Delta Corporation's donations to St Matthew's Rusike Children's Home have surpassed US$70,000 since the company began supporting the institution in 2018, underscoring its long-term commitment to improving the welfare of vulnerable children in Zimbabwe.

Speaking during the handover of a new US$10,000 investment at the children's home on Tuesday, Delta Corporation General Manager Patricia Murambinda said the partnership has grown steadily over the past eight years.

"We started our support in 2018 with a donation of US$8,000, and since then we have consistently invested about US$10,000 annually. This means our cumulative contribution has now exceeded US$70,000," said Murambinda.

She said Delta's relationship with St Matthew's Rusike Children's Home goes beyond corporate social responsibility, describing it as a partnership founded on hope, dignity and a shared commitment to transforming lives.

"We are not simply handing over infrastructure and equipment. We are investing in people. We are investing in children. We are investing in a future where every child has the opportunity to grow in a safe, healthy and nurturing environment," she said.

Murambinda said the latest US$10,000 investment builds on a series of projects that Delta has funded at the home since 2018. These include the installation of a CCTV security system to improve the safety of children and staff, support for the construction of a classroom block, the partial solarisation of the children's home and school, the installation of a shade net for the greenhouse, the solarisation of a borehole, water piping infrastructure and storage tanks, as well as repairs to the piggery, poultry facilities and fish ponds to strengthen the home's income-generating projects.

"These are not isolated interventions. They form part of a long-standing partnership aimed at building resilience, self-reliance and opportunity," she said.

Murambinda added that the impact of an organisation should not only be measured by the products it manufactures but also by the positive contribution it makes to communities.

"The true measure of any organisation is not only the products it makes, but the positive difference it leaves in the lives of people and the communities it serves," she said.

St Matthew's Rusike Children's Home National Director Linrlelink Mutenzwa said the institution's mandate is to transform the lives of orphans and vulnerable children through biblical nurturing, training and teaching to produce responsible, God-fearing and self-reliant citizens.

He said children admitted to the home are referred through the Department of Social Development and often come from difficult circumstances, including abuse, neglect and life on the streets.

"These children are brought in through the Department of Social Development, and they come from difficult backgrounds. Some have been abused, some neglected, and some have been taken from the streets. We try to give them a life and a future," said Mutenzwa.

He said the home currently accommodates 59 children against a capacity of 100 and operates a family-based care model in which children live in six houses under the care of dedicated caregivers.

Mutenzwa said the institution is supported by a team of social workers, finance and administration staff, as well as a projects department responsible for food production and income-generating activities that help sustain the home's operations.