In the early 60s he assisted many communities, when he hired people to construct roads from Nzhelele to far-away places like Masisi in the Mutale area, out of his own pocket. This was to pave the way for his buses, which were travelling within those villages.

Many years later, the ageing businessman, Joel Mulaudzi, who owns Mulaudzi Transport Services and a string of other businesses, is still ploughing back into his community. Mulaudzi is the presiding bishop of the New Covenant Church of Christ, which has 35 branches in the country.

He has helped build many of these branches, using his own money. This time around, he is ploughing back into women in sports at Mandala Village, his home town. He handed soccer kits to two community women´s teams earlier this week. The two lucky teams are Mandala Super Eagles and Mandala Women Hot Chillies FC.

Mulaudzi (87) said he had observed in recent times the interest that women were showing in football. He said soccer used to be a male-dominated sport, but women had started showing an interest in the sport and one way of encouraging them was through sponsorships.

“Many of these women are just doing it for the love of the game; they do not have the resources like uniforms and have to use their shawls while playing. We in business have to give the necessary support, and we hope in years to come there will be change in this area,” he said.

Mulaudzi said he would continue supporting the clubs by assessing their needs and making the necessary intervention.

Ms Maria Mulaudzi, a manager at the company, said they had embarked on a campaign to assist learners and students who are family members of their staff.

The bus company also has a relationship with mental care users at Siloam Hospital, whom they sponsor on an annual basis.

The captain of one of the clubs, Mandala Super Eagles, could not hide her excitement. “We only started last year, but we are doing very well in terms of performance. We do not have resources, but this has not discouraged us. We are very motivated and we will never disappoint our sponsors,” she said.