ISIZE – Just like many rural schools in the Zambezi Region, learners from Isize Combined School in Kabbe North Constituency for many years had to endure hardships of living at the school surroundings, where they had to pitch tents in order for them to be closer to school.
Other than not having ablution facilities, these learners had no proper accommodation as they have to pitch up tents which are normally bought in Chinese shops. However, their safety and wellbeing was not guaranteed as the tents are not user friendly.
When it is hot they are too hot, and when it is cold they are too cold, and when it is rainy season, their belongings were always destined to be soaked by water. However, all this will be things of the past after the school received a community hostel yesterday.
The hostel which accommodates 32 learners (16 boys and 16 girls) was constructed by Nexus Civils, the company which is busy constructing the multi-million Namalubi-Isize-Luhonono road, and was donated to the Ministry of Education, Arts and Culture as part of the company’s corporate social responsibility.
Speaking at the inauguration of the community hostel, the Deputy Minister of Works and Transport, James Sankwasa who was the initiator of the project, after he was touched by the condition in which learners were living in, called on the learners and the community at large to look after the hostel.
“I wish to request the learners to jealously guard the infrastructure against vandalism and ensure that the equipment in the hostel blocks will be used by many more generations to come,” he said. Sankwasa also thanked Nexus for ploughing back in the community, and called on other companies who always received government tenders to emulate the generosity of
Nexus.
“We have many other big companies that have been receiving big tenders from government but never ploughed their momentous profits back to the community where such tenders were executed. I must send a clear message to all those would be tenders that time for ploughing back into the community has come and is now,” said Sankwasa.
In his remarks, the Managing Director of Nexus Deon Verster pointed out the company believes in investing in the country and the community in particular.
“We are proud to be part of the solution to the accommodation at this school,” he said.