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Talent Chimutambgi Herald Reporter
SOUTHERTON Constituency Community Development Trust (SCCDT) has constructed a US$10 000, 500 square-metre greenhouse at Ruvimbo Special School to boost its coffers and alleviate its financial woes.
The school, which was established in 1960 and is one of the seven special schools in Harare that caters and trains children who are physically and intellectually challenged, is currently operating on a shoestring budget.
Pupils at the school are being trained in various disciplines, which include horticulture, carpentry, sewing and knitting.
The construction of the greenhouse was financed by the trust through the support of local corporates.
The trust said the comprehensive project has several advantages for the pupils: it promotes healthy eating, offers recreational activities in the fresh air, and being engaged in outside activities together reduces loneliness.
It will also assist the children to learn how to grow their own vegetables. Preparations for the construction of a similar greenhouse at Lochnivar Junior school are at an advanced stage.
The construction of the greenhouse was the first part of a more comprehensive plan to establish an outdoor recreation area at the school. The project will be officially opened at a later date.
The school’s headmistress, Mrs Hellen Mandisodza, said the project was a timely intervention for them as it will help alleviate a myriad of challenges that they are facing and enable them to concentrate on their core business of taking care of intellectually and physically challenged pupils.
“We are very happy because this project will supplement our income and we will be in a position to meet the needs of the school,” she said.
“We are having a litany of challenges emanating from poor funding. The proceeds from this project will enhance our operations as we are operating under a shoestring budget.
“Our bus is now old and at times it cannot complete the four trips needed to ferry pupils to and from school. We want the children to come to school as we need them to acquire skills in various areas.”
Mt Carmel Institute of Business and Economic Intelligence Principal Professor Lovemore Gunduza, whose organisation is involved in the project, said he was impressed by the development insisting the success of the project would augment cash flows at the special school.
“I am very impressed because the success of the project is the manifestation of hard work emanating from the desire to implement the theory into practical. As an Institute we expect to be the cradle for business intelligence and churn out students that do practical rather than theory,” said Prof Gunduza.
He pointed out that there are multiple benefits to this project “Not only will this help keep the pupils healthy, strong and active, but it will also give them the opportunity to grow their own plants and vegetables as well as acquiring skills that they will use outside the institution,” he said.
“When we are imparting knowledge, we appreciate when this knowledge is taken to build the constituency for life changing,” he said.
Speaking during the tour of the greenhouse site, SCCDT chairman who is Zanu PF Shadow Member of Parliament for Southerton Constituency, Cde Andrew Makahamadze, said he was embracing President Mnangagwa’s call for encompassing everyone despite their social, political and economic status.
He said he was emulating the First Lady Amai Auxillia Mnangagwa who is also the country’s health ambassador and is currently involved in various philanthropic work.
“As SCCDT we are harnessing business and communities for development. This is how we are delivering our mandate as a trust organising corporates to assist communities,” he said. “We chose Ruvimbo Special School for children living with disabilities because it dovetails with President Mnangagwa’s call for living no one, no place behind.”
“We also want to ensure that the goodness of our Visionary President can be seen from all angles to ensure that the 5 million plus votes are garnered in 2023.
“The words of the President to encompass everyone in all programmes fall under the cluster of the disadvantaged people. This is the reason why we made Ruvimbo our first port of call in this Greenhouse construction project and these are going to benefit a lot of people especially in the Southerton Constituency.”
Cde Makahamadze is a Master of Science Business Intelligence student at Mt Carmel Institute of Business and Economic Intelligence, which had a reputation of churning out reputable business people in the country and beyond.
He said the project was a manifestation of what he had learnt at the institution.
“We have also signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Mount Carmel Institute of Business and Economic Intelligence.
“We are bringing theory into practice since we not only ceased with theory or semantics but we practiced what we learnt. Southerton Constituency has been chosen to be a lab for Mt Carmel School and we are going to see the manifestation of the knowledge we acquired at the institute,” he said.
Mr Makahamadze said the trust was hosting a golf tournament at Warren Hills Golf Club to raise funds for various life-transforming projects.
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