MUD SCHOOL GETS FACELIFT

News
THE Japanese embassy and World Vision have come to the rescue of Mateteni villagers in the Bubi district of Matabeleland North by building a brand new primary school at a cost of $112 039.

THE Japanese embassy and World Vision have come to the rescue of Mateteni villagers in the Bubi district of Matabeleland North by building a brand new primary school at a cost of $112 039.

Molo Primary School
Molo Primary School

STAFF REPORTER

Japan’s ambassador to Zimbabwe Yoshinobu Hiraishi officially handed over the newly-built Molo Primary School to Primary and Secondary Education deputy minister Paul Mavhima and the community on Wednesday replacing the mud structures that were serving as classrooms.

Parents had built the mud school comprising three huts in 2006 to save their children from walking for more than 20km to the nearest school after they were resettled in the area.

Mateteni had never had a school since independence in 1980.

The grass thatched mud school’s roofs had collapsed and one hut had its walls partially destroyed by the heavy rains that lashed the country at the beginning of this year.

The mud school was beyond repair and there was no furniture in the hut classrooms and children had to sit on the floor when attending lessons often exposing them to the elements.

The pupils were exposed to the severe cold weather during winter and endured the scorching summer heat.

They could not attend school during the rainy season as there was nowhere for the pupils and teachers to shelter.

By building brand new classroom blocks, the Japanese embassy and World Vision ensured that both pupils and teachers would no longer endure the seasonal weather elements which made it almost impossible to learn.

Their intervention created a congenial atmosphere for effective teaching and learning to improve the quality of life and education of the pupils and teachers.

The new school is also set to contribute to the Mateteni community’s constitutional right to dignity as every child has a right to basic education.