Feature: Chinese-invested firm donates classroom blocks to Zimbabwean school

A teacher teaches mathematics at Vhuta Primary School in Goromonzi District, Zimbabwe, Dec. 7, 2022. (Photo by Tafara Mugwara/Xinhua)

GOROMONZI, Zimbabwe, Dec. 8 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese-invested company has handed over two blocks of classrooms and furniture to a local school as part of its corporate social responsibility initiatives to improve local education.

The donation on Wednesday by Prospect Lithium Zimbabwe, a subsidiary of Zhejiang Huayou Cobalt, was for the Vhuta Primary School in Goromonzi District near Harare, Zimbabwe's capital. The company also donated a refurbished classroom block, teachers' residences, school furniture, and textbooks to other surrounding schools.

A teacher walks with her students outside a classroom at Vhuta Primary School in Goromonzi District, Zimbabwe, Dec. 7, 2022. (Photo by Tafara Mugwara/Xinhua)

Before the construction and refurbishment of the school blocks, the Vhuta Primary School was facing a shortage of conducive learning space, thereby affecting children's education and well-being.

Hillary Manyanga, a teacher in charge of Vhuta Primary School, said the donation will go a long way in improving the quality of education at the school.

"We are so grateful for this gesture because previously we were sort of doing a composite class whereby about three grades would share one classroom, but now our children have their own classrooms each grade," Manyanga told Xinhua.

Students are seen in a classroom at Vhuta Primary School in Goromonzi District, Zimbabwe, Dec. 7, 2022. (Photo by Tafara Mugwara/Xinhua)

In addition, she said the new classrooms and furniture will provide children with a healthy learning environment. "Children were crawling in the dust but now each one has a chair and a desk."

A student at the school, eleven-year-old Tawananyasha Zingunde, said the improved infrastructure will make concentrating on studies easier.

"I am happy because of the classrooms that were built for us and the donation of desks. We are now learning in a conducive environment," Zingunde said.

Trevor Barnard, Prospect Lithium's Deputy General Manager, said the donation is one of the company's initiatives to work with locals where the company operates.

A student writes on a black board during a mathematics class at Vhuta Primary School in Goromonzi District, Zimbabwe, Dec. 7, 2022. (Photo by Tafara Mugwara/Xinhua)

Barnard said the company is involved in improving and upgrading health services in the area and building of local roads and bridges.

Minister of State for Mashonaland East Province Apollonia Munzverengi commended the investors for playing their part in developing the community. "I am delighted by the initiative the company has taken, which is a strong show of commitment by the investors to work harmoniously with the community."

Munzverengi commended the company for its comprehensive social responsibility initiatives that cover areas of health, water and satiation, as well as infrastructure development to serve the surrounding community.