By Natalie Nyathi
The City of Bulawayo partnered by Holiday Inn brought good cheer to inmates at Sir Humphrey Gibbs Training Centre in Kumalo Surburb, on Thursday.
Holiday Inn is an international franchise run in Zimbabwe by African Sun Hotels, provided various groceries on top of contributing to the preparation of the luncheon provided for 70 inmates of Sir Humphrey Gibbs Training Centre.
” The fact that Holiday inn operates in Bulawayo, makes it our mandate to give back as the people of Bulawayo also support us in one way or the other, it’s a privilege to be amongst such beautiful people”,said the hotels General Manager.
She added that the hotel that is located at Ascot Shopping Center has resolved to provide this Christmas lunch for Sir Humphrey Gibbs Training Centre every year.
In response to the challenges raised by representatives of the institution, the Hotel pledged to assist.
“We have taken note of the issues raised by representatives of Sir Humphrey Gibbs Training Centre such as gutters needing repair, some areas needing tiling, painting, ceiling repair, revisiting the internal telephone system, lighting, landscaping …your worship, these are some of the things we could probably look at as as Hotel. Our donation is not for Christmas but for good as you can see that we are putting on t-shirts written Giving for Good,,, we will come back again next year, to have a look at some of these issues and see what we can do so that this place becomes habitable”.
The Mayor of the City of Bulawayo Solomon Mguni, praised Holiday Inn for assisting the Sir Humphrey Gibbs Institution.
“It’s good to see that there are still people who remember others, thank you Africa Sun for caring for the members of society who are under privileged,”he said.
Some Points To Note
*Sir Humphrey Gibbs is a school located at Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
*Sir Humphrey Gibbs Training Centre ‘s motto is ‘ Giving a home and hope to people living with disabilities’.
*It is one of the oldest and most prominent learning for people living with mental challenges in the city. Sir Humphrey has become not only a home but a safe haven.
*It faces serious operation costs e.g poor lighting, gutters needing repair, tiling and painting of workshops, food shortages and other challenges associated with the poor state of the Zimbabwean economy.
*Sir Humphrey Gibbs Training Centre was established in 1963.
. The educational training offered there includes basic academic skills programmes, self care programmes, therapists and vocational training skills.