By Augustine Mbitila
Dar es Salaam Institute of Technology (DIT) Mwanza Campus in Tanzania has donated 126 pairs of leather school shoes and footballs worth Tshs3 million to primary school pupils to support the government’s free education initiatives. The leather products donated were manufactured by trainees undergoing short and long courses using existing training facilities such as Teaching Tannery and Leather training workshops. Under EASTRIP, these training facilities will be upgraded and new machineries procured so as to improve and increase access to the offered programmes.
While handing over the donations, DIT Mwanza Campus Director, Dr Albert Mmari, said the institute fully supports the government’s initiative of providing fee-free education. “We have decided to support the government by providing shoes to pupils who are in need, while the Government avails crucial infrastructures such as classrooms, laboratories and others. So, it’s a responsibility of other stakeholders to play their role in another way,” he said. Adding that; “This support will also help in improving pupil’s school attendance as some of them have been escaping due to lack of proper uniform.”
A beneficiary from Bugogwa Primary school, Haruna Issa, who lives with grandparents, expressed his gratitude to DIT, asking for more support on school uniform.
For his part, Bugogwa Primary School Head teacher Mwita Manoti commended DIT for the support, saying the move will help to improve school attendance. With EASTRIP Support DIT Mwanza Campus which will be transformed into a Centre of Excellence in Leather Processing and Allied Technologies (CELPAT). The campus will continue to increase its visibility by publicizing its programmes and products through exhibition participation and such Cooperate Social Responsibility (CSR).
In another similar event, DIT Mwanza Campus handed over two leather footballs to the under-18 youth football team based in Magomeni in Dar es Salaam region. The balls were handed over by the Director of DIT Mwanza Campus, Dr. Albert Mmari accompanied by DIT employee Nelson Vincent to the team's caretaker Hawa Jeremiah and team coach Method Anthony, team captain Rahim Said and senior player, Wahid Mwinyi.
The balls were donated as part of a community support (CSR) program to keep young people together happily and to teach them good values and to protect them from actions that have a negative impact on their upbringing and development.
The leather footballs manufactured at DIT Mwanza Campus adhere to all national standards. Footballs from DIT training workshop are made from natural processed leather instead of synthetic leather by stitching the leather hexagon using polyester threads or similar materials. To accomplish a ball, the bladder which is the inside part of the ball to be filled by air is the only component purchased.
The Writer is a Communication Officer for EASTRIP at DIT Mwanza Campus