🏆Hwange schools receive 115 bicycles, 2332 textbooks
Online ReporterOnline Reporter Chronicle June 12, 2026 0 Comments
❇️SCHOOLS across Hwange District have received 115 bicycles for learners and 2 332 new curriculum textbooks courtesy of a partnership donation between the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority (ZimParks) and the International Fund for Animal Welfare .
🚨The donation was handed over on Thursday at Hwange National Park by the Minister of Environment, Climate and Wildlife, Dr Honourable Evelyn Ndlovu
🔹The donation dubbed ‘Riding for Conservation and Textbook Initiatives’ fall under the broader Environmental Stewardship Programme operating in the Hwange-Matetsi landscape, home to some of the country’s largest elephant herds and communities who daily navigate the delicate line between coexistence and conflict.
🔹For years, learners in communities adjoining the park have walked up to 15 kilometres through dangerous terrain, crossing elephant corridors before dawn.
🔹Many arrive late, exhausted, or not at all. Others, particularly girls, drop out entirely. The bicycle intervention directly targets this crisis.
🔹Addressing headmen, school heads, and hundreds of pupils gathered at the park’s Main Camp, Minister Ndlovu described the moment as far more than a handover ceremony.
“It gives me immense pleasure to join you today for this very important occasion marking the handover of bicycles and textbooks under the Riding for Conservation and Textbook Initiatives,” Dr Ndlovu said.
“Today’s event is about transforming lives, strengthening communities, improving educational access, and building a future where conservation and human development move hand in hand.”
She said the Hwange-Matetsi landscape, while ecologically priceless, presents daily risks.
“Along these journeys, learners encounter elephants and other dangerous wild animals. These realities affect attendance, punctuality, concentration and ultimately academic performance,”
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