“DAPP Zimbabwe subscribes to the National Constitution which gives every child the right to quality education and that can only be achieved through providing a highly conducive and pleasant learning environment.” This was said by DAPP Zimbabwe’s Operations Director Mathias Paradzai at the official handover of completed school facilities at Chemhondoro Secondary School in Shamva District recently.
The facilities’ development was spearheaded by DAPP Zimbabwe through a $72,947 grant from the Government of Japan which saw the completion of a new classroom block and two teachers’ houses, refurbishment of an incomplete classroom block and ablution block. The school was also provided with desks and chairs for 121 students and four teachers.
Speaking at this occasion Mathias Paradzai commended the Japanese Embassy for not only investing in classroom blocks but in teacher accommodation. “We deliberately included the teacher’s accommodation so that the teachers stay motivated to deliver their best to change these students’ future. It remains an issue that most qualified teachers opt to teach in urban areas due to accommodation challenges in rural and small cities” He added that prioritizing teacher accommodation needs improve education in Zimbabwe
Speaking on the same occasion the ambassador of Japan to Zimbabwe H.E. Mr Toshiyuki Iwado, said that Japan attached great importance to basic education as a foundation for development. He hoped that, with the the improved facilities, the girls and boys students at Chemhondoro would learn better, and that those currently out of school would now attend school. He also praised the community, who had started to build one of the classroom blocks and the ablution block through their own efforts, and who contributed much time and effort to the project.
The Project for Improvement of the Educational Environment at Chemhondoro Secondary School is part of the wider Grant Assistance for Grassroots and Human Security Projects which launched in Zimbabwe in 1989