The Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter-Day Saints in partnership with the Government yesterday commissioned a fully furnished classroom block at Johanna Fuyana Primary School in Umguza District.
Named after the late vice President, Dr Joshua Nkomo’s wife, the school which has an enrollment of 169 learners and five teachers, now has three classroom blocks which shelter ECD up to grade 7 learners.
The donation from the church dates back to 2017 when they drilled a borehole and installed a water pump.
In 2019 they also constructed another classroom block and put furniture, and completed pit toilets for the school.
Speaking during yesterday’s handover ceremony which was also attended by the Minister of State and Provincial Affairs for Matabeleland North Richard Moyo, Matabeleland North Provincial Education Director Jabulani Mpofu and President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints Bulawayo Mzingaye Ndlovu said the project is part of giving back to the community and they wish to see the school growing until it becomes a boarding school.
“We did quite a few developments, first of all, we built a classroom block and last year we came back again, and we built a one-by-two classroom block. We also drilled a borehole; we have now put in a solar pump and a 10 thousand JoJo tank. We have also put a second 10 000 litres JoJo tank that will be now powering water for the teachers’ residence,” said Ndlovu.
He said the church also put 22 solar panels that will power the school with electricity.
Ward 19 Councilor, Gertrude Gumbo said it is their hope for the school which caters to 32 villages to be turned into a boarding school.
“As a ward, we have 32 villages, it is our hope that this school becomes a boarding school so that it will cater for ward 19 as a whole, including those other areas which also have a challenge of distant schools,” said Cllr Gumbo.
Mpofu said the project is in line with the national development strategy one.
“We are very grateful, Latter-Day Saints did not only stop on infrastructure but they also moved to Information and Communication Technology (ICT), computers assist us because it cross cuts everywhere, even the board which they put says a lot,” said Mpofu.
Minister Moyo appreciated the expansion of the school and spoke about the challenges learners faced before the construction of the school.
