Schools Assistance Programme

The Schools Assistance Programme began in 1996 with Delta building a standard classroom block at a school selected in each of the eight rural provinces of Zimbabwe. In 2003, Delta roped in the Coca Cola Foundation and set up the Schools Assistance Trust (SAT). A few years down the line, the British Embassy came on board as a partner whose responsibility is to furnish the classrooms. Currently the project targets to build a classroom block in two rural provinces every year.

Because part of Delta’s Mission is ‘to grow the value of the business in real terms on a sustainable basis’, the SAT programme is undertaken with a mindset to enable an appreciation of the project with regards to business and community values in a manner that sustainably makes an impact. This is done by promoting full stakeholder participation from the identification of the school to the construction of the classroom block. The school is identified by the Provincial Education Office and the construction is done by a local builder with building materials available locally being provided by the community. Delta supports the construction through provision of non-local building material. The intent of the project is to enhance ownership of the project and personal accountability by the community over and above the benefit of the infrastructure. This subsequently encourages sustainability of the infrastructure through more intimate use and maintenance.