Back to Index

Vox Pops - Chatting with ordinary Zimbabweans at the NGO Expo
Upenyu Makoni-Muchemwa, Kubatana.net
August 27, 2009

This is an Inzwa feature. Find out more

Short interviews from organisations at the NGO Expo - Read and listen

NGO Expo Image Gallery - View

View audio file details

What do you think NGOs in Zimbabwe should be doing?

Naome Magorimbo
I think what NGOS are doing now is good. Like providing the supplementary feeding to some rural areas like schools, hospital and so forth. So what they are doing, I encourage them to continue doing that, they mustn-t stop, or be encourage by some political activists. I-m sorry about that but well I-ll say it, because I want them to carry on. Because if you go out to the rural areas, I-m sure you-ll feel sorry for them. Those people they are suffering. They need foodstuff, they need to eat. And there-s only one person who can provide that foodstuff, some NGOs. They are the only ones who can reach there.

Estella Mandiopera
Issues of drugs, especially for the people living with HIV/AIDS. And issues of the orphans. You know orphans are being left without nobody to care for [them]. So the NGOs we-d like them to intervene, and be helping them for the school fees and the accommodation.

About the recent development with the National AIDS Council, that most of the money they collected through AIDS levies has just basically disappeared, and less than five percent of that money has been used to buy ARVs for people living with HIV? Me as a person living with HIV, I-m very much cross about that issue. Just because you can see those officers with posh cars, big stomachs, using our monies. The money won-t go to the beneficiaries. They are using to their own. I think the government have to do something about it. Even to arrest them.

Patricia Mutsiyo
The most pressing issue is on HIV/AIDS information dissemination. Because you find out that most people usually in the remote or rural areas, they usually are excluded from the CBD, so they don-t get much information, as much as those in the CBD. So I think basically, it-s all about disseminating information about HIV/AIDS. Listen

Rosemary Mirongo
Chinofanirwa kuitwa nemaNGO muno muZimbabwe ndeyekubatsira vanhu varikutambura, vanaveZimbabwe. Kunyanya ve pasipasi, vanenge varikuda kuyedzawo kusimukira. (NGO-S need to help people who are suffering. Especially the poor who want to improve their situation in life.) Listen

Nyasha Zwinoira
I think basically, overall, it-s to improve the medical part of our structure, in our city. You know to make sure that the medical facilities are running well. So that people don-t die like flies of cholera; or there were five cases of the swine flu, I don-t know whether we-re equipped to handle such an epidemic in this country. So to basically avoid unnecessary loss of life. I think the main area that should be focused on is the medical facilities.

There are other things which are important like food. I think food is also a sector which should be taken care of. But I think generally we-re trying as a people. Because I walk into town I see what-s on offer in the shops so that areas ok. It-s kind of ok. But the area which is not is the medical facilities, and water. Our water facilities and the machinery has to be clean and up to standard.

But is it really the responsibility of NGOs to do that when we have a government? It-s everybody-s responsibility. In whatever way you can. Either in your house, maybe if you have the funds you can drill a well, or a bore-hole or maybe you can have a workshop where you focus on the benefits of boiling your water, filtering you water. There are a lot of people who are going cross border trading and there-s this pen I-ve seen in South Africa, which is on sale, which if you just drink from any body of water it-s already filtered. Maybe it-s inexpensive, you can bring that here. Because everybody-s bringing everything anyway. There-s the pen to see whether a dollar is authentic, it-s ten dollars in town. So if people are brining that, why not bring that pen which is a filter? I even have a picture of it if you want to see.

Amon Tsabora
I think most of the NGO-s in Zimbabwe should talk more about transparency, HIV/AIDS, local governance and also community participation and democracy. Listen

Sazini Vuma
Muno muZimbabwe tinofunga kuti vangangogona kubatsira..kune vana vanoshupika, nherera. Kuzoti vakura, maold age, Fanika kubva 60 year-s vachienda nekumberi, havana chokuita, nyika haina mari, saka ndorubatsiro ratingatotsvaga kumaNGOs. (Here in Zimbabwe we think that they might try to help children who are in need, orphans. And then there are old people. Those who are 60 years and older, they have nothing, the government doesn-t have money, so that the help we-d like to see from NGOs.) Listen

Jephter Masirba
MaNGOs anofanirwa kunyanyo batsira vanhu vanoshaya zvinhu zekusevenzesa, kanazvirema, kanamapofu, kana vana vakafirwa navabereki kana aneHIV/AIDS. (NGOs should focus on helping people who have nothing to help themselves, like the disabled, blind people, orphans and people with HIV/AIDS.)

