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Pamela Shumba Senior Reporter
THE First Lady Cde Grace Mugabe yesterday donated 30,000 bricks and 300 bags of cement to Mpopoma High School in Bulawayo for the construction of an Advanced Level classroom block. The consignment was sourced from Zinara and handed over to the school authorities by Vice President Phelekezela Mphoko.

Businessman Andre Zietsman of Bitumen World also donated borehole equipment to the school. The ceremony was attended by a high powered delegation comprising Ministers, Deputy Ministers, senior government officials, MPs and senior officials from Zinara.

Speaking at the ceremony, VP Mphoko commended Zinara for assisting the First Lady to make the school’s dream for an A-Level come true.

“I want to thank the First Lady for taking note of the request by Mpopoma High School. I also want to thank Zinara for assisting the First Lady in fulfilling the wish of the school to commence their construction projects.

“I’m happy that the school is doing well and recording good results at all levels.

“I want to thank the authorities of the school for trying to maintain the old infrastructure and working hard to improve the standards of the school,” said VP Mphoko.

He emphasised the need for the students to concentrate on their studies and desist from going to South Africa.

“Zimbabwe is our home and that will never change. We must work together to revive the economy of this country. Students must therefore concentrate on their studies and make sure that they work for the country for the benefit of generations to come. Going to South Africa is not the solution because there’s no life there. Let’s work together for our own country,” said VP Mphoko.

Bulawayo provincial education director Dan Moyo expressed gratitude to the First Lady for the donation, saying the school is old and needs to be renovated

“We’re grateful to the First Lady for remembering one of our schools in Bulawayo. Mpopoma was built in 1959, becoming one of the first schools to be built in Bulawayo. With an enrolment of 2,016 students, there is a need for renovations and modern facilities to link well with the new curriculum,” said Moyo.

The school headmaster, Christopher Dube, said the donation would go a long way in improving standards and making sure that STEM is efficiently implemented in the school.

“This is great and we’re really grateful. This school is going to rise to greater heights in the sense that we want to develop it and enrol more students. We want to make sure that as we build more classrooms, we make sure that we cater for STEM.

“This will help our students to be technologically advanced and prepared for the industry and the world of employment. We’ve been motivated to do more,” said Dube.