Tinaani Nyabereka
Gweru –Bata Shoe Company last week donated an assortment of garden equipment and groceries to Mudavanhu Zimcare School in Gweru.
The donations were done as Bata was celebrating its 128th year anniversary.
The equipment included 10 garden racks, 10 shovels, 10 hoes, 10 garden forks, 2 wheelbarrows, 20 brooms, ten slashers and 10 mops.
Currently Mudavanhu school has an enrolment of 17 students which includes 13 boys and four girls.
Speaking on the sidelines of the donation, Bata Managing Director Simon Mutsiya said Bata was still thriving in providing quality services and employment to the nation.
“Bata started in 1894 in Czech Republic and we’re currently operating in over 70 countries globally with over 5 500 employees. In Africa we’re in 7 countries including Zimbabwe which has the biggest plant in Southern Africa.
“Bata is here to stay and we’re modernizing the factory by acquiring new technologies wherever possible to improve the competitive age and to export in both Southern Africa Development Committee (SADC) region and other countries.
“We have plans of having two additional stores every year for the next five years and that we’re going to acquire shops and also partnering with some of the key supermarkets to form synergies,” he said.
He added that the company’s intentions to come up with new designs as an innovation strategy remained relevant in the ever-changing and highly competitive market.
“There are intentions of new designs and our innovation range should be in the range of 15-20 percentage that is out of 100 styles 15 styles should be nil so that we become competitive in the market. For now, we’re hovering on 7-8 styles and we still need to scale up.
“We are stepping in the right direction because we’re starting to see prices stabilizing both input cost and the prices that we’re passing to our consumers.
“I also plead with City council to act on illegal vendors who have been given a long rope highlighting that they are bringing unfair competition to the market,” he added.
Mudavanhu Zimcare School head Susan Ncube said the donation was going to go a long way in helping children with survival skills.
“We are a skills training school and not an academic one and through that we are more focusing on teaching our kids life survival skills so that they can be functional and self-reliant when they go back to the community.
“Life surviving skills is our syllabus and I am thankful for the gesture shown by Bata Shoe Company. Teaching mentally challenged pupils is very hard but I’m glad we’re doing the right thing in developing these kids.
“We have received comments from the community where some of our students are prospering in projects such as poultry and gardening which is earning them some money to survive,” she said.
Bata also pledged to sustain the donation of food stuff similar to the packages handed over during the anniversary ceremony for every month up to the end of year.
