The Forum for African Women Educationalists Zimbabwe Chapter (FAWEZI) in partnership with Action Aid Zimbabwe (AAZ), Leonard Cheshire Disability Zimbabwe (LCDZ) and Aids Counselling Trust (ACT) donated Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs), food packs and reusable sanitary wear to ten project schools in Shamva and Chitungwiza Districts. The schools that benefitted are   Madziwa Mine Primary and Secondary, Wadzanai Primary and Secondary   and Shamva Ming Chang Primary in Shamva, Chaminuka and Tafadzwa Primary Schools, Seke 3, Seke 5 and Seke Mhuriiimwe High Schools in Chitungwiza.

The handover was done to match efforts in enhancing the level of preparedness for school re- opening in line with COVID-19 prevention requirements as well as the economic despair due to the COVID 19 lockdown. The donations included face masks, tippy tap buckets, overalls, disinfectants, food hampers and re-usable sanitary pads. The beneficiaries for food hampers were one hundred orphaned and vulnerable learners selected from the   FAWEZI Tuseme club members at the schools under the project ‘Empowered Adolescents for Improved Quality of Life’.   In other separate events under the same project Leonard Cheshire Disability Zimbabwe and Aids Counselling Trust led donations to 734 vulnerable households, caregivers, and people with chronic illnesses and child headed families.

In the entire project AAZ is facilitating Households Economic Strengthening (HES) and Economic empowerment interventions to reduce adolescent girls’ vulnerability through building economic resilience and expanding economic opportunities for households of adolescents. This will be done through tested Livelihoods instruments like the Internal Savings and Lending Schemes (ISALS) as an entry-point for layering HES and wrap-around adolescent girls support services.

FAWEZI brings in a girls empowerment program called ‘Tuseme –Taura Unzwike –Khuluma uzwakale empowerment programme, which uses theatre-for-development techniques to address concerns that hinder girls’ social and academic development. This will be used to train girls to identify and understand the problems that affect them, articulate these problems, and act to solve them whilst also gaining, life skills, and self-confidence, decision-making, and leadership skills.

ACT is specializing on behaviour change communication   tools namely are Auntie Stella and the Stepping stones. These tools have been proven to yielding positive results in creating assertiveness in adolescents. The Auntie Stella approach is highly participatory, provides guidance on how to discuss Sexual and Reproductive Health with adolescents of different age groups. The stepping stones methodology interrogates factors that perpetuate VAWG.

LCDZ will be an important player in the consortium as it will bring the disability inclusion factor. The organisation will be drawing attention to the disabled in the project areas and making sure that they are also well represented. LCDZ will also facilitate for disability friendly implementation in terms of accessibility of the project activities, communication and a balanced selection of beneficiaries between the disabled and abled persons.

This project aims to increase empowerment and improved quality of life among adolescent girls in Shamva, Chitungwiza and Hopeley by implementing unique best practices and models to address three areas: Violence against Women and Girls (VAWG), Comprehensive Sexuality Education (CSE) and Economic Empowerment (EE).