Story by Peter Chivhima
WARREN Park Six Primary School in Harare is the latest to benefit from the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) Community Assistance Week after the defence forces handed over a modern classroom block to the learning facility this Wednesday.
The days of hot-seating are now a thing of the past at Warren Park Six Primary School in Harare after the school received a modern double-storey classroom block, courtesy of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces.
The initiative is part of the ZDF Community Assistance Week, through which it supports communities with various developmental projects.
“I have my grandchildren here, so for me this is a huge development. Our children used to do hot-seating, but thanks to this classroom block, that’s no longer the case.
“As a parent, I’m very happy and grateful to the Zimbabwe Defence Forces for this gesture. It will help our children shine academically in this district.
“This project is a testimony to the ZDF’s commitment to uplift the communities it serves. It’s also a big relief to us parents who’ve been grappling with overcrowded classrooms,” community members said.
The Harare Metropolitan Province is equally impressed by the ZDF’s dedication to uplifting local communities.
“We want to thank the ZDF for the nobble gesture. This shows that they are committed to supporting us as Harare Province in Infrastructural Development,” said Harare Metropolitan Province permanent secretary, Mr Cosmas Chiringa.
Representing the Commander Zimbabwe Defence Forces, General Philip Valerio Sibanda, Commander of the Zimbabwe National Army, Lieutenant General Emmanuel Matatu, reaffirmed the ZDF’s commitment to supporting education and infrastructure development in line with vision 2030.
“The Zimbabwe Defence Forces remains committed not only to guaranteeing peace and stability for the citizens of Zimbabwe but also playing an active part in national development efforts, especially in the communities that surround our cantonment areas.
“Communities are a vital component of our existence, for in them is our cradle, our recruitment base and the haven to which we all retire. It is therefore imperative that we pay homage through corporate social responsibility programmes like the one we are witnessing today. This is in tandem with our secondary roles of military assistance to civil ministries and civil communities respectively,” he said.
As the annual ZDF Community Assistance Week rolls out, several community projects are expected to be handed over countrywide, cementing the defence forces’ role in national development.
