By Bongiwe Dlamini

MBABANE:Montigny Investments has donated food worth fifty-thousand Rands(R50,000.00) to nine schools situated within the vicinity of the company.

Sihle Mavuso,the company’s Risk Manager said,despite the destructive windstorm that fuelled fire outbreaks around its vast plantation,Montigny donated over 2500kg of food worth the said amount after learning about the situation with regards to the scarcity of food in schools.

“The donation,which took place at the company’s second home at Mhlambanyatsi on Thursday,appeared to take the school representatives by surprise as they had been invited to a meeting to discuss sports sponsorship, as well as a number of issues of common interest, including the role that the schools could play in preventing forest fires”, said the Montigny Investments Risk Manager who added that,the company was visited by schools from our Sigangeni-Siphocosini cluster. 

Mavuso said,the main agenda of their engagement was to discuss how the company could cooperate with schools on issues of development as well as fire prevention.

“Knowing the challenges the schools face on issues of nutrition, the company donated the food valued at R50,000 to feed pupils.The food was rationed according to the size of each school, based on enrolment numbers”, he said.

Speaking on behalf of the nine(9)school representatives, who included Principals,Hlabazonke Primary School Principal thanked the company for the kind gesture. 

“As school Principals,we had been invited here to discuss the development of sports at our schools and the support Montigny extends to us for this purpose. However, the company has just surprised us by giving us food to replenish our soup kitchens.The food includes rice, beans and mealie meal.The food has come in handy as we have not received our food allocation from the government. I would like to take this opportunity to add our voice as school leaders in warning against veld and forest fires.Fire causes costly damage in Montigny’s business and threatens jobs.We love Montigny, land if they are protected from losses caused by fire outbreaks, we are guaranteed of more support,” said the Hlabazonke Primary School Principal.

On another note,the schools that received the food donation are based under both Motshane and Sigangeni Tinkhundla and this, include Embo Methodist, Hlabazonke, Makhwane, New Hebron, Prince Simon, Bhekephi, Beaconkop, Sigangeni and All Saints.They each received a varying number of 10kg mealie meal, 10kg rice and 5kg beans according to the number of enrolment.