Building society empowers Ekwetsembeni pupils

By Phephile Motau

Business is not simply about making profits, it’s about leaving a mark in areas where you operate, uplifting communities and bettering their situations.

Many organisations use Corporate Social Investment (CSI) Programmes to drive this change and improve the lives of the people that play an integral part in their day-to-day success. Swaziland Building Society (SBS) has stepped up to provide financial support to Ekwetsembeni Special School as part of its CSI programme.

A management team from the Society led by General Manager Leonard Dlamini visited the school recently and was taken through a guided tour of the school’s projects.

Through financial support from SBS, the school has been able to start a hatchery project. It has also been able to purchase ingredients for the pupils to produce products such as jewellery, mats, bags, dishwashing liquid soap, petroleum jelly, floor polish, and fabric softeners.

Deputy Head Teacher Zanele Ndzinisa thanked SBS for the continued financial support it provided to the school. She said the help enabled the school to deal with the pupils’ needs.

Agriculture Teacher Muziyakhe Gule explained to the delegation that through a donation from the Society, the school was able to establish a hatchery project consisting of layers and eggs. He said the pupils were involved in the production and packaging of eggs which were supplied to large retail shops.

He said teachers, parents, and other individuals provide support by buying these eggs from the school. Gule lamented that the outbreak of Covid-19 adversely affected the project which never recovered.

“However, we intend to restart the project after addressing some issues,” he said. He noted that some pupils had acquired hatchery skills through this project, making an example of one of the pupils who established a hatchery business at home and sold broilers.

Dlamini, who was accompanied by the Society’s Marketing Manager Veli Dlamini, and Marketing Officer Samkeliso Simelane, also mentioned that the Society appreciated having a partnership with the school, and he expressed hope that it would continue.

Ekwetsembeni Special School, which has 10 classes and 125 pupils, is situated in Mbabane, next to Sifundzani Primary School. It was established in the mid-seventies at Thokoza Centre and moved into the present premises in the eighties. It was officially opened by the late Prime Minister, Dr. Sibusiso Dlamini, on December 11, 1996.