Emmanuel Gasa
NGO-s are actually complementing some efforts with the government. They are not competing. But the government must now appreciate the works that are being done by the NGOs in Zimbabwe, because they are working throughout, looking for funding, how they can assist, wherever they can limit some burdens that are in society. So the government must actually appreciate the works that are being done by the NGOs in this country. Because together we can. But if we are divided the whole country will fall.

Leonard Matsa
What I think the NGOs should do . . . I think a lot of resources is being channeled more towards slaries and the upkeep of personal. What I think NGOs should do is they should start moving from hotels, from the Internet and go very much to the people who matter, the grassroots. And when we go to the grassroots I don-t think people should concern themselves more with giving people T shirts, feeding them and we are happy we have got something to put in a report. In terms of what the NGOs should be doing I think they-ve barely scratched the surface, we are all aware that our government, in terms of resources, in terms of what it should be doing for the people there are a lot of shortcomings, that is the area where NGO-s should move in. I-m quite happy with what the NGOs in the HIV/AIDS field have done. But in terms of this hot potato to do with democracy, human rights, personal safety is the key word that a lot of human rights defenders these days are working with. They are afraid to go there. Maybe its because the reasons for going into this whole movement is, the lure of money, not a calling. So maybe if the right people with a calling to defend people-s grievances were to fill these posts, you-d really get real value for money. Listen

Mildred Belly Mapolisa
I think they should help people. You know especially some other organization, there are some people out there you know who are willing to do something in this country. People with talents. I think they should help those kinds of people, and young people with vision who want to become somebody in life I think they should do that also.

Patience D Mhondiwa
I think they should be focusing on helping the Zimbabweans because like the situation we had before it was so bad, so for us to move on, I think we need a bit of help. Whichever organizations, I don-t knw whatever we are doing. At least I think they should chip in and help a bit.

Simon Mudekwa
I think NGOs should focus more on things that will keep Zimbabwe going, to lift it from the problems we had, and we all know that our economy, everything was nose-diving. So we have to make sure that we don-t follow where resources are but we make sure that we uplift our country. And we should be proudly Zimbabwean. Starting from now.

Dangwani Fazibo
Quite a lot actually. We-ve got no water, we-ve got no ZESA, we don-t have a national currency, and they should be looking more into that than what they-re doing. We-re focused on the wrong things, HIV/AIDS empowering youths.. Empowering youths to do what, to steal some more money? We need more education, proper education. Listen

Norah Kandambi
I think NGOs in Zimbabwe should do more of advocacy work and lobbying for change maybe in laws and policies and in the social and economic situations that they see in the country, because I think they reach out to more people. So they have more room for influencing the society. Listen

Visit the Kubatana.net fact sheet

Audio File

• Patricia Mutsiyo
  Summary:
  Language: English
  Duration: 33sec
  Date: August 27, 2009
  File Type: MP3
  Size: 531KB
  
  
• Rosemary Mirongo
  Summary:
  Language: Shona
  Duration: 14sec
  Date: August 27, 2009
  File Type: MP3
  Size: 230KB
  
  
• Amon Tsabora
  Summary:
  Language: English
  Duration: 13sec
  Date: August 27, 2009
  File Type: MP3
  Size: 215KB
  
  
• Sazini Vuma
  Summary:
  Language: Shona
  Duration: 15sec
  Date: August 27, 2009
  File Type: MP3
  Size: 246KB
  
  
• Leonard Matsa
  Summary:
  Language: English
  Duration: 1min 45sec
  Date: August 27, 2009
  File Type: MP3
  Size: 1.6MB
  
  
• Dangwani Fazibo
  Summary:
  Language: English
  Duration: 21sec
  Date: August 27, 2009
  File Type: MP3
  Size: 339KB
  
  
• Norah Kandambi
  Summary:
  Language: English
  Duration: 15sec
  Date: August 27, 2009
  File Type: MP3
  Size: 240KB

Please credit www.kubatana.net if you make use of material from this website. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons License unless stated otherwise.

TOP