Limbe Leaf Tobacco Company Limited (Limbe Leaf) has handed over school facilities worth K136 million at Kafutwe primary school in Lilongwe rural as part of its corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme.
The company renovated eight school blocks, a staff room, constructed a teachers house together with a pit latrine, drilled a borehole, fitting it with a solar pump and 10,000 litres tanks and constructed a 1,000 metres perimeter brick fence around the school.
Speaking during the handover event in Lilongwe on Friday, Limbe Leaf Director of Corporate Affairs Febbie Chikungwa said the tobacco company under its flagship program, the Agricultural Labour Practices (ALP), has a dedicated team that works on labour issues on farms including ensuring no child labour and forced child labour.
“Our policy is zero tolerance. Our belief is for children to be in school. We are aware that sometimes children are not in school because of resources, either structural or material. Through our field teams, the ALP program, and the farm diligence processes, we can identify gaps that limit or prevent children from being in school. It is through this process that the needs of Kafutwe School were identified.”
“We believe a conducive learning environment is one that caters for pupils’ needs as well as teachers, hence the teachers house and a reliable water source. Water is an important and key resource for any community. The borehole will provide not only the teachers and learners with potable water but can also be a key element for a commercial vegetable garden for the school to self-sustain itself. We hope the school management will consider that prospect,” said Chikungwa.
She also pledged that Limbe Leaf will construct 2 more teachers’ houses and provide materials for ‘after school activities’ such as sports and board games.
“It is our hope that the Ministry of Education, the School Management or Committee, Traditional Leaders, and Parents will join us in ensuring that these structures are taken care to safeguard the provision of quality education to the children of today and those of tomorrow. Let us join hands in safeguarding the development, wellbeing, and future of our children,” said Chikungwa.
Receiving the donation, Deputy Minister of Education Monica Chang’anamuno hailed Limbe Leaf for the school facilities saying beautiful school infrastructure has created a good and conducive learning environment, which will also help to improve the learning outcomes of the school as well as security to learners.
“The gesture that Limbe Leaf Tobacco Company Limited has shown in providing this beautiful infrastructure is highly commendable because it aligns to the Ministry’s reform agenda which aims at providing quality and standard education infrastructure through the use of the minimum essential infrastructure package,” said Chang’amamuno adding that she is aware that this was not the only social programme that Limbe Leaf is involved in.
Headmaster of the school Jeromy Mpunga also thanked Limbe Leaf for the donation saying it will go a long way in improving the grades of the 1,200 pupils registered at the school.