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Girl Child Network's In Touch Newsflash No.3, 2006
Girl Child Network (GCN)
November 16, 2006

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News in brief

• THE major highlight of the past four months was the participation of Girl Child Network at the XVI International AIDS Conference in Toronto where the organisation was ably represented by the Director, Ms Betty Makoni and wrote yet another piece of history by scooping the inaugural Award for addressing gender issues that fuel the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Also representing GCN was GCN Community Ambassador, Shadreck Taona Gwashavanhu and Silence Mazunga a Girl Child HIV/AIDS activist. On her return scores of GCN staff and networking friends thronged the Harare International Airport to welcome her amid song, dance and ululation. (Also see a special article in the document)
  
• GCN held a Strategic Planning Workshop from the 29th~30th June 2006 that was bankrolled by Oxfam NOVIB and Newfield Foundation and facilitated by Development Consultant, Unity Chari. This saw the organisation coming up with a Strategic Plan Document for 2006~2009 that defines the organisation's direction for the next three years. GCN has incorporated new strategies and programs to suit the changing operating environment, changing needs of beneficiaries and implementing strategies of our key stakeholders. For the organisation to be effective and innovative in delivering its empowerment programmes GCN has had programmatic and operational elements being either introduced or changed. GCN considers the changes critical in that they are responsive to the trends that either contribute to the development of the girl child or hinder her development.
  
• ANDREAS Lonn and Paul Bolgrein from Sweden representing the World Children Prize for the Rights of Children visited GCN and took the opportunity to interview Betty Makoni on her life and work as the Director of an internationally venerated grassroots organisation. They also managed to get on the ground experience of the work GCN does through visits to 3 girls clubs, talking to girls at the Chitsotso Girls Empowerment Village in Rusape and attending club launches at Chinyadza and Chikumbu Primary in Rusape.
  
• CANADIAN Tara Doolan from the University of Toronto's Faculty of Law spent time with GCN as an intern in the organisation's Advocacy and Lobby Program. Some of the major highlights of her stay included assisting the organisation in crafting the 2006-2009 Strategic Plan Document. She also worked on refining the Child Sexual Offences Bill that is the brainchild of Girl Child Network.
  
• GCN was privileged to host the Asian Diplomatic Spouses in July who got the opportunity to learn more about GCN and its beneficiaries. After meeting members of staff and beneficiaries the Group donated goodies that included mealie meal, clothes and sanitary ware to the organisation's Girl Empowerment Villages.
  
• THE Royal Netherlands Embassy funded a debriefing session for 30 OVC aged between 6 and 10 years who were mobilised by Girl Child Network' Community Development and Empowerment Program. The OVC attended the party at the Embassy Offices on the 27th of August 2006.
  
• FROM the 8th~10th October 2006 the Girl Child Network Director participated at the Women's Roundtable meeting held in Johannesburg, South Africa. The meeting sought to discuss issues affecting women in the SADC region and was organised by the Open Society Initiative for Southern Africa (OSISA)
  
• GCN organised and hosted the Zimbabwe edition of the International Rural Women's Day Commemoration from the 14th~the 15th of October at its Chitsotso Girls Empowerment Village in Rusape. At a time when the Domestic Violence Bill has invited so much debate the event provided an opportune time to reach out to the rural women and educate them on the contentious issue of domestic violence and how the Bill would, if passed into law, protect them and their spouses from the scourge of domestic violence.
  
• DENISE Parmentier (Programme Officer) and Monique van Zijl (Assistant Programme Officer) form NOVIB one of GCN's biggest funding partners came to undertake the Risk and Opportunity Appraisal toolbox that is being used by NOVIB to assess partners for funding. There was a two day session that saw GCN and the NOVIB team going through the possible risk and opportunities that are either setbacks or incentives for further partnership and the achievement of the proposed project outcomes.

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