Online Reporter
Thupeyo Muleya-Beitbridge Bureau
THE Zimborders Consortium, which in partnership with the Government modernised the Beitbridge Border Post at a cost of US$300 million, has continued to extend support to enhance social services in Beitbridge district.
Yesterday they handed over an assortment of packages to two orphanages that take care of victims of irregular migration, sexual and gender based violence.
The packages include food hampers and clothes and the organisation will next week be handing over shoes and other consumables for school going children in selected areas across the district.
This is in addition to 13 mobile science laboratories they recently donated to selected secondary schools in rural Beitbridge and a package of 100 bicycles to address a host of challenges affecting the education of the girl child in the district.
Beitbridge has 19 official secondary schools and before the latest development, only five of the learning facilities had science laboratories.
It is also envisaged that the bicycles are meant to address challenges to do with learners dropping out of school because of the long distance they have to walk to access the nearest facility.
The mobile science labs, which were manufactured at the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), were sourced by Raubex Construction, the construction agent of the Zimborders Consortium.
Zimborders Consortium shareholders’ representatives Mr Trevor Ncalo said besides the ongoing material donations they are making to improve social protection issues in the district, the organisation has also constructed a new fire station, a new sewer oxidation dam, a 11,4 mega litres water reservoir, 220 housing units for border agencies and the animal and plant quarantine centre within the town.
“These infrastructure development facilities have had a huge social impact on the community of Beitbridge in terms of improving critical service delivery,” said Mr Ncalo.
“As we continue making an impact in this community guided by the Government of Zimbabwe, we are now helping to build the capacity of organisations such as orphanages and children’s homes so that they may be able to deliver on their mandate.
“So, we are distributing food hampers and clothing and an assortment of products to them starting with Takalani Children’s Home and Khayalethemba Orphanage and we are looking at extending a helping hand to Beitbridge Mission Primary school which has boarding facilities for disabled children and another orphanage catering for rural children in the Zezani area”.
During the border transformation project, the Beitbridge community presented to Zimborders a number of priority projects which the organisation is now implementing in phases across the district.
Most of the projects included the improvement of social protection programmes, water infrastructure and the improvement of the teaching of science related subjects through the creation of permanent and mobile science laboratories.
Mr Ncalo said the consortium was also running a school shoes project which will see a lot of disadvantaged school going children receiving donations starting next week.
“We have also engaged into a partnership with the Safe Haven which provides safety nets for victims of gender based violence in the town or during the course of migration through this area,” he added.
Zimborders Consortium general manager Mr Nqobile Ncube said the organisation was complementing the Government in achieving social security issues as the National Development Strategy 2 kicks in.
“We have heard the needs that come with the general upkeep of children in such facilities. Zimborders is cognisant that we are now moving from NDS1 to NDS2 and that the pillars are shifting to social security issues. So, we take note that there is a bigger task placed on bigger corporations in terms of making sure children are in school and have the basic needs among other social protection issues and hence we are moving along as a bigger corporation with the NDS2 as outlined by the Government”, said Mr Ncube.
Founder of Takalani Children’s Home, Mrs Florence Ncube, said they were grateful for the support from the Government through its partner Zimborders Consortium.
At the moment the facility is taking care of children from different backgrounds aged between 10 months and 15 years.
