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Andile Tshuma, Chronicle Reporter
AN international volunteer organisation has partnered with the Government and The Seventh Day Adventist Church to build 50 schools in vulnerable communities across the country.

Maranatha Volunteers International has already built 23 schools while two more schools are under construction in Figtree and Doma.

Maranatha Volunteers International North American Division Director, who is responsible for Zimbabwean Projects, Mr David Woods, said the organisation has been building schools, churches and working on other community projects in Zimbabwe since 2011.

“We are a responsive ministry. We partnered with the Seventh Day Adventist Church to assess needs and assist communities whenever we can. We came to Zimbabwe five years ago and I was working in Zimbabwe at the time. We started work in 2012 and build our first school Bulawayo’s Nketa 9 suburb, Maranatha Primary School,” said Mr Woods.

“We have drilled more than 75 boreholes and repaired more that 80 that were dysfunctional in communities countrywide.”

He said his organisation buys most of the materials it uses for projects from local companies as part of efforts to support the growth of local industry.

“We support local industry by buying our materials locally and this way we believe we are contributing to employment creation.We recently ordered material for the construction of 25 churches that we are going to build around the province. We want to make life comfortable by providing infrastructure for people,” said Mr Woods.

Some of the recently constructed schools are in Nyazura, Gwanda, Doma and Victoria Falls.

Mr Woods said they will soon start work in Kwekwe after they got land to build a school.

“Our work impacts communities, we recently built Munga Secondary School in Masvingo to service five primary schools. The impact is great, the response we get from communities is touching and our school is operating at full capacity.”

The Seventh Day Adventist church in Zimbabwe communication director Dr Felix Njini said he appreciated the support that the church got from Government to work in communities. “We appreciate the collaboration that is going on and the support that we are receiving from Government,” said Dr Njini.—@andile_tshuma.