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Thupeyo Muleya – [email protected]

WORLD Vision Zimbabwe has poured US$33 000 into the construction of a classroom block and the upgrading of water and sanitation facilities in Beitbridge East to complement Government’s thrust of creating child-friendly schools.

The organisation’s Matibe Area Development Program has so far completed the construction of a classroom block at Tshaswingo Primary School in Ward 4.

World Vision manager for Matibe cluster, Mrs Pretty Dube said they were complementing Government which is already improving learning facilities.

She said they had noted that Tshaswingo school had challenges of having poor infrastructure.

“The classrooms are dilapidated and inhabitable. In order to ensure that children have access to quality education one classroom block has been constructed,” said Mrs Dube.

“In addition, the area is also prone to termites hence we have introduced the steel frame structure. This will go a long way to ensure that the building is durable, will even resist the impact associated with hailstorm that normally damage infrastructure. A total of 643 children are to benefit in the long run.”

She said they have opted for the construction of climate resilient infrastructure after witnessing the effects of related disasters recently.

Mrs Dube said this year they had focused on the construction of one block with two classrooms.

She said they are also constructing teachers’ cottages at Tshabili Secondary whose construction they sponsored in the past two years.

“We are also going to buy furniture for the new classroom block at Tshaswingo,” added the official.

“In terms of water and sanitation, we have drilled two boreholes and solar mechanised them at Limpopo and Shashe schools in Ward 8. Two more boreholes have been drilled at Fula and Gadakasame, but they are yet to be mechanised”.

She said they will continue complementing Government in various sectors to uplift people’s lives.

So far the organisation has helped communities to build Langeni Primary, Masera, Malala and Tshabili secondary schools.

The construction of more schools, follows an appeal by local traditional leaders, Chief Stauze (Beitbridge West) and

(Beitbridge East) who urged development players to increase funding on education related projects.

They said the few satellite schools which had been opened across the district were not enough to cater for the ever-growing population.

Government, through the devolution funds, has also constructed two new schools, Nhovhe primary in ward 10 and a new primary school in Beitbridge town in ward 4 in the last three years.

In a recent interview, Beitbridge East legislator, Cde Albert Nguluvhe challenged Government and luminaries born in the area to pool resources to establish boarding schools and construct science laboratories.

He said the area has an acute shortage of standard educational facilities much to the disadvantage of school going children.

Cde Nguluvhe said in some cases children were travelling more than 15km to access educational facilities, especially secondary schools. —@tupeyo