Posts archive for March, 2018

By Elizabeth Ndhlovu-Dumbreni

 

Takawira Moyo

Religious leaders in Mberengwa have for a long time been tight-lipped about preaching the gospel of condom use among their congregants, says District Aids Action Committee officer for Mberengwa rural, Zimbabwe, Takawira Moyo.

By Elizabeth Ndhlovu-Dumbreni

Bubi chief’s representative, Bowen Sibanda speaks out against gender-based violence

Umuzi we Ndebele wakhiwa nge nduku, so goes the old Ndebele adage. Loosely translated, this statement encourages men to use violence against their wives and children as a way of maintaining order or disciplining the family. The chief’s right hand man Bowen Sibanda says this commonly held belief has led to the high incidence of violence against women and children in Bubi District.

By Elizabeth Ndhlovu-Dumbreni

Project participants pose for a photograph after a hard day’s work at the nutrition garden

Felix Garden is an Irish Aid-funded project that was initiated by the villagers of ward 10 in Bubi District, Matabeleland North. Felix is a fairly young resettlement area comprising families that are fighting for a common goal – to help eradicate the scourge of HIV and gender-based violence (GBV).

By Elizabeth Ndhlovu-Dumbreni

Nomdumo Moyo stresses a point

Many of the young people who take part in youth groups like the Youth for Gender Norms Transformation (Y4GT) are eloquent in speaking about to HIV and gender-based violence, but for 16 year-old Somvubu High School student Nomdumo Moyo, the this topic is very broad and she chooses to look at it from a different perspective.

TB is the world’s top killer infectious disease, claiming 4,500 lives every day. The heaviest burden of disease is borne by communities already facing socio-economic challenges –migrants, refugees, prisoners, ethnic minorities, miners and others working and living in risk-prone environments(WHO: 2018).  

March is dubbed as Women’s month, with the 8^th March being set aside as International Women’s Day. The UN Secretary, General António Guterres, has a clarion call for all: “On International Women’s Day, let us all pledge to do everything we can to overcome entrenched prejudice, support engagement and activism, and promote gender equality and women’s empowerment.”

Ephraim Ncube (pictured) is a youth advocate who has been empowered through the Asikhulume/ Ngatitaure/ Let’s Talk programme. He shares how his life has been transformed.

 

Ephraim Ncube

“Previously, strolling the streets, involvement in political campaigns and abusing drugs was the story of my life. I did not see myself making any difference in my community. The Asikhulume programme made me realise my self-worth and that although I regarded myself as a nonentity, I had the power to impact my village, district – and the nation at large – by contributing to policymaking initiatives. This programme has empowered me as a young person and provided me with knowledge on the Constitution of Zimbabwe, particularly Chapter 2 paragraph II, which covers the declaration of human rights and freedom.

Asikhulume is a youth-led social accountability programme based on three pillars: the right to access to health; the right to education; and lastly the right to social protection. The youth champions in Change Ward, Hwange district, have come up with their own initiative to support their advocacy work for schools and hospitals to be built, as local people are walking long distances to access these services. As youth champions, they have come together to resolve these issues within their ward and built a fowl run with 26 chickens, each contributed by a youth champion.

Ignorance and death can be one and the same but today, a once-dead community in Hwange district has risen. The entry of the SAfAIDS Asikhulume programme, working through Buwalo Matalikilo Trust (BMT), has awoken the community by providing them with information on the Zimbabwe Constitution and showing them that it is their ‘Bible’ as far as their rights are concerned. Tritchard Ncube views the Zimbabwe Constitution as a vital major friend and the community’s daily bread.