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Children’s Rights

Jul, 27

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Children's Rights, International Development, Women & Girls' Empowerment

ZET Blog: Child Marriage and the Girls Summit

Please note, this articularly originally appeared on the DFID website, and was written by Lakshmi Sundaram, the director of Girls Not Brides.

Working on a taboo subject can be isolating and demoralising and, as evidenced by the experience of some Girls Not Brides members focused on ending child marriage within their communities, even life-threatening. Until a few years ago, child marriage was such a taboo: it was definitely not considered to be a suitable topic for international summits, hosted by Prime Ministers and heads of UN agencies!

2014’s Girl Summit showed us just how far we have come, in a very short time. By focusing on child marriage, the Summit brought global attention to this once ignored issue, which can have a devastating impact on the lives of girls.

We know that child marriage has already hindered the achievement of six of the eight Millennium Development Goals and continues to trap 15 million girls a year in a cycle of poverty, ill health and inequality. Tackling child marriage has been identified as a smart investment, which is likely to lead to “improved educational attainment, higher earnings and greater health-seeking behaviour”. This is a target which not only empowers girls and women, but the knock-on effects would mean we stand a better chance of achieving other important development goals.

The Girl Summit highlighted the growing global commitment to child marriage, bringing together government ministers, community leaders, UN agencies, civil society and the private sector. Importantly, the Summit saw a high level of participation from many of the countries most affected by child marriage.

The message from Girls Not Brides members attending the Girl Summit – and those following it from afar – was clear: political leaders need to back up their words and commitments with long-term funding and comprehensive, integrated strategies and programmes.

But has anything changed since the Summit?

Have we made progress?

There are certainly successes that we can celebrate: the Human Rights Council unanimously adopted a resolution recognising child marriage as a violation of human rights, which was co-sponsored by more than 85 countries from every region of the world.

At the regional level, both the African Union and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation have taken on the issue. Several countries are making progress in developing their own strategies to end child marriage. And, all over the world, we continue to see brave individuals and civil society organisations taking a stand against child marriage and working tirelessly to support the girls affected.

But there is still so much to do. At Girls Not Brides, we would like to mark this anniversary by renewing our call to political leaders to create a lasting legacy of the Girl Summit, and continue to turn your words into actions. You can start by ensuring that the proposed target on ending child, early and forced marriage is included in the final Sustainable Development Goal framework, to be adopted in September.

Of course, a target on paper by itself will not change the lives of girls. Change will only happen when governments make ending child marriage a political priority, when they work with civil society to develop and implement comprehensive, cross-sectoral national action plans, and when these plans are fully resourced. Change will only happen if we measure progress effectively, and are willing to learn from our mistakes and adapt course if needed. Change will only happen if we continue to remember that we are ultimately accountable to the girls whose very lives are at stake.

Those who work on child marriage know that this is a complex issue that will not be ‘solved’ within a tidy 12-month period.

But we also know that if we can collectively harness the growing global momentum on ending child marriage – and follow through on all of our pledges and commitments – we can make ending child married within a generation a shared reality, not just an aspiration.

Original article: https://dfid.blog.gov.uk/2015/07/22/one-year-on-from-the-girl-summit-are-we-any-closer-to-ending-child-marriage/

Written by Lakshmi Sundaram, Girls Not Brides

Edited by Hannah O’Riordan, Zimbabwe Educational Trust

Jun, 29

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Children's Rights, Education (general), Health & Nutrition, International Development, Women & Girls' Empowerment

ZET Blog: UNICEF Zimbabwe Education Plans

Zimbabwe’s education system, once arguably the best on the continent, has been deteriorating over the past 10 years and has been seriously affected by the declining financial assistance to the sector. In the absence of significant national government financing, which is a result of massive hyperinflation, economic restrictive constraints, and political instability, a complex system of fees, levies and ‘incentives’ has evolved that has significantly disadvantaged the poorest. Further, some thirty two per cent of learners no longer continue their school beyond grade seven. This consistent decline in public expenditures on non-salary costs has had a significant impact on school and learning supervision, availability of information for planning and policy and the relations of school governance, which has in turn led to a significant decline in the quality of school environments, the relevance of the education system and the placement of skilled teaching personnel.

