Source: Renewed hope for Jairos Jiri Centre – herald
Minister Ezra ChadzamiraGeorge Maponga
Masvingo Bureau
THE Jairos Jiri Training Centre in Masvingo has received a new lease of life from the Second Republic after the commissioning of a business unit and restoration of water supplies, bringing relief to people with disabilities across the province.
The centre, located in Mucheke suburb, is one of 16 training institutions founded by the late philanthropist and national hero Jairos Jiri to provide practical life skills training for people with disabilities.
The institution had been largely dormant for almost a decade owing to a myriad of challenges, chief among them the lack of water, after the borehole that supplied the centre broke down.
Key training equipment had also become obsolete or fallen into disrepair, leaving the facility struggling to operate effectively.
The intervention by the Second Republic, which included the establishment of a business unit and restoration of water supplies, has revived operations at the centre and improved prospects for its beneficiaries.
The business unit comprises a piggery, irrigated market gardening and fisheries projects. New boreholes have been drilled and water storage tanks installed, paving the way for a drip irrigation that is already supporting horticultural production at the centre.
Minister of State for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution, Ezra Chadzamira, hailed the Second Republic for working to improve the lives of people with disabilities in the province.
He said the opening of a business unit at Jairos Jiri Training Centre in Masvingo has rekindled the vision initiated by the late Jairos Jiri, adding that ensuring the centre remains operational was a continuation of the national hero’s legacy of empowering people with disabilities.
Provincial Director in the Ministry of Agriculture, Mechanisation and Water Resources Development in Masvingo, Mr Caleb Mahoya, said plans were underway to transform the centre into a thriving business entity.
“We have restored water supplies and developed a drip irrigation project and the produce from there will be supplied to local supermarkets in Masvingo city that we have already sealed agreements with,” he said.
“The piggery project has also been revived with a view to making sure this training centre reclaims its yesteryear glory and assists people with disabilities.
Masvingo Provincial chairperson for Persons with Disabilities under the Office of the President and Cabinet, Mr Charles Mugwamba, paid tribute to President Mnangagwa for facilitating the revival of the centre.
“Jairos Jiri Centre in Masvingo City had virtually collapsed after water supply was cut, while infrastructure was crumbling due to underfunding and neglect, worsening the plight of persons with disabilities in the ancient city who benefited from practical training and also undertook various projects that helped them generate income,” said Mr Mugwamba.
“We are grateful to President Mnangagwa and the Second Republic for funding the revival of the training centre, which now has a viable business unit where persons with disabilities are not only benefiting through hands-on training in agriculture but will also generate income from some of the projects such as market gardening and aquaculture.”
Mr Mugwamba said the revival of the training centre would significantly improve the livelihoods of people with disabilities in the province.
Permanent Secretary for Masvingo Provincial Affairs and Devolution Dr Addmore Pazvakavambwa also praised the revival of Jairos Jiri Training Centre and other centres across the province through the development of business units.
“The President continues to walk the talk on his mantra of ‘leaving no one and no place behind’ and we are very excited as a province by the revival of Jairos Jiri Training Centre in Mucheke where a business unit has been opened offering a new lease of life to our people with disabilities,” said Dr Pazvakavambwa.
“We are happy that the opening of business units means that going forward, these centres will be able to generate their own income, raising the scope for expansion to benefit more of our people with disabilities.
“Our thrust is that disability is not inability and these business units will afford our people an opportunity to use their own hands to work for themselves,” he said.
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