ZPCS boss brings cheer to the needy

Precious Manomano, Herald Reporter

THE Zimbabwe Prisons and Correctional Service (ZPCS), through the Commissioner-General’s Goodwill Trust Fund, yesterday made a donation vulnerable members of the community, officers and their dependants.

The items worth over US$5 000 consisted of sunscreen lotions for officers with albinism, groceries for an officer whose house was damaged by fire in Mashonaland Central, two wheelchairs and four stretcher beds for Chikurubi and Khami staff hospitals and one wheelchair for a child with disability.

Speaking during the handover ceremony in Harare yesterday, ZPCS Comm-Gen Moses Chihobvu said the fund plans to construct additional classroom blocks at Khami Prison Primary and Secondary schools and Chikurubi Secondary School. Improving school infrastructure was crucial to creating a conducive learning environment.

“We are proud of the notable achievements made by the fund. This initiative is in line with the Government’s educational policy aimed at improving the provision of quality education for all learners,” he said.

“Previously, many of our day scholars had to travel long distances for education, which adversely affected their performance.

“We must embrace the establishment of our own schools to continuously improve educational standards, a goal well within our reach if we commit ourselves.”

Comm-Gen Chihobvu said the fund would assist disabled persons including amputees, by providing artificial limbs and ankle-foot orthoses.

The initiative was introduced in 2011 with the aim of improving the health of beneficiaries within the organisation, after realising the hardships faced by children and spouses of correctional officers after their loved ones’ demise or incapacitation.

The fund also constructed a classroom block at Mutare Farm Prison Primary School and many projects are generating capital.

So far, the fund has assisted 418 orphans and disadvantaged children, with 269 completing their education.

Presently, 150 orphans are being supported with scholarships across primary, secondary and tertiary education.

Plans are underway to construct a boarding school.

ZPCS correctional officer Maria Magedhi thanked Comm-Gen Chihobvu after receiving a cerebral pulse wheelchair for her six-year old son.

She said it will go a long way in assisting the boy move freely  from one place to another.

“I am grateful. Words alone cannot describe my joy towards this donation. It was difficult for me to carry a six-year-old on my back.

“You have helped me a lot and I am positive that my child’s life will improve,” she said.

Commissioner-General’s Goodwill Trust Fund is an initiative to mobilise resources for disadvantaged communities.