In response to the challenges in the education sector, the Education Transition Fund (ETF) was launched in September 2009 by the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture (MoESAC), and was aimed at improving the quality of education for children through the provision of essential teaching and learning materials for primary schools, and high level technical assistance to MoESAC.

The ETF, in addition to assuring consistency in funding levels during the transition period, has found that a pooled fund mechanism has helped to increase alignment with Government priorities, promoting ownership, coordination and reducing fragmentation. As such, despite the fragile nature of the recovering education sector, new opportunities exist providing a ripe environment for the rapid consolidation and improvement of the education system.
improving.

As the education sector transitions into a phase of long term recovery, the overall goal of the second phase of the ETF will be to support the continued revitalization of the education sector by assisting the Government of Zimbabwe to realize its objectives of achieving universal and equitable access to quality and relevant basic education for all Zimbabwean children. ETF II is outlined in three key thematic areas which are guided by MoESAC’s buy cialis on line Strategic Investment Plan (2011). These areas are outlined below:
The first phase of ETF focused on the emergency revitalisation of the education sector, and on the distribution of essential school stationery and core textbooks for primary and secondary schools. However, the transitionary nature of the second phase of ETF will see the programme, under the direction of MoESAC, and in line with its Strategic Plan, focus more on the systems and structures that provide education, in turn building the capacity of MoESAC, including Zimbabwe’s teachers to deliver quality and relevant education for all. The programme will focus on investing resources at the school level across the country through the development of a block grants initiative with the aim of reducing user fee costs for all learners. These grants will allow schools to reconstruct WASH facilities, repair school infrastructure (including teacher houses), purchase essential teaching and learning materials and procure teacher and student furniture, allowing for rapid scale up if future funding permits.

The second phase of the ETF will support the following key activities:

? The finalisation of a national sector planning framework for education, with corresponding provincial and district level plans, directed by the Ministry of Education, Sport, Arts and Culture;
? The development of a national school grants initiative, delivering critical investment (including WASH) at school level, to assist in the reduction of financial barriers to education for both boys and girls;
? In-service training of at least 100,000 teachers in modern pedagogical and subject based skills, with a focus on improving the basic teaching skills of at least 10,000 unqualified teachers;
? Training of at least 300 key Ministry personnel at the national, provincial and district level, as well as some 8,000 school heads to strengthen their system management capacities related to planning, implementation, supervision and monitoring, linked to priorities outlined in the emerging 5 Year Strategic Plan;
? The development of a fully revised, modern, market oriented and culturally appropriate curriculum framework, with corresponding tested syllabi for all ECD, primary and secondary levels;
? Development of a second chance education

 

Jun, 1

0

Children's Rights, Education (general), International Development

ZET Blog: Child Abuse and Child Protection in Zimbabwe

Our longest-standing partner, Trinity Project, has recently expanded their work to focus on all aspects of child rights and child protection, beyond just access to legal identity documents. This involves a number of new exciting projects aimed at: improving and increasing children’s services and programmes in Zimbabwe; improving children and their families’ awareness of children’s rights and needs; and supporting children through individual legal, practical or emotional challenges.

This change arose from project officers seeing the need on the ground and being compelled to do more to support children in need. Common challenges for children included a lack of access to healthcare, education or social services – leaving them vulnerable to disease, abuse, malnutrition and often unable to complete education, raise an income or escape the traps of poverty.

A recent study, funded by UNICEF and run by the University of Edinburgh, looked into the prevalence of child abuse in Zimbabwe. The study (Fry, 2016), found that physical, emotional and sexual abuse were extremely common among young people in Zimbabwe and recommended that child protection was put at the forefront of government policy and civil society priorities. Some of the findings are listed below:

• “Physical violence is the most common type of violence experienced during childhood among respondents aged 18-24. About two thirds of females and three quarters of males had experienced physical violence by a parent or adult relative before the age of 18 (63.9 per cent and 76 per cent, respectively). Respondents also reported experiencing different forms of emotional violence as children. A total of 12.6 per cent of females and 26.4 per cent of males had been humiliated in front of others before the age of 18, and 17.3 per cent of females and 17.5 per cent of males had been made to feel unwanted” (Fry, 2016)

