HARARE – Students at Nyamweda Primary School are now proud owners of a chicken run and over 100 chickens donated by the Ezra Foundation.
By Staff Reporter
Ms Melonia Munemo, founder of the Ezra Foundation, said the project is aimed at improving the livelihoods and food security of students by creating income-generating opportunities and capacity-building.
The intention is to get students in rural arears to rear poultry on a semi-intensive scale so that they are able to earn some money and also supplement their dietary requirements, ultimately elevating their living standards,” she said.
The foundation, which helps underprivileged children, particularly orphans, with basic school supplies and other school necessities so they can attend school with confidence, donated money which was used to purchase building materials as well as the construction of the chicken run that houses over 800 birds.
Following the completion of the chicken enclosure, Ezra Foundation also chipped in with more than 100 day-old chicks, water bottles, feeders and feed.
Munemo urged the students to use the poultry project as an opportunity to learn entrepreneurship skills and fight poverty.
“Having students tutored on embracing poultry production and consumption will have far reaching chicken rearing culture within the communities,” she said, adding that trained students will also transfer knowledge to their parents.
Nyamweda Primary school Headmaster Luckmore Mudzviti expressed confidence that the poultry project will go a long way in meeting some of the school’s needs.
“We need to complement our computers by upgrading the software for usability by the learners. Whatever small or big profits that will be realised from chicken sales will be directed towards finding gadgets such as a printer and projector that complement the laptops. A photocopier and printer usually work together to ease on printing needs of the school,” he said.
This was after the Ezra Foundation recently donated 15 laptops to the school to align rural students with international educational trends.
Mr Mudzviti added that proceeds will also be used to buy chicken layers to work hand in hand with broilers to ensure consistence and diversity which attracts a wider scope in business.
“The school will also get some cushion from poor revenue collection. And once the poultry project is up and running, we will be in a position to procure stationary, textbooks, balls for sport and various goods for our prize giving day,” he said.
