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CAMFED
work in rural Zimbabwe
Campaign
for Female Education (CAMFED)
June 30, 2005
Campaign For Female
Education (CAMFED Zimbabwe) was established in 1993 to support girls to
go to school while simultaneously testing the hypothesis that family poverty
was the prime constraint on girls’ education. CAMFED’s vision is that
each and every child is educated, protected, respected and valued, and
grows up to turn the tide of poverty. CAMFED works with rural communities
to fulfill their aspiration. In a world in which girls have the least
access to education, together we enroll and keep girls from the poorest
families in school and support them after school to reinvest in their
communities, champion girls education and advocate for the rights and
protection of children
The first programme
was established in Nyaminyami, where success has led to expansion to 14
rural districts covering all provinces and to further countries - Ghana
in 1996, Zambia in 2001 and Tanzania in 2004.
In 2004 alone CAMFED
Zimbabwe through its work with 560 partner schools reached over 38,526
children and supported them to stay in school.
Direct
costs of education
CAMFED
meets the direct costs of the of girls education for families through
provision of uniforms to beneficiaries and fees and levies. The girls
we support, many of whom are orphans and all from extremely poor families,
are identified primarily on the basis of need. A district-level committee
headed by the District Education Office, and made up of representatives
of parents and teachers, women’s groups, traditional leaders and health
workers, manages the selection process. They are also responsible for
monitoring the distribution of beneficiaries’ entitlements through the
school system supported by the CAMFED Zimbabwe staff, including CAMA members.
CAMFED makes a four-year
commitment to beneficiaries who are often selected at the point
of transition into secondary school. To date over 2
000 young women have graduated
from the programme. There are currently 3 500
students to whom we have made four year commitment of support across 4
rural districts in the country. The districts are Nyaminyami, Nyanga,
Wedza, Chikomba, Binga, Mwenezi, Mt Darwin, Buhera, Kwekwe, Lupane, Matobo,
Binga, Nkayi, and Gokwe.
Social
support to disadvantaged children
In
addition to this material support, social support is crucially provided
to all those benefiting; given their background of poverty, they experience
traumatic problems including bereavement of close family members. Close
supervision and support has resulted in consistently high retention rates
for girls in the programme of 98 percent
or above. Learning from girls’ experiences has led to action to protect
them from sexual abuse. Three Community Hostels
to date have been established so girls from poor families can find safe
places to live near schools, avoiding the long walks and girls having
to live in the high risk so- called ‘bush boarding facilities". Chiefs
working with CAMFED have appointed young women counsellors to their traditional
courts, recognizing that girls cannot repeat the trauma of what has occurred
to a courtroom. CAMA members (detailed below) also reached over 168,000
children and young people through the community health programme, 3,000
of whom also received academic tutoring in schools.
Safety
Nets
In
addition to the above CAMFED runs a safety Net funds. Through the Safety
Net Funds initiative, CAMA members, mother support group members and school
officials identify children at risk of dropping out, and those affected
by HIV/AIDS who are in need of immediate support to stay in school. 280
schools successfully managed SNF grants in 2004, reaching over 9,160
children with emergency support to stay in school. 80 Mothers’ Support
Groups were active in 10 districts, with over 960 members. Through their
philanthropy and activism, these mothers managed to support over 2,800
children to remain in school. 2,750 active CAMA members in 14 rural Districts
extended their individual philanthropy to save over
8,250 children from dropping out of school.
The Virtuous Cycle
The diagram below
sets out the virtuous cycle that is set in motion by CAMFED’s education
programme. It spans the years from childhood to young adulthood and follows
the evolution of CAMFED’s work over 12 years, as learning from has developed
each stage, and responding to, the hurdles girls and their communities face.
In 1998, CAMFED-supported
‘graduates’ from secondary education formed CAMA (the CAMFED Association),
a membership organisation of young women activists all sharing the common
background of economic poverty. In 6 years, CAMA has become a voice for
young rural African women, at the grassroots, national and international
levels, and a critical partner for CAMFED. By 2003, CAMA had grown to
a membership of 2,750 young women who multiply what CAMFED can achieve.
Autobiographical
accounts by the young women who were the first to benefit from CAMFED’s
programme are in the book ‘I Have a Story to Tell’. Mrs
Graca Machel a UN expert on international children’s issues and wife to
the Former South African President introduces the book. A copy of the
book is available at the CAMFED Zimbabwe office and will be exhibited
at this year’s book Fair.
Visit the CAMPFED
fact sheet
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