• “Sexual violence during childhood was more common among girls than among boys. One in five girls aged 18-24 had experienced unwanted sexual touching before the age of 18 (20.2 per cent) compared to 5.6 per cent of boys. A total of 15 per cent of girls had experienced attempted sex (3.8 per cent for boys), 9 per cent experienced physically forced sex (0.4 per cent for boys) and 7.4 per cent had experienced pressured sex (1.4 per cent for boys)” is there a generic equivalent for cialis (Fry, 2016)

• “After controlling for age and socio-economic status in the regression models, the significant risk factors for experiencing violence varied for boys and girls depending on the type of abuse they experienced. One risk factor that was common for both boys and girls across all types of violence was having early childhood experiences (before the age of 13 years old) of abuse, thus highlighting the importance of early intervention” (Fry, 2016)

• “There are very few national studies on emotional, sexual or physical violence against children in sub-Saharan Africa, and there are no empirical studies published in Zimbabwe on emotional violence. Nurturing environments that foster successful development are critical to children’s well-being. Understanding what creates negative interactions within the peer or family context is essential for violence prevention. This secondary analysis provides, for the first time, comparable national population-based estimates that describe the nature and magnitude of violence against children in Zimbabwe” (Fry, 2016)

• “All forms of violence against children place a significant burden on children and young adult’s health and well-being. Emotional abuse is associated with increased suicide attempts for both boys and girls, and sexual violence was associated with reported lifetime experiences of suicide ideation, unwanted pregnancy and alcohol use among both girls and boys and smoking among boys, and other health outcomes” (Fry, 2016)

Unsurprisingly, the study concluded that increased levels of early abuse would hamper a child’s development, causing them mental and emotional harm and often leading them to display unusual behaviours in adulthood – either replicating abusive behaviours or exhibiting deviant beliefs and behaviours towards themselves and others.

Trinity Project now works to provide emotional and practical support for children through weekly workshops, teaching them about child abuse, their rights, and how to get help. It also works directly with parents and communities about types of abuse, how to recognise abuse, and the importance of not practicing abusive behaviours.
By creating early warning systems, safe spaces and awareness, Trinity helps the children of Bulawayo and Matabeleland to identify and protect against child abuse and other child protection issues. This makes us a pioneer of UNICEF’s recommended best practice in Zimbabwe, mainstreaming child protection as a means to empower and support children.

Written by Hannah O’Riordan, ZET Operations Manager

Apr, 27

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Children's Rights, International Development, Women & Girls' Empowerment

ZET Blog: Marriage in Zimbabwe

Trinity Project staff in Bulawayo work tirelessly to provide vulnerable women and children across Matabeleland with the legal documents they need to access socioeconomic rights and services – including education, healthcare and welfare which are their basic human rights.

As part of this work, they visit local homes and communities and learn more about the people we support and the circumstances that left them unregistered and unprotected. We have noticed that often, women and children are left vulnerable and unable to register because of their marital status.

Unmarried women or women in unregistered marriages often have very little legal protection in terms of property, land, inheritance or divorce settlements. Children from unmarried parents often have to go through far more loops and proofs to get their births and citizenship registered, leaving them unable go to school, hospital or vote. As a result, many women find comfort in marriage certificates and registration. However, this is often not prioritised, or even when marriages are registered, due to patriarchal legislation and customs, this is not always enough.

For example, project officers supported Esinathi in the first few months of this year. She travelled a lot for work, but one day when she returned from South Africa she found her husband with another woman. When she complained, her husband kicked her out of their home! She appealed to her husband and his family to reclaim her rightful place in her home and to split their property equally, as she believed was her right after a marriage ends.

Unfortunately, although they both paid into the house costs and accounts, all the deeds and receipts were in her husband’s name. Esinathi had no choice or legal rights, and lost all her property due to this mistake with no legal recourse or complaint to take. In Zimbabwe, marriages do not automatically entitle you to a split of property and women must be encouraged to jointly register all property, homes and other assets to protect them in such circumstances.

Another good example of the impact of registering marriages is the case of John and Tanyaka (name changed). Marriage is an important institution in African generic cialis 20 mg from india culture, and there are certain social norms and practices which must be followed to consider a couple married in the traditional sense

Tanyaka and John met and fell in love, so agreed to be married with the consent of their elders and moved in together. Soon after, Tanyaka became pregnant and had a happy, health baby boy. However, Tanyaka’s parents discovered this and rejected the marriage. The couple had cohabited and had a child before a traditional or legal ceremony had been conducted, and before lobola (bride price) had been paid to the bride’s parents. As such, the marriage was never formally registered with the registrar, or fully accepted by the maternal relatives and so accepted culturally either.

