, Mr Luckson Soda said the Recycle for Development donation was an annual gift to the people of Zimbabwe from DAPP and its Danish partner, UFF Humana.
“It is an agreement that we have with UFF Humana that every year they go into different education and health institutions in Denmark where they find some good furniture for donation to our clinics and schools.
“We realised that during this period of Covid-19, a lot of gaps in terms of shortages of apparatus to use in health and education institutions was the order of the day.
‘‘The plight of pupils at Sagambe and Makwara primary schools caught our attention as it was painful seeing school children learning while sitting on the ground,” he said.
He also said DAPP was working with local authorities in other districts to identify areas that are lacking and need help with donations.
Sagambe Primary School head, Mr Evans Mwaturura, said furniture challenges were disrupting lessons at the school as it has an enrolment of more than 1 500 pupils.
“The efforts by DAPP are greatly appreciated. Some of our pupils were actually learning while seated on the ground, and some on makeshift benches. We are glad that through this donation, we have managed to bridge the gap that existed between ours and pupils in other schools.
“Most importantly, our pupils will also be able to write their exams comfortably,” he said.
The donation also included bicycles for farmers in Mutasa District.
Online Reporter