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Runesu Gwidi in MWENEZI
The Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (POTRAZ) yesterday donated $7 000 worth of groceries and other household items to the Gonamombe family in Bhodora Village under Chief Chitanga in rural Mwenezi district.

Four of the family’s 10 members are physically and mentally challenged.

Three of the four members are men aged 22, 25 and 27 and the fourth is a 10-year-old girl.

Ms Dzosai Chihora (55), who is a widow and the head of the family, has the unenviable task of doing all the household chores and taking care of the four, including bathing them.

In a speech read on his behalf by the authority’s head of marketing and international relations Mrs Sibongisiwe Muteyiwa, Potraz director general Dr Gift Machengete said their humanitarian gesture was in response to a report on the family’s plight that appeared on ZBC.

“As part of our Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) strategy, we have decided to assist the family by providing them with $7 000 worth of groceries and other items,” he said.

“Potraz was apparently touched by plight of the family, which went viral after it was broadcast on national television. We have brought mattresses, blankets, mealie-meal, toiletries, among other things.”

Dr Machengete said the establishment of the CRS strategy was a crucial component of the authority’s quest to demonstrate care and achieve positive impact on communities.

“Every year, Potraz sets aside a significant budget towards CSR initiatives to improve the livelihoods of communities, especially marginalised ones,” he said.

Mr Gibson Taruvinga, a philanthropist who spoke on behalf of the family, expressed gratitude to Potraz for its philanthropic gesture, which he said would go a long way in assisting the family which survives on handouts from well-wishers.

The handover was also witnessed by the CSR officer for Potraz Mr William Dzingirai, representatives of the Mwenezi district administrator’s office and community leaders.