Tragically, Tanyaka became ill and passed away while her son was still an infant. When John went to register his child’s birth, he discovered a number of challenges. Since he was not married to the mother, he could not register a child alone. Since the mother had passed away, he needed the child’s maternal relatives to support the registration and they refused until he had paid lobola.

John was forced to provide his wife’s family with $1000 and two cows, working overtime to procure the money with a newborn baby and grieving for his wife. After he had paid this, he approached them again to try and get his son registered and yet they still refused. Desperate, John reached out to Trinity Project whilst officers were visiting his village. We were able to provide legal advice and assistance, and eventually we are happy to report that his maternal relatives understood the importance of registration, and supported John in getting his son registered.

It is essential that people in Zimbabwe are made properly aware of their legal rights, and that whether they choose to marry or not, they know to register themselves and their children, to properly enshrine their rights and entitlements. Trinity continues to work tirelessly to support vulnerable families already in this position, and raise awareness amongst institutions and communities to help protect people in law and in practice for years to come.

Mar, 16

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Children's Rights, Education (general), International Development, Women & Girls' Empowerment

ZET Blog: Community Outreach

This article outlines some of the personal stories of individuals reached and supported by Trinity Project through their community outreach channels, such as workshops in local communities, mobile office drop ins and legal advice clinics, and visiting homes and community centres. It shows some of the key barriers Trinity is facing surrounding registration, the value of their work supporting the most vulnerable, and the importance of localising this to individuals and communities. Last year, ZET made this possible by covering all transport costs, and we hope to do this and more in 2018.

The Story of… Tariro

Early birth registration is a misunderstood and neglected issue in Zimbabwe, despite being a human right recognised in national and international law. A birth certificate in most societies is a legal document that gives identity to a child and automatically bestows a number of rights such as the right to healthcare, education, property ownership, nationality and formal employment.

Birth registration is also essential for national planning. Birth registration helps authorities deliver essential services easily. According to UNICEF, neglect of civil registration has been identified as the most critical failure of development. It is clear that without vital statistics like number of births per year we cannot monitor progress towards our development. In Bulawayo for example a number of births have not been registered for various reasons. This can affect our development as we cannot allocate vital services and resources to people accurately.

Tariro is an unregistered 14-year-old orphan who lives with her maternal aunt, Portia. Portia is an unemployed widow and is HIV positive, so she struggles to put food on the table or care for her dependents. Tariro started school late due to a long period of sickness as a child, but found it extremely difficult when she joined school due to pressures at home and being bullied by other students. Eventually she was forced to drop out, and now supports her aunt by running small paid errands for other community members – perceiving no other options for her circumstance.

However, if she had been registered, Tariro would have been entitled to some sort of educational grant and welfare. This tragic case demonstrates the importance of obtaining a birth certification to improve and enrich your life.

The Story of… Constance

Zimbabwe is governed by patriarchal cultural values which direct behaviour and attitudes. For example, men are regarded as the head of households, and children expected to take their names. This means that in instances where the father is absent or not supportive of registration, mothers can often hold off from registering children in their own names out of fear of cultural stigma, and leave the children unregistered until the father returns or proffers use of his surname.

Officers have encountered countless cases with this issue being the cause of birth registration delay. One such case is Constance Sibanda, who has two children Michael (aged 8) and Nomazulu (aged 5). Constance believes that registering the children in her own surname is a taboo, and she will be disadvantaging them as the ancestors would turn their backs on them. She thinks that, it is best to try and persuade the father to come and register the children and that eventually she will be successful as they would realize their duty.

However, while she waits around, Michael, and Nomazulu remain aliens in their own country and as such cannot access the benefits of being citizens. If anything happens to Constance, the children will be left vulnerable and may not be able to access their inheritance. Many parents want their children to conform to cultural expectations ad rules, so that they may be protected and live good lives, but in this bid, they fail to protect them in the most basic of situations such as securing their future through proper documentation. Families often choose traditionally correct practices over legally correct practices, leaving their children vulnerable.

