09 Nov 2017

Some tourism companies in the Chobe District have been hailed for responding positively to the Adopt-A-School initiative, which aims to facilitate public and private sector participation in the delivery of quality education in public schools.

Chobe District Council chairperson, Mr Paul Chabaesele hailed the tourism sector during a handover ceremony of a mini-bus to Mabele Primary School, which was bought by Muchenje Safari Lodge recently.

The bus will be used to transport pupils from places such as Muchenje and Mawana, who travels five kilometres to school.

The chairperson expressed concern over the distance travelled by pupils to access education and noted that the donation came at the right time as it would also advance the education system in general.

He said it was the council’s intention to see more partners coming on board to improve accessibility of children to schools, especially to those residing in hard to reach areas.

Mr Chabaesele urged other companies to emulate efforts made by Muchenje Safari Lodge towards shaping the future of the young ones, noting that it was wise to assist the community they operated within.

He said the business community should understand that their business survival was in the hands on the community, hence the need to assist where necessary.

He also assured the donors that they would take care of the donation and ensure its good use as it was the pride of the school. “We will indeed guard jealously against the bus,” he stressed.

The manager of Muchenje Safari Lodge, Mr Toff Hill said they found it fit to donate the bus to the school and the Mabele community as part of their corporate social responsibility.

He said the donation came at the right time when their lodge celebrated 21^st anniversary, adding that the tourism sector was not only aimed at creating jobs, making profits and contributing to the economy, but it also played a huge role in directly benefiting schools and the community at large.

He expressed appreciation for the community’s role in growing the tourism sector, hence they assisted where they could.

Mr Hill assured the school management that they would take care of the bus operations. 

He also appealed to the school management to take care of the bus, noting that they would only transfer it to be a school asset if they notice proper care.

For her part, the education director, Ms Lillian Metshameko commended Muchenje Safari lodge and Bushways, who have heeded the government call and demonstrated that they were keen partners in meeting the education needs.

She expressed gratitude for their noble gesture, whose aim was to transport learners to and from school.

In addition, she said the donation would go a long way in improving the performance of the school and Chobe region as a whole.

“This initiative came at a time when there is a wide felt concern on the declining of learner achievement as evidenced by the results for the past two years in schools generally,” she added.

Ms Metshameko revealed that transporting learners would help to address issues of late coming and also motivate and stimulate learners’ desire to like school and produce quality results.

The Adopt-A-School initiative, she said, was producing positive results and called other partners to come on board. ENDS