Chinese community in Zim assists needy students China Zimbabwe Exchange Centre Chief Executive Steve Ke Zhao poses for a picture with Harare Polytechnic students who were granted scholarships, and staff during the China Zimbabwe friendship scholarship signing ceremony in Harare yesterday.—Picture: Nicholas Bakili.

Talent Chimutambgi-Herald Reporter

THE Chinese community in Zimbabwe is assisting underprivileged students with tuition fees under the China-Zimbabwe Friendship Scholarship.

The programme is part of the China Zimbabwe Exchange Centre (CZEC) and started in 2020 with more than 600 students benefiting from primary to tertiary levels.

CZEC is a private voluntary organisation with the mandate of contributing to the development of the country through sustainable projects such as scholarships, community development and cementing China-Zimbabwe relations.

The programme gained steam with the support of the Chinese Embassy in Zimbabwe and funding from the Chinese community in Zimbabwe with the thrust of giving back to the community as part of corporate social responsibility.

The CZEC is involved in community development programmes especially in Mbare and Mabvuku in Harare and in Bulawayo where it is supporting local residents to get training for self-capacitation in many fields.

Speaking during the signing ceremony of a memorandum of understanding between CZEC and Harare Polytechnic in Harare recently, the programme’s chairman, Mr Steve Ke Zhao, said the thrust was to escalate Zimbabwe-China relations in several facets and extend a helping hand to underprivileged students with tuition fees so that they can get access to education in line with Sustainable Development Goal number 4.

The programme has now been extended to the University of Zimbabwe, Midlands State University, Bindura University of Science Education, Lupane University and Harare Polytechnic.

Mr Ke Zhao said education plays an integral part in the development of the nation and the arrangement honours the relations between the two nations which date back to the 19th century.

“Education plays a very important role. In some schools we help to set up proper infrastructure like at NUST where we’re assisting in building students’ accommodation as part of the Zimbabwe-China co-operation,” said Mr Ke Zhao. “The reason why we are here today is because of the China-Zimbabwe relationship which dates back to time immemorial. 

“The Chinese came to Zimbabwe in the 1890s. Since that time we have been building the country together and even at the time of the liberation struggle, we assisted with military training and hardware support.

“When Zimbabwe won independence in 1980, China became the first country to set up diplomatic relations with Harare as well as showing interest in building the country together with Zimbabweans.

“Students are the future of the country. In Chinese culture, education is more than anything else, same as in Zimbabwe. When a child is not going to school the parents would feel very bad. We work with students who really need help to proceed with their studies”.

Mr Ke Zhao said apart from these local programmes, they also invite students from undergraduate degree level to post graduate level to proceed with their studies with all expenses catered for in China. 

He said CZEC had discovered that some students were struggling to pay tuition fees due to circumstances beyond their control.

“The reason we started scholarships is that we realised a lot of students are facing challenges in paying school fees due to a myriad of reasons. 

“Some probably have parents who are retrenched from work or are deceased or the general lack of finance. And some of these pupils are bright in schools,” said Mr Ke Zhao.

“We are also running the same programme in primary schools where we currently have more than 600 pupils that are benefiting from the funding.”

Speaking at the same occasion, Harare Polytechnic principal Dr Tafadzwa Madondo expressed gratitude to the Chinese community and urged students to be focused as they were the backbone of the future of the country.

“We are very much excited with the gesture. The students that were identified will work to support their families since it is a soul which has been saved,” said Dr Madondo.

“As you are all aware, Polytechnics are the economic hubs and centres for skills development. We produce graduates who are able to get out into the field of work to be self-employed or to get employed or create employment. I urge you to pay back in the form of producing good results”.

CZEC general manager Mr Donald Rushambwa said they were determined to reach all places in dire need of assistance. 

“We envision to extend the programme to other various marginalised communities. We also have environmental programmes where we planted palm trees along Joshua Nkomo Road to the airport to beautify the city.

“We get support from the Chinese Embassy and the Sino business community. I encourage the beneficiaries to contribute to the development of both Zimbabwe and China and escalate the relations,” said Mr Rushambwa.

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