Trinity’s advice in this case is to secure your child and ensure that they receive what is rightfully theirs through legal registration. If the father later decides to be part of the child’s life, he can undergo the process of changing the surname, at a fee which he will be responsible to pay.

The Story of… Samantha

Samantha was a fifteen-year-old girl from rural Matabeleland. She was an orphan and lived in a very poor village where having three meals a day was a rare privilege. Everyone in the village wanted a way out of their poverty. Samantha was taken to the orphanage together with her other friends, which they all hated. They ran away from the orphanage and went to the city to search for jobs. They were employed in different places and so separated. Samantha worked as a maid for a widow, who ill-treated and overworked Samantha, whilst paying her with less and less food and wages.

She thought of leaving the job, deciding that being a street kid was better and living instead under a bridge with other street kids. She was the only girl in a group of older boys; here she was subjected to ongoing abuse and sexual assault and denied access to basic supplies including food, clothes, blankets and sanitary wear.

One day she was found under the bridge by a woman named Isabel, who took her in, clothed her and fed her. In time, Isabel adopted Samantha, funded her through the registration process, and enrolled her in education. Samantha excelled in school, and went on to study Law at university. As an adult, Samantha aims to pay forward this vital help, and has opened her own orphanage to care for vulnerable children and street kids, based off memories of her own experience. This is how she was discovered by Trinity Project, who often receive case referrals of local orphans.

All of these stories reveal the many opportunities made available to children only once they are registered and the many complexities in registering orphaned and vulnerable children. We are very grateful to Trinity Project staff for all their work in local communities out in the field, gathering these interesting and difficult stories and supporting people in vital need.

Written by Trinity Project Officers
Edited by Privilege Sibanda (Trinity Project) and Hannah O’Riordan (ZET)

Jan, 19

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Children's Rights

ZET Blog: The Importance of Legal Registration

The following article outlines real life stories collect by Trinity Project field workers. Each case outlines the importance of legal registration and protections for vulnerable persons, and how complicated it can be to backdate registration.

Although these cases can seem quite upsetting, in every instance, Trinity has since supported beneficiaries; providing them with legal advice and support; advocating on their behalves; and directing them towards the help they need.
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Sizwile

Sizwile was the only girl in a large family. Her family lived happily in a small village, supported by the small local supermarket her father ran. Unfortunately, this all began to change when both her parents died, while Sizwile was only twelve years old.

Sizwile’s parents never wrote a will, codifying how to share their estate when they passed. Her family and community took advantage of this, and her eldest brother inherited everything. They left Sizwile without a penny, with those around her believing that as a young girl she had no say in such decisions, and expecting her to do nothing but marry and move away anyway. With this destiny decided for her and living in poverty, Sizwile was forced to drop out of school, and was married off to an older widower by the age of sixteen.

At first, she viewed her husband as her savior, rescuing her from a life of poverty and suffering. However as the years passed, he became increasingly abuse and controlling. Without access to contraception or sexual autonomy, Sizwile had five children by the age of twenty-two. In just ten years, her life had been transformed from an educated, happy child to an abused and impoverished wife and mother, dependent entirely on her husband.

There are many tragedies that left Sizwile in this position, not least the institutional sexism that silences girl-childen and leaves them vulnerable to this kind of abuse and exploitation. However it is clear that legal registration and protections, such as wills, can help young women in this position, and could have protected Sizwile from this fate.
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Mrs Makhathini

Mrs Makhathini is the guardian of two childen, Nokuthaba and Nqobile. These children have been abandoned by both parents and both sides of the family, who are embittered by disputes between them and have forgotten to prioritise the children.

The children were left to her as infants by their father, who migrated to South Africa to find work. The mother also went to South Africa, but has since cut ties with the father and her family, and her whereabouts are no longer known. Mrs Makhathini understood the importance of registering the two children in her care, so that they could access education, healthcare and a host of other rights and entitlements. However, the situation that the parents and the family have left behind has made this incredibly difficult.

You need both parent’s documents to register a child. The father has made his documents available, but without being able to contact the mother, Mrs Makhathini was dependent on extended family on the mother’s side to access these documents. The two children’s maternal relatives have been uncooperative, claiming that the father still owes them ‘lobola’ (dowry) and refusing to support his children’s registration until this is resolved. Legally, neither guardians nor paternal relatives are allowed to register children. So without the mother or support of maternal relatives, Mrs Makhathini is at an impasse and the children are left unprotected and unacknowledged by the state.

