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Girl Child Network's Mid Term In Touch Newsflash
Girl Child Network (GCN)
July 14, 2006

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News In Brief: This Year So Far

• GCN was privileged to host international visitors who also had the privilege to experience first hand GCN's work. It was an honour having Gerry Cameroon from Canada based Canadian Crossroads International, which is a development organisation that assists networks across the world. He managed to attend an HIV/AIDS and child sexual abuse awareness campaign in Manicaland witnessed and attended by key stakeholders and about 500 community members in the area. After several visits to GCN areas of operation and meetings with GCN staff and networking partners Gerry expressed the willingness of his organisation to work with GCN and the Women's Coalition of Zimbabwe chaired by GCN Director. He further promised to facilitate exchange programmes between GCN and other relevant organisations in women and children's issues.
  
• BETTY Akuffor a Social Development Consultant also visited GCN on a mission sanctioned by the Stephen Lewis Foundation. From her visit she intended to familiarize with GCN work and also assess the capacity of the organisation to undertake a project funded by the Foundation. She went on to visit the organisation's areas of operation including the project target areas. In this regard, GCN is pleased to announce that the visit and subsequent correspondence between GCN on one hand and Betty and the Foundation on the other hand have led to the approval of a proposal submitted by GCN to the Foundation to be implemented in the organisation's Chihota and Mhondoro areas of operation. GCN warmly welcomes The Stephen Lewis Foundation to the growing list of GCN funding partners.
  
• HAVING communicated with GCN and interacted with GCN Director and Founder Betty Makoni at various international fora renowned writer/photographer, Paola Gianturco finally visited the organisation. During the stay the writer of several books on real life women's issues including; "In Her Hands" and "Celebrating Women", attended GCN programmes to include a club launch and field visits in Chitungwiza. She also visited the Chihota Girls Empowerment where there are girls' dormitories she personally funded. Her trip also acted as a promotional tour of her book "In Her Hands" part of whose proceeds will be channeled towards the Global Fund for Women who will in turn assist women and children's organisations. By the way Global Fund for Women also funded GCN. Before she left a debriefing session was held and attended by beneficiaries, staff and community members with lots of entertainment and beverages. GCN will feature in her new book, "Beacons of Hope" to be launched in 2007.
  
• A UNESCO team also visited the organisation to establish areas of cooperation and collaboration. However, besides the international visitors GCN is grateful that there have been local corporate visitors to the organisation's project sites. Having hosted the Stanbic Bank twice in Chihota and Chitungwiza, Zimsun, represented by Mr. Manyumwa also visited and met the organisation's needy beneficiaries from disadvantaged backgrounds. GCN will continue to court the support of the corporate world in its quest to ensure a holistic and multisectoral approach to the plight of girls and other vulnerable children. The organisation held a meeting with Old Mutual and it is hoped that a relationship will eventually develop in the near future that will also encourage the participation of the corporate world in addressing issues affecting children. After the meeting Old Mutual staffers, Margaret Vera and Linna Mfarinya made a subsequent visit to GCN offices for further discussions.
  
• AS if proving that 2006 will be remembered as the year of International visits to GCN the organisation hosted Kenny and Rufaro Kangai from the International Child Resource Institute. They got the opportunity to tour GCN areas of operation and met some girls. GCN certainly hopes this will give birth to a long working relationship with the Institute. Other international visitors include four students from Canada who made club visits and Tara who is now attached to GCN on an internship programme was part of them.
  
• THE GCN Director, Betty Makoni attended four regional workshops/conferences in South Africa, Zambia and Swaziland. The Swaziland trip in which she presented a paper on best preventive strategies in the battle against gender based violence seem to be a potential to bear positive results. This is particularly so bearing in mind that there are plans to have an inter organisation exchange programme between GCN and the Swaziland Women's Action Group Against Abuse (SWAGAA). GCN acknowledges the role being played by Gerry Cameroon in ensuring that this is achievable.
  
• A Stakeholders Consultative Workshop was held under the CIDA-GESP funded project that saw the organisation sharing the project results, the project's best practices and also mapping the way forward for the sustainability of the project and its activities and strategizing on scaling up the project activities. On the other hand the International Women's Day celebrations roared into life at the Chitungwiza Aquatic Complex. Vice President Joyce Mujuru, women's organisations and scores of women who also took the opportunity to display their craftwork, attended the occasion organized by the GCN, Women's Coalition and the Ministry of Women's Affairs. The theme of the year was, "Women in Decision Making".
  
• An erroneous and mischievous Herald report caused unnecessary unease and despondency to both GCN friends and enemies when it fallaciously claimed that the organisation had participated in the authoring of the UN Special Envoy, Anna Tibaijuka's Report on Operation Restore Order. The article went on to inaccurately indicate that the GCN Director went on monthly sojourns overseas mobilising funds. The implications of the article were that the organisation and its Director were involved in opposition activities against the government through its involvement in the doctoring of a report that was dismissed by the government. Although it raised dust and put the organisation and its Director under uncalled for spotlight the organisation's unquestionable work on the ground saved the day for the organisation. In the strongest terms the organisation produced a press response that condemned the article and those behind it as adversaries of the campaign against acts of violence against the girl child.
  
• THE inaugural National Journalistic Awards was held at the Crowne Plaza Monomotapa Hotel in Harare on the 4th May 2006. The colourful event saw the organisation for the first in the history of fighting child sexual abuse in the country honouring the media personnel for their outstanding and objective reporting of issues of girl child abuse. There were cash prizes and shields in 21 categories for the successful journalists selected by a panel of people with experience in the media and the development fraternity. The Deputy Minister of Health and Child Welfare, Dr. Edwin Muguti was the guest of honour who in his speech reiterated government's commitment to fight child sexual abuse. The event was made possible and the most successful owing to the financial and technical assistance of NOVIB, the Royal Netherlands Embassy, The US Embassy, Zimsun and the Jewel Bank (CBZ)
  
• ON the same day there was a Policy Makers Consultative meeting. The meeting was geared towards lobbying for the adoption of the long overdue Child Sexual Offences Bill which will go a long way in mitigating and curbing the horrendous acts of child sexual that continue to be perpetuated without effective restraint domestic mechanisms. If passed into law the Bill, marking the height of the fight against child sexual abuse in Zimbabwe, will act as a deterrent measure and will eventually contribute to the reduction of child sexual abuse cases.

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