In line with its corporate social responsibility initiative, Simbisa Brands yesterday handed over a Ford Mini Bus to Shalom Children’s Home in Harare yesterday.
“As a business that is growing from Zimbabwe outward, we are committed being part of the continuous improvement in our community. Hence today we are here to hand over a Ford Mini Bus to Shalom Children’s Home to assist with orphanage’s transport,” said Michelle Fisher, Simbisa Brands Representative.
The company said it is duty-bound and committed to making a positive impact on the community.
She said it is the people of Zimbabwe who grew Simbisa to where it is today.
“We opened the first Chicken Inn in 1987 at Speke Avenue and today we operate more than 225 stores across the country. We will be opening 5 new stores before the year ends.
“It has not been easy, neither has it been a single-handed effort, but together with every Zimbabwean who has supported our brands we have grown and expanded to Mauritius, Namibia, DRC, Kenya, Zambia, Malawi, Swaziland, and Ghana,” Fisher said.
In his acceptance speech, Simbarashe Pfupajena, Project Coordinator for the Michael Project that runs the Shalom Children’s Home, reiterated the organisation’s commitment to serving orphaned and vulnerable children in Zimbabwe.
The donation was made possible from proceeds from a cycling event that The Michael Project benefited from. The cycling challenge saw a team of 13 cyclists and their support teams pedalling from Beitbridge to Victoria Falls in 5 days.
Ray Grant and Dave Hobbs, members of the Bridge 2 Bezi team were some of the winners who graced the handover ceremony.
“The end game in all of this was to not only raise funds for a new bus for Shalom but hopefully to also raise awareness about the plight of many children in Zimbabwe that find themselves in vulnerable situations as orphans or otherwise. So when Simbisa got in touch to advise that they wanted to donate the bus, you can imagine how thrilled we were… Especially as this pledge was made before the Bridge to Bezi Challenge had been concluded,” said Pfupajena.
The donation was a way of living out the Simbisa vision of creating value for your customers through their brands. It was another step towards achieving their mission to empower people to always deliver best in class (restaurant) experiences to its valued customers.
“Looking at that bus you have indeed delivered your best… And have empowered us to similarly deliver our best for these children. matiSIMBISA as per your name. matiSIMBISA to help ensure more people are aware that children belong in families. matiSIMBISA as this bus will help us to make the temporary period for children staying at Shalom, a lot more comfortable. And matiSIMBISA as we transition them towards our ultimate desire for them to be REUNIFIED with, or REGAINING their FOREVER FAMILIES,” Pfupajena added.