First lady Thandiwe Banda says simple sustainable transport is an essential tool in the provision of quality education and mitigating poverty. The first lady said this at State House on Wednesday when she received the First 100 bicycles of over 5,000 bicycles from the World Bicycle Relief (WBR) on behalf of Nakajoli Basic School in Mumbwa, Central Province.
Mrs. Banda said the bicycles will be delivered to over 40 schools for pupils and teachers to use in Mumbwa district. She said the Bicycle programme is aimed at improving the education in 17 rural districts through the nine provinces of Zambia by supplying 50,000 quality bicycles to pupils , teachers and community supporters.
The First lady noted that many children and teachers face many challenges in rural communities throughout Zambia hence the need to empower them with such a programme.
Mrs. Banda noted that bicycles can be an essential tool to link the pupil and Teacher and improve educational outcomes. She said 70 percent of the donated bicycles will be distributed to pupils and 30 percent will distributed to teachers and identified community supporters. Mrs Banda said Government has recognised the special vulnerabilities of the girl child especially in rural areas.
She added that Government has implemented the education policy to help mitigate these discrepancies and empower the girl child adding that other stakeholders should emulate this effort.
The first lady thanked World Bicycle Relief World Vision and other implementing partners for the gesture and commitment to improving education in Zambia .
World Bicycle Relief (WBR) Head of African operations Dave Neiwander said his organisation is committed to ensuring that Zambian education isimproved for people living in rural areas.
Mr Neiwander thanked the first lady for her commitment towards the education sector and especially to the vulnerable in rural communities. He pledged continued support to programmes aimed at empowering youth to meet the challenges they face in rural communities.
Mr Neiwander thanked Government for partnering with his organisation through Ministry of Education and World Vision in assisting the vulnerable in society who travel long distances due to lack of transport.
He said so far, over 5,000 bicycles have been delivered to Chongwe district where over 120 bicycle field mechanical officers have been trained.
ZANIS
Job well done madam First lady.
Why is this former Mistress so convinced that bycycles are the solution in this era when motorbikes, quads etc can do a better job ? We should progress forward and not backwards mama.
This dress looks like my curtains
Iwe chi Maureen( #3) stop being jealous. This young girl looks good in that dress BUT she shud advise her grand father R.B to stop insulting foreigners and donors.
Tell you husband to admit that his friends in government have wasted taxpayer money on themselves instead of PUBLIC Bus transport and PUBLIC Train system or even GOOD ROADS for the past 18 years.
WHERE DID THE MONEY GO MRS GHOST WORKER?
You are part of the theft but cant even admit your failures in life.
Go to H.ELL you gold digger.
Desks not bicycles.Whats the point riding to a school where there is no board or desks let alone teachers.
Oh! i get it,they want Mumbwa to be Chipata look alike
I am not a fan of RB and I will never be, but to be honest, what Tandiwe Banda has said is true and important and I would not shoot it down because I dont support her husband.
They say, ‘ TO BE WISE IS TO LEARN TO DIFFERENTIATE BETWEEN GOOD AND BAD’.
pleases lets judge her comments not her personality.
Can someone tell us if this ghost teacher is still receiving monthly as s mistress.
sweetheart, you look good in this attire. job well done. but i would recommend we start by improving the conditions in the schools. some schools have no desks,blackboard,etc these are the things we should start with. let us also come up with some means of subsided transport for students. eg. bring back UBZ countrywide and give every student a card to use to get on the bus. i say this coz bicycles will soon be damaged and some stolen,then what do we do buy more? my suggestion cant work overnight but it is a better and sustainable way of solving the issue of transport once and for all. it works here in china!!!
This is creating employment for the manufacturing country of those bicycles and it is by far not a sustainable solution. The solution is to revump the nicycle factory in Chipata and spread it all over the country. We dont want donations, we want business. No country has developed through receiving donations but through production, manufacturing and job creation.
REMEMBER THIS!
Sata’s head has been burried in the sand! Look at all PACT supporters on this blog are now rooting for RB! I like this because kaponyas are easily influenced! Yesterday everybody was saying bad staff about RB and today all is good! These are politics of poverty and opportunists! Even if the VISA MOU was to be extended to every Zambian, very few of you will afford to fly to Brazil! This MOU will benefit Brazil and not yo
She’s trying……..
This is creating employment for those that will look for it. Imagine some entrepreneurs who will start bicycle parts shops where they’ll sell bicycle parts and accessories like reflectors and bicycle flash lights for those riding at night.
Also imagine bicycle repair shops springing up for those that’ll be offering maintenance checks and repairs on bicycles.
Opportunities are there for those willing to look for them. The First lady is right in saying transportation is a key to quality education. Some people don’t go to school not because they cannot afford to but because it is too far. This lessens the load a little.