On the last day of Crown Agents' environmental week, 13th May 2011, staff from our Harare office visited Chinamano Primary School to donate and help plant 21 fruit trees in their orchard.
The school is located in Epworth, a high density suburb on the outskirts of Harare. The school has 1180 children with an average of 70 per class. They manage by "hot sitting" whereby some children start classes in the afternoon, and the older grades 6 and 7 have their lessons in a tent erected outside.
The school has no running water or electricity and they make do with one manual water pump. The playground and surrounding fields are brown and dusty with few trees and no grass. The school urgently needed some green plant life to lift the spirits of the children and teachers. They had tried to establish a school orchard but were only able to populate the orchard with four to five struggling plants.
Crown Agents Zimbabwe came to the aid of the school by donating 21 fruit trees and providing a few tips on how to ensure they grow well. The pupils were especially happy and the Deputy Headmaster, Mr. Joseph Maduma, expressed his gratitude saying the donation would encourage the Environmental Health Club at the school to get back on its feet. Crown Agents' staff will be following up on the growth of the trees in the orchard.