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Chikato orphans & women's economic and social safety project report
Shurugwi Partners
July 23, 2012

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The physical, socio-cultural, economic and political environment was generally conducive for the project to be fully implemented. Being located in the semi-arid Natural Region 3, the Chikato community is under the threat of drought induced by low and erratic rainfall leading to hunger, water problems, income challenges and environmental degradation. The erosion of household economic assets during the previous economic crisis period was also a critical factor that was considered in targeting the primary beneficiaries of the project interventions. Most households have no disposable income and economic assets to help them initiate their self-reliance income generating activities. The local authorities and political environment remained calm and conducive for the project implementation. This can be largely attributed to the fact that the project was needy driven and remained relevant to the development cooperation between the government of Zimbabwe, local communities and the Kingdom of the Netherlands.

2. Situation before the Project

The Mutsiba, Pandehuni and Mashiri villages covered by project interventions were facing critical water problems that heightened income, food security, community health, environmental and social safety challenges. Women and children who constitute more than three quarters of the population of the area were highly vulnerable to socio-economic shock including inflation, drought induced food insecurity and poverty. The Chikato community in general lead a natural resources based livelihoods, hence the lack of access to clean and adequate water for both vegetable production and domestic purposes was the major drawback for local development. The following pictures show the unprotected source of water and the unproductive vegetable garden used to sustain Mutsiba village households.

3. Preparatory Activities

Preparatory meetings were held to facilitate the smooth and effective coordinated implementation of the Chikato Orphans and Women's Social Safety Project. A district stakeholder orientation meeting was conducted after the Shurugwi Partners and the Kingdom of the Netherlands signed the grant contract. The Social Services Department took the lead to introduce Shurugwi Partners to other key stakeholders including the District Administrator, Public Services Departments and Ministry of Health and Child Welfare. A date was set for introducing and welcoming Shurugwi Partners to the District Child Protection Committee. After rolling out the Chikato project to the District Child Protection Committee, the stakeholders appreciated the important role played by both the Royal Netherlands Embassy and Shurugwi Partners in the partnership aimed to end rural poverty among the most vulnerable groups of the community. Shurugwi Partners was also requested to assist the Social Services Department to complete the OVC village registers for the ward 7. The organization also agreed to team up with the local ward structures to initiate the Ward 7 Child Protection Committee as a complementary effort to the District Child Protection Committee.

A community orientation and project rollout session was conducted. The members of the community who were present include the Ward Development Committee chaired by the ward Councillor, the traditional leaders including the Chief's representative, the village heads and all the villagers from the Chikato catchment area were represented. The project beneficiaries from Pandehuni, Mutsiba village 1 & 2 and Mashiri village were also present. The project beneficiaries expressed their happiness and appreciation to the Royal Netherlands Embassy for approving their project. In his speech, the project Mobilizer Mr. Clever Mawire highlighted that the targeted villages are some of the marginalized and underdeveloped communities that were the recipients of food handouts as a result of hunger and poverty. The development assistance that mainly targets women and children was also rated as a giant step towards protecting the vulnerable groups through economic empowerment and self-reliance activities.

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