The bitterness between the parents and their extended relatives surrounding separation and lobola is all too common, but in this case it has led to a violation of the two children’s rights. Every child has the right, enshrined in law, to birth registration, and the many public services this provides access to. Nokuthaba and Nqobile are being denied this, by their own family members. This leaves them unrecognised as persons by the Zimbabwean government: unable to attend school, sit public exams or access healthcare, and more vulnerable to child marriage or child labour. We desperately need legal change, to make registration more accessible for complex cases like this, and an increased awareness in communities to understand the importance of children’s rights and registration, and always prioritise this.

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Lubhelile

Birth registration can become a cyclical issue. Lubelihle had a difficult upbringing, financially insecure and was never registered by her parents. As a result of this background, she was forced to drop out of school and married when she was just a teenager. Early in the marriage she gave birth to a son, but not long after her husband abandoned her. Since then, she has been forced to work low-paid, insecure jobs just to support her and her child. Lubehlile was never taught the importance of registration – and more than this, she has to work several jobs and still barely meets the costs of rent, food and other bills, let alone taking on the expense of a complicated registration case. Since she is unregistered, she could not give birth in a public clinic or hospital. There is no state record of her, her former husband, or her childbirth. As a result, it would be very difficult, drawn-out and costly to register her son.

Whilst it is understandable that Lubelihle has little time or money to prioritise registration, this is already starting to impact on her son. He was meant to begin nursery two years ago, and has not been allowed a place as he is unregistered. He has also been denied healthcare at the local clinic. There is a clear cycle of children being born into complicated, insecure backgrounds, without proper access to education, healthcare, or other legal protections – which in turn makes them far more likely to expose their children to the same fate. Some parents do not know the importance of registration; others do, but still cannot afford or access it. Either way, vulnerable families are far more likely to perpetuate non-registration.
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Gogo

Gogo is a grandmother, who approached the project for advice about registering her grandchildren. Gogo’s son migrated to South Africa with his wife, where they had two sons. Her son was then arrested and imprisoned, leaving his wife alone with her two children. She buckled under the pressure of working and raising two children alone, and one day broke down and left the younger son, a newborn baby, in a rubbish bin.

Fortunately, one of the neighbours discovered this, and arranged for both sons to be smuggled back to Zimbabwe to live with their grandmother, Gogo. After this point, the mother fled and Gogo has lost contact with her. Gogo was keen to register the two children in her care, fully aware of the importance of registering them so they could access healthcare and education. However, when she came to the registrar she realized the complexity of the case. Neither child had been registered in South Africa where they were actually born, then they were illegally smuggled back into Zimbabwe, and had been separated from both their parents with no way of accessing either parent’s legal documents.

Gogo had researched the registration process, and had her faith restored when she realized that the extended maternal relatives could assist her and get the two children registered. Unfortunately, these relatives were uncooperative. They believed Gogo and her son had caused them to lose touch with their own daughter, the mother of the children, and rejected the opportunity to support Gogo or the two boys. Since then, Trinity officers have visited these relatives as mediators, and explained the importance of registration. We are optimistic this will help progress the case. This case again demonstrates how complicated the registration process is, and how poorly it protects unconventional or vulnerable families. Even with Gogo fighting for her grandchildren to fulfil their rights, it is an uphill battle.
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As each of these cases show, registration is often overlooked at the best of times, and downright impossible when cases get more complex. There is much need for third parties, such as Trinity, to mediate between families, local registrars and other relevant institutions, and lawmakers, to smooth the registration process. The good news is that Trinity has grown to a national figure in the past 5 years, changing laws, raising awareness, and supporting thousands of individuals. Trinity is absolutely vital, helping disadvantaged and vulnerable young people to fulfil the rights they should have, just by virtue of being born.

Stories collected and reported by Trinity Project field officers
Written by Hannah O’Riordan, ZET Operations Manager

Dec, 22

0

Children's Rights, Education (general), Fundraising, Health & Nutrition, International Development, Women & Girls' Empowerment

ZET Blog: 2017

As 2017 draws to a close, we take a look back at what your support has enabled us and our partners to achieve this year!

