Wimbainashe Zhakata Mutare Correspondent
SIMUKAI Child Protection Programme is donating free-range chicks to several schools in rural areas in a bid to raise fees for vulnerable girls.

The latest donation was at Saunyama Primary School in Nyanga, Ward 18, last Thursday.

Simukai projects officer Mr Alan Charimana said: “It is our motive as an organisation to assist young and vulnerable girls in fulfilling their social, physical and spiritual needs.

“Several months ago, we donated 30 chicks to Nyatati Primary School in Nyanga. We also administered seven vaccines on the chicks as part of our donation to protect them from different diseases, which include Newcastle.

“Today we donated 37 chicks at Saunyama Primary School in Nyanga, Ward 18. We donated these chicks as an income-generating project because we found out that chicken produce more money, especially when they are layers. This project is sustainable and the school can rely on it. We give teachers the responsibility to take care of the chickens. They sell the chickens and eggs to generate income which is used to pay fees for vulnerable girls.”

Zimbabwe Free Range Poultry Association (ZPRFA) member and farmer Mr Joseph Nyamukungwa, who runs Delpot Poultry (Private)Limited, said: “As a seasoned free-range chicken farmer, I do consultancy work especially for other farmers, schools and organisations that buy day-old chicks from my company.

“We administer seven vaccines to these chicks to protect them from several diseases including Newcastle.”

He explained that the disease was mostly found in places near the Mozambican border such as Honde Valley.

“Free-range poultry is one of the most viable businesses that schools are doing. They are buying the chicks from us and we assist them with training and consultancy on business management and sustainability, as well as grinding natural feeds such as sunflowers that are good for the growth of the birds.

“There are also many NGOs that are into livelihood programmes and are also doing free-range poultry,” he said.

He said the free-range poultry donations to schools were good interventions for community development, as they empowered vulnerable girls.

“We do incubation of fertilised free-range chicken eggs, sell day- old chicks and keep free-range poultry for meat. Free-range chickens are not expensive to keep and maintain compared to broilers and layers,” he said.