The Sunday News
Sharon Chimenya, Sunday News Reporter
THE Nation Social Security Authority (NSSA) has donated at least 620 biography books of President Emmerson Mnangagwa to schools in Masvingo province for the benefit of learners and the community.
The book entitled “A life of Sacrifice-Biography of Emmerson Mnangagwa written by the former Member of Parliament and Economist Mr Eddie Cross was launched in August last year and it sheds light on the life of the President especially the foundation of his political career.
Speaking during the handover ceremony the NSSA General Manger Mr Arthur Manase said that in order to enhance a conducive learning environment that encourages growth and increase scope of knowledge, resourcing of a variety of reading literature is essential.
“An educated population is a giant step towards providing social protection to a country’s inhabitants and the starting point is nurturing a reading culture among our young generation. NSSA is therefore coming on board to assist in providing adequate information about our history as a people through collaborating in the distribution of copies of His Excellency’s biography.
This is a book which illustrates a life of sacrifice, the struggle which His Excellency the President went through as he contributed towards the liberation of this country and this is the culture we want to inculcate in our youths. The book provides a good read to our future leaders as it unpacks the intricate details of the struggle for political independence and allows our children to understand the importance of tenacity and diligence in pursuing that which is noble.”
He said that as NSSA they are delighted to distribute copies of this biography to schoolchildren who are future contributors to the NSSA fund. Inculcating a culture of reading books promotes the establishment of an enlightened society.
The books however, are not only supposed to benefit the schools but are to be shared with the members of the community on borrowed terms.
“It is my fervent hope that the books that we are donating today will not only enrich recipient schools the community at large through the sharing of information learned from His Excellency’s biography. NSSA also recognises our pensioners in the communities and hence urge the school authorities to allow our elderly to access these books on borrowed terms, as they will also be informed, educated and indeed entertained.”
Meanwhile, the Victoria High School Mr Englebert Chimbwari who was standing in for the Masvingo Provincial Education Director Mrs Shylatte Mhike said that the school heads must ensure that the books are accessible to both the learners and the members of the community.
“We should not go and shelve these books; we should make the books available to our stakeholders so that they are also able to read the book and learn. We also as school heads we should read the book; we should not only give it to others and not read it.
We should put the book where it is accessible to our students. Maybe the number of books might not suffice to give to each student but it is our duty as heads to make sure that the books are accessible to our students.”
