Tanzania: Tobacco Firm Donates School Desks

Source from:  Tanzania Daily News  07/16/2013

ALLIANCE One Tobacco Tanzania Ltd has saved about 500 school pupils from sitting on dusty floors at Geitasamo Primary School in Serengeti District after donating 157 desks to the public school with 793 learners.

Geitasamo is one of the rural public primary schools that are still facing a wide range of problems that include critical shortages of classrooms, desks, text books and teachers houses in the wildlife rich district of Serengeti in Mara Region. The school teachers and pupils welcomed the donation of desks describing it as a huge relief.

"Before this donation almost 50 per cent of our children were sitting on the floor but we are now happy that there is no child who will be sitting on the floor", Geitasamo Primary School headteacher Daudi Kabaka remarked shortly after receiving the desks on Friday.

Alliance One Tobacco Tanzania Ltd Corporate Affairs Manager Mr Hamis Liana handed over the donation at a brief function witnessed by pupils, teachers, parents, Serengeti district education officials and local leaders. "We as Alliance One we are proud to handover these desks today and Geitasamo is one of the schools that have received huge support from us.

The request of the school was 157 desks and we are handing over 157 desks valued at 5.4 ml- . Nothing was reduced from your request", Mr Liana said. The tobacco firm, he said, has been spending millions of shillings to support education, health and environment sectors in various parts of the country.

"In education we are responding to challenges such as shortages of school desks as we have done here today. We have also been offering text books", Mr Liana pointed out in his brief handing over speech. Earlier Mr Liana, who was accompanied by In -charge of Alliance One Tanzania Ltd Mara Leaf Manager Mr James Gichuche, spent several minutes inspecting some trees that have been planted at Geitasamo Primary School with the support of the tobacco firm.

Alliance One Tobacco Tanzania Ltd has become the first company to support the introduction of tobacco farming in Mara Region. Tobacco is now seen as the best option for the majority of farmers in various rural villages in Serengeti after seeing that it might rescue them from extreme poverty.

Hundreds of farmers have earned more than 8m/- after selling more than 2,520 tonnes of tobacco to Alliance One Tobacco Tanzania Ltd this season, according to Serengeti officials. Many villages that have embarked on cultivating tobacco in the district are the homes of many families who were experiencing economic hardships in the past.

Officials say Serengeti District Council has earned around 400 ml- revenue from tobacco during the same period. This year, the government has officially allowed largescale production of tobacco in Serengeti, Tarime and Rorya districts in Mara Region. Mara Regional Commissioner John Tupa said that the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Security and Cooperatives supports commercial tobacco farming in the area. Enditem