It’s been a busy year for ZET, providing vital support for three grassroots partner organisations in Zimbabwe and expanding the work we do back here in the UK. Thanks to you, we and our partners stepped up to the challenge…

Trinity Project

Trinity faced a challenging start to the year, beginning the first year since 2012 where they would receive no UK government project funding and being impacted by devastating floods across southern Zimbabwe. As ever, they rose to the challenge and launched a ZET-supported emergency appeal to provide food, shelter and supplies to flood victims. Beyond this, Trinity provided longer term recovery efforts including nutritional gardens and village loan schemes to help communities back on their feet.

Incredibly, Trinity Project also managed to carry on their usual work on birth registration. This year, responding the needs of the communities they work in and to support more vulnerable groups, Trinity expanded to work on access to a range of socioeconomic rights, including registration, education, healthcare and social services. This was very successful, reaching hundreds of families to provide services and support. Trinity is finally reaping the benefits of years of advocacy work, having been asked this year to draft a parliamentary motion on birth registration, meeting with multiple elected officials and community leaders, and having continued exposure in local media and academic articles. ZET’s support this year has funded transport and vehicle costs, which is essential in keeping the project successful and enabling staff to visit beneficiaries, local communities and stakeholders to provide their services.

Rafiki Girls Centre

Rafiki continued to provide transformative opportunities for young women in Harare, supporting 60 women this year to obtain education and training. Each graduate completed three months of life skills training, aimed at building up their confidence and self-sufficiency, with courses including sewing, computing, cookery and offering optional HIV testing and counselling. Trainees finish their time at Rafiki with a six-month vocational course run by an externally-accredited organisation, to build up their qualifications and employability and providing them with a connection to an employer when they graduate. Courses running in 2017 included hospitality, design, teaching and nursing, amongst others. This vocational training and link to an external organisation offers women the best chance to build a career, and 85% graduates went onto obtain work. Rafiki also works to holistically develop its students, offering them opportunities to relax and have fun, a vital part of growing up which they often do not have at home, through a range of recreational activities. These included movie nights, dinners and away trips to a national park, as well as extra-curricular learning opportunities such as HIV workshops and Careers Days.
Rafiki also has exciting news! Thanks to increased support from one of their other partners in the UK, Rafiki have been given partial funding to DOUBLE their capacity. This step is essential, as Rafiki currently receives three applications for every place it can offer, and this time last year the Centre had dozens of girls actually turn up on their doorstep, desperate to be considered for a traineeship. As demand for Rafiki Girls Centre and its vital services is so high, this step is important. However, we are not there yet, and Rafiki needs more support and funding from other donors, such as ZET, to be able to deliver this new expanded capacity. We will desperately need your support to make this a reality in 2018.


Foundations for Farming

The year was kickstarted for Foundations for Farming, who secured their largest ZET funding since our partnership began. This enabled them to run a project working with two local schools, building up the capacity of staff and students on conservation agriculture, so they would be better equipped to manage the land and produce more food and potential income for their school and community.

The projects were relatively successful, led by passionate staff at Foundations for Farming who went above and beyond to support the needs of the two beneficiary schools, and working with two very engaged and willing local schools. There was a lot of evidence that staff and students had adopted the principles taught by Foundations for Farming and were keen to implement these methods. However, both schools faced challenges beyond their control. The first school was forced to shut down due to lack of funds, however the teacher we had been working with was so committed to the project that she continued teaching these farming methods in her own back garden, with great success. The second school struggled with producing crops due to water shortages in their village. The school relied on students to bring in water from home to supplement the school and the plot, which was unsustainable. Foundations for Farming were impressed by their knowledge of and commitment to the project, so continued to support the school by providing them with tools, crops and farming methods more suited to dry arid land. Next year, Foundations for Farming desperately needs support to be able to reach more schools with this provenly effective project which helps staff and children gain skills and put food on the table, but also so that the project team have the capacity to provide additional support and resources when it is needed, as it has been this year.

Schools Outreach

This year, ZET has launched an exciting new initiative, working with local schools to deliver global learning sessions, where children and young people can learn about life in Zimbabwe, building up empathy and community links. We have been kindly supported by local organisations and universities, who have made this work possible and we look forward to expanding this work in the new year.

So far, ZET has worked with Westerton Primary School and Lee Briggs Infant and Nursery School, running interactive assemblies and workshops which aim to inform the children about Zimbabwe and challenge some of the misconceptions they may hold about other cultures and communities.

