The donation — an initiative that stemmed from the 2016 Swiss National Day celebrations held at the beginning of August, brought a lot of joy to the 47 children at the Home.
During the National Day celebrations, Bata donated 30 pairs of Canvas shoes worth $360.00 which were augmented with an additional 36 pairs of school shoes by Swiss Nationals living in Zimbabwe and staff members at the Embassy valued at $656.00.
Speaking during the handover ceremony, Chinyaradzo Children’s Home Centre Manager, Mrs. Irene Karadzandima, said the increasing number of orphans coupled with the economic hardships in Zimbabwe has resulted in the Home operating under very difficult circumstances.
She welcomed the donation saying it will go a long way in helping the children at the Home.
“Over the last few years we have witnessed an increasing number of orphaned children – children with mothers in prison and some who are dumped by their parents as extended families are facing economic hardships.”
“As a home we have seen a lot of donor fatigue in the past few years which adversely affected the support we traditional got to the detriment on the moral of the children at the home,” said Mrs. Karadzandima.
Handing over the shoes to the Home, H.E Mrs. Ruth Huber, Ambassador of Switzerland to Zimbabwe and Malawi noted that the donation will help all the 47 children who might not otherwise have had the protection afforded by shoes against infection and injury as they go through their daily lives.
“Every child needs a pair of shoes, so this was our way of reaching out to some of the children in need. We are ‘investing’ in these children so that hopefully they will give back to the community later after they get older,” said Ambassador Huber.
A representative from Bata Shoe Company, Mr. Archford Bhebhe said that as a shoe making company they saw shoes as a way to really make an impact because everyone needs shoes and they provide a lot of other benefits to children, like improving school attendance and confidence.
Mrs. Yamurai Zhou from Nestlé highlighted how the Swiss food company has over the years established a very strong presence in the community and in particular with Chinyardzo Children’s Home with their staff regularly offering their time helping in the garden at the Home among other social responsibility activities. Nestlé donated cereals, milk and clothing items worth over $500.
