Story by Tafara Chikumira
THE government has commissioned the Musilahobe sustainable and affordable boarding facilities to be used by the girl child in Silobela.
The boarding facilities, which are the second of such facilities in Kwekwe district can accommodate up to 32 girls who have reached the adolescence stage as they are meant to protect them from social ills.
The National AIDS Council (NAC), which is spearheading the construction of the facilities on behalf of the government, says it is targeting Kwekwe district in the initial phase after it emerged that the area has become the new HIV hotspot in the Midlands province.
“Kwekwe is one of the hotspot districts in the country and when it comes to the province it has the highest number of people living with HIV and AIDS and it also leads on new infections. It has 435 infections per year according to our 2024 HIV estimates, where you find 275 are women which also include adolescent girls and young women. Kwekwe is a mining area which attracts artisanal miners and prostitution is rife as there are also truck drivers hence, our girls are exposed to HIV infections and these facilities are meant to protect them from exposure,” said NAC’s Midlands provincial manager, Mr Mambeu Shumba.
The community is excited by the positive change that the facilities have brought in the growth of their children on the academic and social side.
A parent said, “My child has witnessed some positive change in her academics since she started staying here. We would labour her at home with household chores which made it difficult for her to concentrate on her school work and now we are excited by what is happening in her studies.”
“I am a happy parent following the establishment of such facilities. The future is now looking bright for my child. We were living in fear that she might not finish her schoolwork. However, she is currently writing her Ordinary Level examinations and we look forward to her going to university,” said another parent.
“I am so delighted to be staying at such a facility where I am enjoying my studies without disturbances. Ever since I got to stay here, my results have improved and I am so happy,” noted a student.
The government has expressed full support to the project, which is meant to protect the girl child as it feeds into the national blueprint the National Development Strategy 1.
“Today’s occasion marks yet another notable milestone achievement by the Second Republic under the visionary and able leadership of President Mnangagwa, as we pursue broad-based rural industrialisation that transforms the livelihoods of communities, particularly the girl child, through the provision of quality and affordable educational infrastructure. The boarding facilities are not just physical structures, they represent the unwavering determination by the Second Republic to ensure that every child, regardless of their circumstances, accesses quality education and a secure and conducive environment to advance their careers,” said the Midlands Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Honourable Owen Ncube.
The boarding facilities, which were made possible through funding from the United Nations Development Fund, working together with Plan International prove the success story of the Second Republic’s engagement and re-engagement efforts, while NAC provided solar-powered boreholes and also erected security fences at the schools.
