Cognisant of the drug abuse which has become a cause for concern among the youths, philanthropist Sekuru Banda has joined hands with boxing legend Alfonso Zvenyika to try and help kids in different parts of Harare particularly Mbare through boxing.
Zvenyika, who is popularly known as Mosquito in the boxing circles is a former Zimbabwean boxer how won a number of matches during his time that also include the Commonwealth Flyweight Boxing Championship and owns a boxing academy in Mbare, the Mosquito Boxing Gym.
The two have entered into a partnership that which seeks to take youths away from the streets where drug abuse has become rampant and make sure they are kept busy somewhere doing boxing business during their spare time.
Sekuru Banda has however, this week made a donation towards the upkeep of the academy before making it clear that more big things were still to come.
“Recently, we donated money towards the establishment of a half-a-million United States dollars drug rehabilitation centre. While construction is yet to start, we saw it worthwhile to identify a place where children will be taught some life skills. However, it did not take me time to choose Alphonso Zvenyika’s Boxing Academy in Mbare.
“After consultations and discussions, I made a decision to support the academy. As part of the deal, yesterday we went to donate groceries to keep the academy running. I have also made an obligation to buy training kits comprising gym equipment, punching bags, gloves as well as to build them a state-of-the-art boxing arena,” Sekuru Banda said.
In his speech while receiving the donation, Zvenyika heartily thanked Sekuru Banda for his kind gesture.
“Boxing is regarded by many as an elite sport so we always struggle in finding partners or sponsors at our academy. I got the shock of my life when Sekuru Banda first called me selling his idea. At first, I thought it was one of those calls that we always get from the prominent people in the society who call and then disappear. Little did I know that Sekuru Banda really meant his words. Today, he phoned me early in the morning to say that he would be visiting us and here he is.
“He brought with him an assortment of groceries including maize meal, cooking oil, sugar, Mazoe and salt, just to mention a few. The groceries will go a long way in addressing our food challenge that we have been experiencing especially feeding the kids that we train here,” Zvenyika said.
Sekuru Banda did not mince his words as he made it known that the donation was just a drop in the ocean as bigger things were still to come.
Sekuru Banda is a well-known philanthropist whose footprints include helping source sunscreen lotions for people with albinism, donating to cholera victims in Budiriro and Glenview as well as those affected by Cyclone Idai in Manicaland.
