Best of Zanzibar Donates 200 desks to Kijini and Mbuyu Tende Schools.

Best of Zanzibar, the CSR initiative of Pennyroyal Limited in partnership with International Volunteers from Oman have donated 200 desks to Kijini and Mbuyu Tende Schools. The donation is valued at Tsh 18,000,000 (Eighteen million shillings). Speaking during the handover ceremony, Pennyroyal’s Chief Executive Officer, Brian Thomson said: “Best of Zanzibar is very passionate about education and changing the lives of the less privileged children in our communities. We have invested in these two schools through our various educational programs and would like to thank our partners at International Volunteers who facilitated the donations from Oman. We would like for the young children to enjoy coming to school and be comfortable as they learn.” He said quality education was key in securing the social economic development of any country hence the decision by Best of Zanzibar to invest in Education as one of the key pillars of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility.  “Our aim is to create a positive impact and help lay the foundation for social and economic development in Zanzibar, this is the reason why we are gathered here today. For a long time, the primary students at the schools have been sitting on floors which makes it difficult to concentrate and excel in their studies. Best of Zanzibar while working closely with the Ministry of Education is fully dedicated to improve the education standards of Kijini and Mbuyu Tende schools.” Kijini school has a total of 903 students and Mbuyu Tende has 603 students, where 353 students sit on the floor due to the lack of desks. Best of Zanzibar has employed 10 teachers for its After Hours Tutoring program in both schools teaching Mathematics and English with 500 students enrolled in the program. The tutoring program started last year May and has already shown progress with one Standard 6 student passing with distinction and a Form IV student going into A-levels which was un heard of for some years. To ensure that education standards improve Best of Zanzibar has partnered with International Education and Sports Consultants (IESC) for a 3 months teacher training program to train all teachers from Mbuyu Tende and Kijini. The training is intended to enhance the teachers’ English language skills as well as impart them with better teaching methods. Director of Pre-Primary and Primary Education in the Ministry of Education Mrs. Safia Rijal had this to say. “On behalf of the Ministry of Education I would like to extend our heartfelt gratitude to Best of Zanzibar and International Volunteers for their generous donation. This donation will definitely improve the wellbeing of the children and we hope to see better performance in the schools. I would like to ask other private sector companies to follow their example in helping the communities.” Kijini school Head teacher, Mwalimu Ulimwengu Makame thanked Best of Zanzibar for donating to his school saying the gesture by the company had demonstrated its commitment in helping the less privileged in society.  “Our school has been in need of desks for a very long time and it seemed we were forgotten. So today it brings a smile on our faces when Best of Zanzibar came to help at least 200 students sit on proper desks and not the floor,” Ulimwengu said. Best of Zanzibar, the Corporate Social Responsibility initiative for the Pennyroyal Ltd Blue Amber Zanzibar, is improving education standards by providing opportunities that will equip Zanzibari school students with the tools necessary to increase their local and international employability. For more information please visit www.best-of-zanzibar.com or www.blueamberzanzibar.com