Tourism activities in the Maswa Game Reserve not only contribute to the National Coffers but of late, local primary school pupils have also been benefiting from school feeding programs in Simiyu Region.
Mwiba Holdings, through the Friedkin Conservation Fund has been running a special school meal project at the Makao Primary School in Meatu District of Simiyu for over a year now, a development which was recently described in parliament as boosting class attendance among pupils.
Special Seat Member of Parliament, Minza Mjika told fellow legislators at the National Assembly in Dodoma that, availability of midday meals at school has encouraged most children to concentrate in class unlike in the past when some pupils used to abscond from school.
Mwiba Holdings which conducts tourism activities in the Maswa Game Reserve dedicates 11.5 million/- every month for the school feeding program at Makao Primary, a public education institution with more than 850 pupils.
The company has also constructed a modern kitchen facility for the food preparation at the cost of 37.4 million/- in addition to equipping the institution with rainwater harvesting system worth over 30 million/- to ensure that water supply is sustained.
Through the Friedkin Conservation Fund, Mwiba has also provided the students of Paji Secondary School in Meatu with 200 bicycles to boost mobility at the cost of 40 million/-.
Through earnings realized from tourism, Mwiba Holdings has set aside USD 793,000 equivalent to 2 billion/- for community development projects. This is according to the firm’s projects manager, Aurelia Mtui.
“We have upped the budget for community development projects from the previous 1.2 billion/- in 2023 to the current 2 billion/- effective from 2024,” said the Manager.
The Meatu District Council Chairperson, Anthony Philipo said the company has also assisted the local government in the rehabilitation and construction of classrooms as well as teachers quarters in the precinct.
“They are also assisting us when it comes to the provision of education in conservation, especially where Human-Wildlife conflicts are concerned,” he said.