Early childhood education in Botswana has received a welcome boost in the Kgatleng District near the capital Gaberone, with the Belabela Quarries’ funding of a new building for reception-grade children at Matebele Primary School.

The building and furnishing of the reception block was funded by a substantial donation from Belabela Quarries. Started in 2003, the quarry was acquired in 2015 by Raubex company B&E International, and sales have grown following investment in plant, equipment and skills. It is now the largest quarry in Botswana, with a production of 70 000 tonnes of aggregate per month.

Speaking at the official opening of the reception block in January, Botswana’s Minister of Basic Education, the Honourable Dr Unity Dow, highlighted the importance of preschool facilities in government schools.

“In other countries, by the time kids sit their final exams in primary school they would have had nine years of schooling and preparation, including preschool,” says Dr Dow. “In Botswana it is only seven years. This puts our kids at a disadvantage in an increasingly globally competitive environment.”

She says the new block, sponsored by Belabela Quarries, will also ultimately help to improve the pass rate at the school.

Blackie Marole, local non-executive director of Belabela Quarries, says the quarry’s growth has allowed it to consolidate and expand its corporate social responsibility.

“Belabela is now in a position to contribute more significantly to the community,” Marole says. “We trust that the reception block will improve the academic performance of the local kids for generations to come.”

Serving all the major building and civil contractors in the Gaberone area, as well as brick manufacturers and readymix concrete suppliers, the quarry produces G1 base course, railway ballast, 37 mm concrete stone, 19 mm concrete stone and 13,2 mm concrete stone. It also produces road stone for surfacing and crushed sand.

All the stone produced at Belabela complies with Botswana Bureau of Standards requirements – as well as those of the South African Bureau of Standards – for road, rail and building construction.