STAFF WRITER
AT LEAST 15 schools in Mangwe district, Matabeleland South province received a lifeline after the Zimbabwe Red Cross Society (ZRCS) unveiled a disaster risk management capacities and community resilience project.
The project, which is in its second phase, is being supported by the Finnish Red Cross, Belgium Red Cross and the European Commission Humanitarian Aid Office.
The project is running under the theme, Resilience through Disaster Response Management: Comprehensive School Safety.
A school head at Vaka primary school, Abigail Chateuka said the project was an eye opener with regards to disaster management.
“We are grateful with the knowledge that we got under this programme as it really opened our minds with regards to disaster risk reduction.
“It never came into our minds that minor things like broken window panes, broken asbestos, potholes on the floor and other small things could be hazardous,” Chateuka said.
Some of the schools that are benefiting include Vaka primary, Kwite primary, Maninji primary, Maninji secondary, Ivimila secondary, Tjingababili primary, Nguwanyana primary, Makuzeze primary, Mqokolweni primary, Madabe primary, Khahlu primary among others.
Ward 2 councilor Benjamin Ndlovu who is also in the school disaster response committee said the project was a life saver to the local communities.
“Red Cross has done a lot in reaching out to communities as far as disaster reduction management is concerned. We have learnt the importance of avoiding hazards through training and we have taken some of this knowledge to the communities.
“We have identified the hazards and we are now working on finding ways on how best we can reduce them,” Ndlovu said.
Mangwe Rural District Council chief executive officer Bongani Ngwenya said the project has changed the face of Mangwe.
“We want to thank the Red Cross for the job well done under this disaster risk management programme. They have done a lot to improve children’s safety in the schools they are implementing their programme. They have built a foot bridge at Kahlu, they have rehabilitated classroom blocks, reroofed classroom blocks and built girl-child toilets, among other projects.”
ZRCS secretary-general Elias Hwenga said the project has been successful.
“The comprehensive school safety project has been piloted in Mangwe district since the inception of phase one in 2018.
“The project has a national outlook where the ZRCS is working closely with key government stakeholders to advocate for the increased adoption and embracement of disaster risk reduction in schools,” Hwenga said.
“The schools were selected through a consultative process with the district civil protection committee composed of other key stakeholders like the district development coordinator’s office, Magwe RDC and the district schools inspector’s office.”
