Organisation seeks to restore reading culture in Mutare-Our success story of 2013

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Mutare — A local community organisation, Rebuild Sakubva, (Resa) wants to revive the reading culture in Mutare where delinquency among youths and schoolchildren has sharply increased over the years.

Resa, an initiative by some Sakubva residents, recently donated books worth US$15 000 to Mutare City Council for the benefit of those living in the town's oldest suburb.

Executive director of Resa Lucia Mbofana-Nkomo told hundreds of Sakubva residents at the handover ceremony that crime among young people in the suburb was high, calling for urgent measures to address the problem.

"Our main objective is to curb youth delinquency which has eroded our culture. Children have lost hope and as a result they have lost direction," she said.

"We want a society that is driven by capital and social trust. Our reasoning is that we must protect our children, youths and our elders in the face of changes in society."

Mbofana-Nkomo said her organisation also aimed to provide sanitation, clean water and was refurbishing old and dilapidated buildings.

"We are determined to transform old buildings into modern infrastructure because our belief is that integrity is a component our cultural lifestyle," she said.

Mutare Mayor, Tatenda Nhemarare bemoaned infrastructural decay in the city's oldest suburb.

"We are worried by the continued deterioration of educational, entertainment and ICT infrastructural in Sakubva and other places in Mutare," he said. "As council we appreciate local initiatives to complement our efforts to realign the status of old locations into modern ones."

Nhemarare said council would support projects meant to improve educational facilities and the way people lived.

He implored the corporate world to assist with ideas, finance and material resources to improve people's lives, especially in old locations.

In a speech read on his behalf by the Education Inspector George Chidhakwa, provincial education director Andrew Chigumira challenged parents and other stakeholders to rise to the occasion to ensure that children derive essence from education.

Story By Farai Matebvu-Standard Newspaper correspondent

We hope to empower women and girls with knowledge.The library is not only safe but is also a source of privacy for our women and girls.