The Coca-Cola’s Women’s LINC (Lead INspire Connect) Zimbabwe Chapter handed items worth over ZW$500,000 to resuscitate a much-needed poultry project at Mutemwa Leprosy Centre in Mutoko District of Mashonaland East.
The items donated to the Centre included 300 layers chickens at point of lay, one and a half tonnes of layers feed, nine 12 litre waterfronts, nine ribbed tube feeders and stress packs that will help the centre provide members with the required source of protein and revenue.
“The donation aims to help restore human dignity and take care of our community members affected by leprosy and their dependents, who have been neglected and discriminated by their families and society on account of the disease. The poultry project will provide the much-needed protein for all at the centre as well as revenue for other essential needs,” said Patricia Murambinda, Coca-Cola Women’s Linc Zimbabwe Chapter President and General Manager-Corporate Affairs at Delta Corporation.
Father Linus Mkumbuzi, Mutemwa Leprosy Centre Administrator said “Thank you for becoming more aware of those in need, especially the poor, the sick and vulnerable, including those stigmatised and abandoned by society like Mutemwa Leprosy Centre members. We are happy to work towards self-sufficiency through farming, rearing poultry, pigs and cattle and this donation is a great contribution towards this end.”
Mutemwa is home to more than 50 elderly residents, including people affected by leprosy, leprosy disability and society outcasts. Mutemwa attends to around 1, 200 outpatients per year and supports others who are homeless and destitute.
The centre provides physical, material, psychological and emotional care to post-leprosy sufferers, the physically and mentally challenged and the needy.
In their continued effort to help those in need the Coca-Cola’s Women’s LINC Zimbabwe Chapter and Minerva handed items worth over ZW$1,200,000 to furnish the Special Olympics Zimbabwe offices.
Speaking at the handover ceremony Coca-Cola Women’s LINC Zimbabwe Chapter President and General Manager, Corporate Affairs at Delta Corporation Patricia Murambinda said,
“For over 50 years, the Coca-Cola Company has led a true commitment to showcasing the unlimited potential of individuals with intellectual disabilities and the power of sport to bring people together and transform lives,”
“This is a fulfilment of our burning desire as caring sisters, mothers and daughters to the community of intellectually disabled. We realised that Special Olympics Zimbabwe needed a project that can bring forth other developments,” she added.
The Special Olympics Zimbabwe Board Chairperson Mr Clever Mugadza thanked the Women’s LINC for doing their part and assisting those in need.
“As a founding partner and global sponsor of Special Olympics, Coca-Cola has been at the forefront of the movement to celebrate the limitless potential of individuals with intellectual disabilities and the power of sport to bring people together and, ultimately, transform lives. This longstanding partnership is grounded in the shared values of optimism, acceptance and inclusion, which Special Olympics and Coca-Cola have brought to communities across the globe over the last five decades,” said Mugadza.
The Women’s LINC is a network of women employed in the Coca-Cola system focused on engaging, inspiring and developing them to drive total business performance and establish a strong reputation as a great place to work for women. The initiative empowers women so that they can also enable others and influence their environments. The Zimbabwe LINC chapter draws its membership from The Coca-Cola Company, Delta Beverages and Schweppes Zimbabwe Limited. The Coca-Cola Women’s LINC was established to enhance the attraction, engagement and development of female colleagues through opportunities such as industry panels, networking events, mentoring, and community engagement which forms the heart and soul of our operations.
By Marcia Mukono