We have worked with children ranging in age from 5 to 9 running sessions, activities and games which teach about life, school, homes, jobs and culture in Zimbabwe, the history of the country and the UK’s relationship with them, and the work of ZET. We have been continuously impressed by how empathetic and engaged the children have been and it was lovely to see them engage with Zimbabwe in a positive, constructive way. The classes showed real interest by asking challenging questions, retaining detailed information and putting themselves in the shoes of children in Zimbabwe – even discussing complex issues like climate change, political shifts in Zimbabwe, and the birth registration process!

We will continue to work with these schools and more in the future, so watch this space.

Fundraising Events

Thanks to a team of dedicated volunteers, ZET has regularly held fundraising events throughout the year, all of which have been a resounding success and raised over £1000 for the Trust between them. This includes student-run pub quizzes at a range of local pubs – so we continue to thank Leeds students and their locals for having us! On top of this, the parishioners at Headingley St Columba ran an appeal this Lent and raised £1310 for ZET, so thank you all for your very generous support.

Most importantly, ZET turned 30 this year!!! And we celebrated in style with a big event in October, with music, poetry, Zimbabwean food, dancing and speakers all coming together to celebrate Zimbabwean culture, diaspora and the incredible work of ZET over the past 30 years! Thank you so much to all of you who attended or supported us – here’s to another 30 years.

If you have an idea for an event or fundraiser, or would like to raise money for ZET, please do get in touch!

Looking forward to 2018…

ZET has big plans for next year, starting the year with a visit to each of our partners in Zimbabwe to plan for working together in the future and develop our strategy and goals for the next few years. ZET hopes to capitalise on the momentum being felt across Zimbabwe, to transform the opportunity of a new period in the country into opportunities and support for our beneficiaries. We will continue to fundraise and support each of our partners, and hope you will join us in this mission.

Thank you so much for all your support this year. Together, we have transformed the lives and opportunities of hundreds of disadvantaged young people in Zimbabwe.

If you would like to give the gift of education this Christmas you can donate here: www.zimbabweeducationaltrust.org.uk/support-us

Written by Hannah O’Riordan, ZET Operations Manager

16
May

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Children's Rights

A Successful Year At Trinity Project!

One of the outstanding organisations in Zimbabwe that your donations allow us to support is Trinity Project. Through awareness raising, advocacy, and by providing free legal support to vulnerable families, the project helps children to obtain the birth certificates that they need to enrol in school.

 

Trinity Project: an update from the field…

 

As the curtain comes down in 2014, I would like to celebrate the successes we have had so far, together with the Trinity Project family. We also want to extend our heartfelt appreciation to our funding partners for making our activities possible.

Trinity Project is now a household name in communities in Bulawayo, and we continue to work closely with government departments. This year, the Ministry of Education granted us the authority to work with schools up to 2016, we signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Bulawayo City Council, and we received permission from the Bulawayo City Council Health Department to program in local health centres/clinics. We also publish weekly newspaper articles in the local vernacular newspaper ‘Umthunywa’.

Unfortunately, widespread abuse of child rights remain, especially due to identity and inheritance; hence there is still much work to be done.

Mr Pumulani Mpofu

Project Manager, Trinity Project

 

Trinity Project: 2014 in numbers
  •  A total of 2,896 legal cases taken on.
  •  247 children so far assisted to successfully obtain identity documents.
  • Over 24,000 people reached through awareness raising activities.
  • Over 1,000 children have attended our monthly Kids Clubs, run in partnership with local Child Protection Committees to increase awareness of children’s rights.
  • 340 stakeholders trained to assist children with matters relating to birth registration and identity rights.
  • As a result of our successful advocacy work, both United Bulawayo Hospital and Mpilo Hospital are now issuing birth confirmation records without requiring vulnerable mothers to pay hospital fees upfront.
16
Apr

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Children's Rights, Fundraising

The Right to Education & Health

In this short radio broadcast, David Hofisi of ZLHR and Dr Rutendo Bonde of the Zimbabwe Association of Doctors for Human Rights (ZADHR) help explain the provisions in Zimbabwe’s new constitution that guarantee the right to education and health and how ZLHR and ZADHR are working towards enforcing such rights.